Sports Extravaganza

As a child I spent more time outside playing than I did inside. Living in a neighborhood full of other kids around my age was ideal. As the youngest of three children, and the only girl, I always felt like I needed to prove myself to my brothers. I’m sure they didn’t really care if I was good at sports or not, but I always felt since they were bigger, stronger, and older if I could beat them it would really be saying something about me. It would also provide me with a lot of bragging rights.

In the household I grew up in, we were always encouraged to get out and play as many sports as we could as often as possible. My father was really into sports and invited us to share in that passion as well. If we ever showed any interest in a sport he would buy us whatever we needed or wanted, without hesitation, so that we were able to play that sport. We had equipment for nearly every sport whether we played it leisurely or competitively. I can remember going to out to the garage and seeing nothing but a sea of sports equipment. I’m pretty sure we could have opened our own used sporting goods store with all the equipment in our garage.

Living in a neighborhood filled with kids around my age who also loved to play sports was perfect for me. Early in the summer mornings all the kids in the neighborhood would wake up and come outside. On an ideal day the air would be warm and the sky would be cloudless, but regardless of the weather, we would still be outside playing. The only time we ever stopped to take a break was to eat lunch or when our mothers would call us in for dinner, and most of the time we would bring out big jugs of lemonade or water to quench our thirst so we did not have to go inside. If the sun didn’t have to go to bed every night, I’m not sure we would have either. There was always a game to be played, and everyone was always ready to play. As children living in Pittsburgh, we normally played sports that were big in that area. These included baseball, hockey, and football.

Different days meant different sports for us to indulge in. The neighbors who lived behind my family had a massive backyard that was perfect for baseball. We spent countless summer days in what felt like our own little PNC Park. As the littlest one that played baseball, I was sure to be picked last. The only way I ever got picked sooner was if one of my older brothers was captain and they wanted to make me feel good. If I didn’t get picked last I was feeling like a million bucks because at the time I did not realize they were just doing it to make me feel good about myself. Once everyone divided up into two teams it was time to “play ball”. We had benches set up like our own little dugout and often spent hours upon hours going into extra innings that weren’t even necessary, but were nonetheless enjoyable. Most people would not think of running in circles around bases for hours upon hours as fun, but it never failed to entertain us.

Some other days we spent playing street hockey. This was always my favorite sport to play and the games often got quite competitive. We played every game like it was game seven of the Stanley Cup final where you either win it all or go home with nothing. My brother often found himself pretending to be goaltender Patrick Roy, his favorite player from the Colorado Avalanche; while I always wanted to be like Mario Lemieux, the star forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins. We had two red raggedy, plastic goals that were worn down from being shot on so much. The nets on them were once white but had turned a sort of brown from getting so dirty. We frequently found ourselves having to move the goals every so often so that a car could pass through the road. It probably wasn’t the safest idea playing in the middle of the road, but it’s the only place that was big enough for all of us to rollerblade on. Countless hours were spent skating back and forth on that hot pavement trying to put the ball in the goal. I think this was my favorite sport because it was one where I could help make plays and did not need to be very strong.

If we weren’t playing baseball or hockey, it’s likely that we were playing football. We always started out playing two hand touch in our big, grassy backyard. After we had been playing the game for a while, and emotions got brought into play, it always seemed to get a little bit more aggressive and turn into tackle. Since I was the littlest one out of everyone, I frequently found myself being tossed about the backyard like a little rag doll. The only way for me to escape being flung like this was to outrun the competition. The only problem with that was that their legs were much longer and stronger than mine. Once I got the ball I was pretty much doomed to being knocked down, but this still did not keep me from trying my best in the game. No matter how much I got thrown around I would not stop playing, mostly because my brothers would make fun of me and call me a “baby” or a “chicken”. Even though it sounds like torture, it was still entertaining and fun to me.

Although my experience does not seem exactly like Welty’s, it is actually quite similar. Welty talks about her parents not being able to afford books as children. She says “”my father was all the while carefully selecting and ordering away for what he and Mother thought we children should grow up with.” (362).Just as Welty’s parents valued books when they were younger, my parents valued playing sports so they found it important to spend money on providing us with equipment to play whatever sports we chose.

Also, just like Welty uses the skills she learned while reading in her everyday life, I also use what I learned as a child playing sports in my everyday life. It all came in very handy when I started playing sports in high school. Always pushing myself to be my best when I was little formed good habits for when I was older. Once I got to high school, I refused to give up and I always pushed myself to test my limits not only in games but also in practices. It is probably because of the drive I had when I was little that I was able to be captain in two of the sports I played in high school. I still use this drive when I workout while at school to keep myself healthy.

The work ethic I learned while playing sports also relates to my schoolwork as well because it taught me to never give up and to push myself to do my best. I also has made me competitive and showed me not to settle for mediocre work. When I do an assignment I make sure it is done to the best of my ability.


*I know I still need to add outside sources I was just struggling with how to put those in. I also wasn't quite sure on how to conclude my paper.