Since I was little I have played sports. They have always been one of my favorite hobbies — especially tennis and volleyball.
I played competitive sports for many years, so I have had many practices, tournaments and even received a scholarship for my athletic abilities.
But now my view of sports has changed. I no longer see sports as a competition but as an opportunity to relax and have fun with others. I don’t play to win anymore. I play to have fun and keep a balanced life (for my physical and mental health). And you don’t need to play only with people who play well to achieve these goals.
As much as I enjoy playing sports, two things drive me crazy and instead of making me enjoy and relax they make me stressed out. This doesn’t happen when there is someone better than me or when someone doesn’t know how to play. What really makes me crazy is when people play sports with too much competitive spirit and when people don’t give it their all when they are playing.
I think that being competitive in sports is good, because it helps the players to leave everything on the field. When this healthy competition is in a game it makes the game more enjoyable. But I have seen and experienced that when competition is not healthy it ruins a game for everyone. What I am talking about here is when some athletes play sports only to be the best and win. This competitive attitude instead of making sports an enjoyable activity makes sports frustrating. It creates a tense atmosphere in the game. Competition should not be geared towards giving all so as only to be the best. A healthy competitive spirit will drive the athletes to give their all so as to make it enjoyable for everyone.
It also is frustrating when people who know how to play and could make the game enjoyable choose to not try their best. The fact that some people don’t have the required skills for sports, most of the time, does not frustrate me. But it does frustrate me when they don’t even try to play well. There is a difference between people who don’t know how to play and give it their all and of those people who don’t try at all. The ones who try to be good can in some cases get better while the ones that do not try don’t get better. The environment of a game is very different when people try to play well. Those athletes that know how to play at least see the effort of the person and it comforts them.
To be the best one doesn’t need many trophies and recognition by others. They don’t need to go around giving out their autographs left and right. The triumph is not in how many goals you scored but how you played the game to the best of your abilities. When one leaves it all on the field as a way to give the best possible game to their teammates and their opponents then a true victory is won.
