Carrie Elizabeth Johnson, Black American Paralegal Student | InnovativeLegal, LLC. | Sports Engagement: Damaging or Strength in Character | Manchester Community College English Comp. Essay 1 Assignment | Written By: Carrie Elizabeth Johnson

MCC Course Syllabus Here




Carrie E. Johnson

English Composition 101 [ Manchester Community College]

Due Date: March 18, 2020

Sports Engagement: Damaging or Strength in Character

            The world of sports in America is both highly publicized and favored among many. Most American family’s opt-in for their children engaging in some form of sports, while attending school. Sports engagement in one’s adolescence was sought to build courage, improve a child’s social skills, frame the idea of teamwork as a workforce transferable skill to use later in their adult lives and thought to improve a child’s self-confidence. With consideration to writings of an English Professor at the University of Virginia, Mark Edmundson argues that sports do both build and damage one’s character.

            Raising the question does sports engagement build or damage one’s character, Edmundson’s article is supported by the experiences of himself as high school football player, his coaches approach to training the high school athletes, two famous football players, writings of Athenian Philosopher, Plato and historic events dating back to the ages of Greek Gods that skillful engaged in battles like a sport. Most of his argument is bias written from the male perception of his experiences with high school football coaches and the lives of males whose character was either publicly ruined when not engaged in the physical stimulation  of sports or triumphant in winning the game fearlessly. He lacks the dissecting of the female athlete’s perspective on rather it has either shaped the female character or damaged it in part because of the late entry of female athletes’ contributions to the world of sports in the United States. Since Edmundson argument lack the perceptive and data of the female athlete, I would argue that the engagement of sports does shape one’s character based on his written perception.

            With no evidence written on the personal males influences in Edmundson’s life, his first year of football training shows that his self-confidence was measured by the behavioral opinions of his training coaches that all had universal train of thought. He accounts the abusive training practices where the players lack hydration, as the coaches felt that water would make the players cramp up in the stomach area. Proving them wrong, Edmundson says the players would cramp up anyway and some were often leaving the practice field on a stretcher. Based on his observation of the players which was about 120, lack diversity and half of them made the cut. His training coaches lacked faith that he would make the cut but credits his inner strength, muscle and well-developed lungs kept him in the game. Admitting to liking the game of football, he conquered his self-consciousness while working under fatigue to be more reckless or tougher in the game of football. In retrospect, Edmundson argument for sports engagement building his character on his personal experiences is firmly supported as he had not succeeded in anything else at that time.

            Through the game, I learned to care more about how I judged this or that performance of mine and less about how the world did, says Edmundson. His experience playing football was met on a deeper level to improve his performance little by little. There was time when he felt like a failure in some games but through demanding practice, his commitment to show up every day and work hard towards a game that not everyone is gifted to play, his self-confidence was raised and no longer being measured by united opinions of his coaches that were not actually playing but more of influencer to aid him in his performance to either stay in the game or win fearlessly.

            The act of getting back up in life, as we experience the many pitfalls, hardships or setbacks in life contribute to one’s character building. Edmundson uses the experience a famous football player, named Tim Green that a one factor in playing football carries over into other experiences in life and that is the idea of “getting back up”. Feeling defeated in the job market, Edmundson lacked the inner strength to write his doctoral dissertation that he assumes would give him a greater advantage over 400 other prospective candidates for positions he desired because the act of writing did not give him the physical stimulation that he craved when he engaged in sports. However, he does prove to draw upon his preexisting inner strength that was not lost to commit to writing at the library and through practice he achieved his writing objectives by the end of summer. From his acquired inner strength developed during his days of playing football, I would argue that Edmundson ideology of the commit towards practicing something that he lack self-confidence in is supported in his argument that sports does build ones character and those experiences of practice can be applied to other life experiences.

            Edmundson views sports engagement as an imitation of war and often heroic in nature.  Going back to the era of the Greek Gods, he speaks on the Prince of Trojans, named Hector. Portrayed as a fierce warrior and athlete at that time, Hector on his worst day remain humane treating members of the Troy society with kindness. Like a light switch, Hector’s character possessed the ability to turn off his warrior like qualities when he is with his family. Sports engagement, Edmundson says, “where the horrors and the triumphs of combat are only mimicked”….At the time Hector’s character off the field, never making slanderous statements of his opponents, did not complain and never whined were favorable qualities that demonstrated a strength in character because the art of warrior was like a sport at that time. Greek Gods engaging in a battle of war brought a level of intensity like the game of football and the physical stimulation that builds the self-confidence of its warriors is acquired over time and with practice. Edmundson credits conquering his self-confidence and gaining faith through practice, like the Trojan warriors of the Greek Gods is firmly supported in strengthening one’s character little by little through the engagement of war like it was a sport. Eventually, Hector seals his fate after killing a friend of Achilles. Sports can be brutal and at that time of the Greeks the sport of war often shaped one’s character among the Trojan community by whomever triumph in victory.

            Modest in sharing his other personal experiences on the act of engaging in sports that may have developed his personal character over time, Edmundson gives no female contributions to the world of sports engagement in his writing to strengthen his argument nor bring diversity to the question raised, Does sports build character or damage it? He expresses his personal assumption that in female athletes that engage sports would like in male athletes would either build or damage a female’s character. Roughly, I stand firm in the exploration of both male and female athletes types of training, the experiences of the coaches training the athletes and the practice regiment for clues in the daily routine that would either build up ones character or damages it, while engaging in sports. As some individuals are gifted by default in the world of sports, others need daily practice to build up his or her self-esteem and inner strength to conquer other experiences later in life.

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Edmundson, Mark. “Do Sports Build Character or Damage It?” The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 15 Jan. 2012, www.chronicle.com/article/Do-Sports-Build-Character-or/130286.

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