Most would say they know what sports are, but you would be surprised.

Take the Olympics for example. A sport like water-skiing is not in the Olympics, but Ping Pong
is? Weird? Wrong? Agreed.

Playing sports takes a specific type of person. Dedicated. Committed. A team player. Intense.
Active. Competitive. Collegiate. Olympic. Outdoorsy. Aquatic. Indoor. Healthful. Note that
‘Athlete’ means people who do it recreationally, while ‘Varsity Athlete’ means 110%
commitment. But always give the nonathletes an extension on assignments if they need it
because they, of course, are even busier.

Never tell an athlete to ‘just take a day off’, unless they suggest the idea first. Time, sweat,
and devotion are all needed to understand sports. If you must say that to an athlete, prepare for
the schpeel about how ‘the grind don’t stop’ or ‘winners never quit and quitters never win’ or
‘hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard’. Always remember that guys are so much
more deserving and that they do have a monopoly on testerone. And never, ever forget that it is
so important to have a football team of 90 guys when only 11 play at a time.

Understanding sports can be a hard thing to do. What exactly is a ‘sport’? The definition of a
sport from the New Oxford American Dictionary, is “ an activity involving physical exertion and
skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”. Most
people can understand this definition of a sport. But let’s say, what defines a popular sport? Or
the sports in the Olympics? Make sure you explain exactly what someone will be getting their
self into, and will do things no other non-athletes will do. Because you care.

Popular sports: football, baseball, basketball, gymnastics, swimming. Olympic sports: archery,
basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, swimming, diving, gymnastics. Sports that should be in the
Olympics: waterskiing, American football, baseball. Sports that should not be in the Olympics:
ping pong, racewalking, trampoline.

Treat sports as one. 20+ sports, one team. Sports take everything out of a person, physically,
mentally, emotionally. Sports get hard, make you want to quit. Sports get fun, make you never
want to quit. Sports can get both, which makes you fall more in love with it everyday. But never
treat one sport like it is superior to another. All use up 100% of your effort and suck every last bit
of energy out of you. If you ever think something is hard, always remember you
could be doing it while holding your breath.

Your athletes may be big, small, short, tall, strong, weak or any of these combinations together.
The jock will be the team captain: strong, not the smartest, and not the tallest either, but pretty
tall. Your other players will not be like the captain, but they will be pretty close to it. For team
sports that is.
Individual sports are a totally different species. Some sports need muscle mass, some need
speed and agility, some need you to be light, but some might need all components. Funny how
athletes are mocked for not using their brain. When it takes split second reaction- a function of
the brain- to perform the freakish skills their sports require of them.
Take waterskiing for example. To succeed in that, you don’t need to be the tallest or the
strongest, in fact it probably doesn’t help like it would in a sport like football. You need to be
quick, and light in weight to land flips and to be efficient in your run. In swimming, it helps to
have muscle and be tall, so you can pull yourself through the water and not have to take as
many strokes, to get to the wall as fast and as long in stroke length as you can. Football
requires strength and height, both used for catching the ball and tackling. But these are all
mainly male sports right? Yep don’t worry about the women’s sports or the college scholarships
for girls. Because, I mean, they are just girls, after all. They’ll just have one purpose in life. To
work in the house, right?

Avoid just watching TV sports to get a full understanding. Go watch things you’ve never
heard of. Look at the uniforms and the relation to the sport. Take notes. Notice the team spirit.
The biggest part of sports and the continuation of sports is who you are surrounded by and the
atmosphere is, including that of the fans. The hardest part about understanding sports is that
what you are watching, the performance, is not indicative of hours of training spent
everyday. And always pour all of your money into football or basketball because the $10 million
they get a year is just not enough.

Athletes can be ground into the ground, going nonstop with their sport, lifting heavy, sweating
profusely and still keeping on going. Athletes themselves are the number one driving force in
their life; they are their own reason for they continuing to do it. So, remember to never give them
the easy way out, just pile everything on them. Homework, especially. Oh, and if you can,
assign the most work when they are out for a few days for competition, and they have to make it
all up. That is the best! Coaches support the athlete into becoming the best he or she can be.
The coach is not the one going through the hard practices or feeling like he or she is about to
break, but rather the one who’s always there, pushing the athlete to their breaking point. They
know when to keep going and when to have a recovery day to avoid injuries or the athlete
burning out. Never, ever say “I can’t” to a coach. Coaches may seem irrational, harsh, or crazy
but always trust in the process. Always pile on those burpees. The more the merrier!

Always understand that you can’t win unless you learn how to lose.