Benjy Egel is a journalism freshman and Mustang Daily sports columnist.
Forget the steroids stories and cheating scandals — sports are a good thing. From badminton to basketball, there are benefits in every game. Team sports in particular build physical, mental and emotional health.
Physical
Believe it or not, regular exercise produces a fit body. There’s a reason Robert Griffin III and Michael Phelps have unrivaled speed, and it’s not because they eat at Subway.
While weightlifting builds the most brute strength, recreational athletes should also participate in aerobic sports, kinesiology professor David Hey said.
“It’s continual movement, and you have to play for a long period of time,” he said. “So I’d say swimming, track and field and basketball (are the best).”
Hey played soccer in the 1970s before it became popular in America, and coached both the men’s and women’s teams at Milwaukee Pulaski High School to city championships in 1997.
Now Hey goes running or hits the Recreational Center almost every day, because a fat kinesiology professor is as trustworthy as a skinny dessert chef.
He also offers extra credit to students who complete fun runs on the weekends, but those who jog on a treadmill receive only a high five. While the physical benefits of exercise are great, competition makes both the body and mind stronger.
Mental
Every athlete must endure days or even weeks when nothing is clicking. You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take, but sometimes you just miss 100 percent of the shots.
Sports teach that no matter how bad things get, the only winning solution is to bounce back. Cal Poly softball pitcher Jordan Yates has learned to put her struggles in the rearview mirror.
“If I have a bad day, I just chalk it up to having a bad day,” Yates said. “When I go back out on the field, I know my teammates will pick me up.”
On the flip side, people with exceptional talent must learn to thrive in the spotlight. As successful young athletes move up the ladder, every new level of play reveals more intense competition.
While some boys and girls participate in “everybody plays” soccer with team moms and halftime orange slices, their more skilled peers fight for recognition on travel clubs stalked by college scouts.
“When you’re competitive, that’s a whole different deal,” Hey said. “That can actually create stress — in a good way, good stress.”
Though throwing a football in front of thousands of fans may be nerve-wracking, players who withstand the pressure face fewer fears in their everyday lives.
If a person can push their body to its limit and end an exercise covered in sweat, they are more likely to find success in other walks of life. It is easy to throw in the towel when tired, but fighting through and accomplishing a goal takes strength.
“If you can go out and run six miles, and do that consistently on a day-by-day, week-by-week basis, there isn’t a whole hell of a lot you can’t do,” Hey said. “Writing a term paper? That should be a snap.”
Emotional
Sports can serve as a form of therapy, providing relief from personal problems. The focus required in a game or practice leaves no room for outside thoughts.
Competitive athletes such as Yates learn to channel their frustration into positive performances. A close team can serve as a support staff, too.
“Softball’s kind of been like an outlet,” Yates said. “When things are going wrong outside of softball, I go to softball and I can just release everything, and it helps me grow as a person.”
Hey’s Kinesiology 255 (Personal Health: A Multicultural Approach) class discusses how unhappy, socially isolated people are more likely to have poor health, he said. By the same token, team players and individual athletes who love their sport will spend less time in the doctor’s office.
Young athletes need a kind, patient coach to get the most out of sports, Hey said. If the players aren’t enjoying themselves, the purpose has been lost.
“There’s some dads who are pushing their kids — boys and girls — at a young age,” Hey said. “It’s all about win, win, win, but it should be about having fun too.”
Exercise also releases endorphins, which boost morale and can act as natural painkillers. A “runner’s high” is when the body releases so many endorphins that the brain is overcome with euphoric bliss.
Seeing good results in the mirror during or after a workout can improve self-esteem as well. That’s why half of the Recreation Center’s weight room seems to be a male modeling competition.
Self-image is a combination of the three main advantages sports provide. Finding joy in earning a healthy body makes for a stronger being.