According to the NSCH(National Survey of Children’s Health) 53.8 percent of children aged 6-17 played a sport or took a lesson as of 2022. Basketball, soccer, and baseball are the 3 most common sports children start out in. But one day in 5th grade I decided I wanted to join the volleyball team at my school. I started going to camps and training with my mom. It’s been some years since I started playing and this sport has really impacted me.
Playing volleyball is a peaceful way of getting your mind off of something that’s bothering you or just when I’m bored. Sometimes you get tired of doing the same things over and over again. Watching youtube, tiktok, and playing video games can get boring and it’s not good for your brain. You may be going through something at home or in school and you can’t stop thinking about it. Volleyball can help you relieve stress or anxiety and make you feel better mentally. Teenage mental health is so important in today’s world because so many things happen and sometimes nobody knows. Finding something you can see yourself doing years down the line can give you a preview of how you want your future to look and allow you to make a plan for how you want to make that happen. Watching players play at a higher level really inspires me and makes me want to do everything in my power to get better. While pushing myself to get better I sometimes don’t feel like I’m good enough or that I could’ve done so many things differently. This is called overthinking. Overthinking can make you think negatively of yourself and you may want to quit. To overcome this you must put the negative thoughts behind you and replace them with new ones.
You might think “ I can’t get my serve over the net”. Replace it with “ Let me ask my coach for tips on serving”. If you have the resources you have to use them. Getting better at a sport can be done by yourself, but you won’t get the results you want unless you have people to talk to. I went to 1 college volleyball game at Minnesota State University and fell in love with it. I can’t say I’m the most consistent when it comes to practicing, but I can say I visibly put in the hard work to get where I am today and I’m going to continue to do the same. Volleyball isn’t only fun but it’s also pretty easy to learn how to play. Nobody is perfect at everything in their sport but with the proper commitment and effort their hard work will pay off. Some people want to get better so bad they physically make themselves sick training so hard, but you should know you don’t need to do that. If you know your limits and train properly to keep yourself healthy, you’ll be able to surpass those limits one day. Doing 1 sport is enough for everyone, but doing 2 sports can really test your commitment. Track and field includes 48 different events. 24 for women and 24 for men. These events include various sprints, long jump, hurdles, relays, etc. Everyone does something different when it comes to track and field. I just started running track in 8th grade so I haven’t gotten the full experience yet.
I’ve watched college track and field as well and a woman named Sha’carri Richardson inspired me. Seeing the things she went through and the obstacles she faced showed me that as long as you have a goal you want to accomplish and you push yourself to accomplish that goal you can meet that goal no matter what other people or your past has to say about you. When you watch someone be successful at what you want to do it makes you want to put in the work to maybe be like them one day. You also have to find ways you like to practice because not everyone likes the same things. When you find the things you like and don’t like it makes practicing and preparing so much easier. While every sport should be a positive experience for everyone, sometimes it’s not. A lot of people get injured and can’t play for a while. This is the obstacle people usually have to really push through because people may be trying to rush back into things and they still haven’t fully healed. This can cause worse injuries and maybe even permanent damage. With the right support system you can overcome this and go back to your sport better than before.
Arlena Price – Fenwick High School – DMSF Class of 2029
Photo Credit: JJAVA – Adobe Stock