Sports and Influence

Growing up there was no question that the kids would play sports. My sisters and I started young. We joined the swim team the second we were able, that gave us something to do in the summer. We signed up for soccer as soon as we were old enough to play. My older sister and I did swimming in the winter while my younger sister did gymnastics and ice-skating. For years we were always involved in one way, shape, or form with sports. 

The involvement in sports taught us valuable life lessons like teamwork, dedication, and hard work. It gave us a certain level of confidence and self-esteem. It taught me the importance of being able to take on a leadership position as well as the importance of being able to take direction and learn. I had many experiences that helped form the person I am today.

Not everyone gets those experiences though. Maybe it is because of financial reasons. Maybe it is lack of interest. Maybe it’s something else all together but many people don’t have a huge involvement in sports as a kid. I know I have friends that primarily played video games or had a purely academic upbringing. Some of them were more involved with Boy/Girl Scouts as opposed to an athletic team. Each of these gives different experiences and teaches the participants different things.

Is one better at raising a well-rounded child than the other? No. It isn’t fair to say that. I played sports but I was also a Girl Scout. I played video games as well. I think the important part is having a well-balanced mix of opportunities and activities. I already said what sports taught me. Girl Scouts taught me about selling, entrepreneurship, and the importance of giving back to the community. It also taught me that I could do pretty much anything. Playing video games taught me about creativity and to question reality and the rules.

Parents need to know that sports aren’t everything. Children also need to know that. A life exposed to different opportunities will result in a better-rounded adult.  I will forever stand by sports being important to a child’s development. I believe each child should try at least one. It’s a great way to get active and support a healthy lifestyle while having fun. That and everything I mentioned before.

The Return of Spring

     Northern Virginia got a taste of warm weather this weak and I caught a strong case of Spring Fever. There were blue skies and sunshine. It was magical. You know what this means?

     OUTDOORS!!!!!

     The love of playing outdoors runs through my veins. It always has and I doubt it will ever leave. There is something about the sun dancing on your skin and feeling the soft grass under your bare feet as you run around that is nothing short of pure bliss.

     Do we forget about it as we get older?

     I ask because when I ask my friends to go out and do something, they ask me why. My favorite is when I ask and the response is, “are you twelve?!” No. I’m not too old for that type of thing. Running around outside and playing sports is not just for kids but it can bring you back to the time when you were one. The freedom. The innocence. They joy.

     Grab your friends. Grab a soccer ball. Grab a football. Go out and play! One of my favorite college memories comes from my sophomore year. I took the soccer ball out of my closet and practically forced my roommates out of the apartment. “30 minutes you guys. 30. That’s all I’m asking.”

     3 hours later no one had gone inside.

     Until that point, my roommates and I were just that. Roommates. 3 hours later and we had bonded. Playing a sport has given me that ability to bond with other people. It’s sharing an experience while releasing endorphins and releasing stress. You let negatives go so you can really bond with others in a positive way.

     Spring reawakens the outside world and brings the weather that allows us to enjoy it. Get up. Get out. Go have fun with old friends and make new ones! There’s nothing like a game of soccer to bring people together.

Gym Thoughts #2 - Real Men

            I’ve never been a fan of the gym. I’d rather go out and run around playing soccer for an hour than run on the treadmill for 30 minutes.  That being said, when it is 30 degrees outside I would much rather be inside a gym. Because this winter has been on the chilly side and over the past couple of months the snow has seemed to stick around, I have spent a lot more time in the gym than normal. Something I’ve noticed is there is such thing as an actual man. Or, well, men think there is.

            I am new to the whole gym, fitness, lifting, gains game that seems to exist nowadays. When I used to go really consistently I feel like the atmosphere was very different. I couldn’t get on a cardio machine because they were full. Women, men, old, young, and everyone in between were using those machines. It was ridiculous! Today when I go? The cardio machines are empty. There might be one woman riding a bike but I have no problem getting on a cardio machine to start my day. But no, the gym is not empty. What comes next? “Excuse me, can I get to the weights?”

            A problem I’ve just really come to encounter is the problem that I can’t get to the weights. There are so many guys standing around. Some are lifting. Some are spotting. Some are taking selfies (I kid you not). I don’t know if it is the gym culture but they are speaking in terms like, “bro” and “swol (sp?).” I know for a fact these are intelligent guys. When they leave the gym the mentality leaves and they get on with their lives. But while they are in the gym something interesting happens. Men are divided. Some are “real men” and some are not.

            From what I have picked up, real men lift. Real men might get on a cardio machine for 10 minutes, but that’s it. Then they go and lift weights. Also, from what I have noticed, it is all about the free weights. Last week I went and a guy had to have an excuse to use a weight machine. His friend was giving him a hard time about it, asking if he was getting soft because, “real men use free weights.”

            According to gym culture and Sports World real men are tough. They are strong. They are powerful. They are large and in charge. They do not take crap from anyone. They play sports and have muscles. All the ladies want them and the guys want to be them. Apparently they also lift free weights. What is this? Who decided this is what makes men?! Even better, who decided what makes a real man?!

             Sports World is definitely one of the biggest proponents of this image. Men are talked about being huge and having a demanding and powerful presence. They have muscles and they spend plenty of time in the gym. Men are portrayed as shirtless will six pack abs if they want a strong feature in a magazine. These are the men that are on the cover. This is what everyone sees.  This is what men see and want to be like. This is the image of what a real man is.

            Is that what a real man is? Is that really how we see it? In my opinion that’s just sad. You know what, if you want to use a weight machine go for it! If you want to do free weights, go for it! If you want to do more than 10 minutes of cardio, do it. Do your thing and enjoy it. There’s no such thing as one type of “real man” so to the guys I overhear at the gym – get over it.   

Breakfast with Dad - Week 4

            It’s been a while since I’ve had breakfast with dad. Life gets in the way. Weather happens. Sleep becomes necessary. The world makes it hard to get together sometimes. But when it can happen, everything becomes okay again. Today’s breakfast was a lot of catching up. Since the last time we were able to get together a dog has been adopted, a tattoo has been worked on, an ex has resurfaced, a car has been purchased, and a diet has been started. We’re a busy family.

            Another thing that has started is my application process for my first full-time job. YAY! I’m probably enjoying this process more than I should but instead of finding it scary, I’m finding it exciting. I am applying to start the rest of my life. What company will I end up at? How long will I stay there? Is it a place I get to stay for the rest of my career? Where will it take me?!

            My older sister found this process awful. She hated it and didn’t find it exciting. She did well in school and obtained two majors (finance and accounting). She finds herself at one of the largest companies in the world but she is not doing what she wants to do. She had the opportunity to apply for a HUGE wealth management company (she does not want me to say the name) but didn’t bother because the position sounded too much like a secretary position. My thought? Not exactly what you want to do but you have to start somewhere.

            My dad? “SHE HAS TO START SOMEWHERE!” It was said with a lot of gusto so I feel as if all caps are necessary. It is true. It is true for everyone. I’ve spoken to many people and based on plenty of past internships, we can say that it is very true if you want to get into the sports industry. One of my friends interned for an NHL team and he says he never did more miniscule jobs (filing and alphabetizing) than he did in that position. He is now working for the team in their broadcasting division and he loves it.

            Another thing Father Dearest shared with me is, “you have to pay your dues.” That is nothing new and I’ve heard it many of times before. It seemed really convenient timing though considering the conversations I’ve had with my friends who are now in the industry. You do have to pay your dues. So many people want to work in sports and yes, there are jobs out there. But! If you want that good paying job with a well-known team, you have to be willing to pay your dues. So many people also want that position. So many people are just as qualified. The question becomes this –

Who wants it more?

          

            This internship process seems to be a way to prove that you want to work in the sports industry more than the next person. What are you willing to do to get to where you want to be? How determined are you to be in that industry and environment? This is where my sister’s story comes into play. How determined are you to get into that company/industry? What are you willing to do? It’s a game, really. If you want to work in the sports industry, it is something to be prepared for.

For the job hunt, my dad says the question is simple; who’s ready to play?

Gym Thoughts #1 - Motivation

            Over Winter Break I had the amazing opportunity to go to London, England. It was absolutely amazing! While there I decided to take advantage of whatever the city had to offer. This meant things from public transportation to going to a cabaret performance. This also included food. Before I left everyone told me that the food wasn’t much to write home about but I didn’t let that stop me from indulging in fish and chips as well as whatever the pub was pouring that evening.

            My eating habits suffered. I came back and got better but not where I was. To try to make up for it I’ve been to the gym. I've been more in the past couple of months than I have in the past year. In these months I have discovered that motivation to work out is not something I have in great supply. My sisters get up and go in the morning almost every day. My friends go on runs all over DC and do marathons!

            How do they do it?! I asked a couple of them what gets them going and they say they love the feeling working out gives them. For me, working out gives me one feeling. Exhaustion. I love being active and doing different activities but running has never been my thing and the weights they have at the gym are really heavy.

            I used to do yoga a lot and I loved it. Only a couple years ago it was everywhere! The fad is now changing and yoga is not in the spotlight. Now it appears at my gym maybe twice a week. I am also a fairly broke college student and can’t afford a membership at a yoga studio. Soccer still runs through my blood but it is hard to get a group together to play. Kayaking was an amazing experience but I’d have to put in a pretty decent drive to get to a place where I can do that. It also involves money that I don’t necessarily have.

            I need motivation. Some friends have suggested doing a “fun run” but I do not know how fun it would be. They say it gets them moving and is a great stress relief. I believe them but running has never been a stress relief for me. Maybe I’ll do some random classes at the gym I have never heard of before. There is bound to be something in there!!

            It’s 11:30 PM and I have a date with the gym tomorrow at 5:45. I should probably go to bed. At this point I am definitely motivated to do that.

The Games are Coming!!!

Coming soon to the area is one of the largest international sporting events in the world: The World Police and Fire Games. Police officers, fire fighters, and federal agents from all over the globe are going to descend upon Fairfax, Virginia this summer for an Olympic style competition of strength, agility, and overall performance.

Thanks to one of my internships I am involved in a lot of opportunities that this event has to offer. For example, last night was the Draft Day Party. Each of the companies that are sponsoring the event gets to pick a sport to cover that is exclusively theirs. My company chose Track & Field.  Not exactly my choice but I’m not high enough on the totem pole to make that decision.

While at this party we got to mix and mingle with the other sponsors and some of the athletes. While also there we got to visit with bomb sniffing dogs as well as do more normal things like putting and shooting basketballs. It was an amazing experience. I would not have traded it for the world!

Talking to the athletes was probably one of my favorite parts of the event. These people have an extreme passion for their jobs. They work in the more intense fields and need a way to release that stress. What better way to do so than taking up a sport? Not only that, the sport can help them in their jobs! Speaking to them, you could really see that they loved the sport. They had a desire in their eyes and voice when speaking about the competition that you don’t see in professional athletes much anymore.

I wish professional athletes cared as much as the men and women I got to speak with last night care. Professionals get paid, sometimes a huge amount of money, to play a sport they claim to love for a living. Then they act out. They don’t show up to practices and start to think they are better than the sport that got them there.

I hear stories from my parents about athletes and how they remember when you could tell that athletes absolutely loved what they did. Apparently it was a different time. I wish I could see that. Sometimes I find it hard to support the athletes on the TV because I know there is probably someone out there just as skilled who would do anything to be able to play the sport they love and get paid.

Anyway, I could go on and on about this but I think you get the point. Support the athletes that love everything they do. Support the people that put their lives on the line so that we can be safe every single day. The WPFG are looking for volunteers and will take as many spectators as they can get! The Games take place from June 26^th – July 5^th all over the area from places like George Mason University to Reston Town Center. Take part. You won’t be disappointed.

For more information and ways to connect, please visit their site at fairfax2015.com. You can also connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.

I Just Want to Play!

Snow. Ice. At this point I’m starting to believe that winter is never going to end. It’s killing me! I want to go outside. I want to be in the fresh air and feeling the sun dance upon my skin. A light breeze goes by just when the sun gets a little on the warm side…

I need to stop. Thinking about it is going to bum me out.

I can’t help but remember not too long ago when this time of year was full of excitement and possibility. The soccer season was right around the corner. Cleats and shin guard tans!!! YAY! The itch to play again is real.

I’ve looked it up I don’t know how many times and I can never seem to sign up. There is an adult soccer league in the area and I would love to play. No times seem to work well for me though. It is really upsetting. There is a Sunday night league and that sounds great except for the fact I know of a couple occasions already where I wouldn’t be able to make the time commitment. I could join the school team but living off campus accompanied by a couple internships and an awkward class schedule means I could not give them the time they need either.

What the future needs to hold is a company that will hire me when I graduate with a soccer team I can join. I know people whose companies have softball teams or even kickball teams but I have never heard of a company with a soccer team. I miss the game. I would take part in a company sports team if I had the opportunity and I would join a soccer team in a heartbeat. Who knows, maybe it will happen.

Or maybe I’ll just attempt to join my friend’s kickball team. I could even take my friend’s place! We look similar! Except for the height difference, the body structure, and the fact that he is, well, a he.

No big deal. I got this.