For as long as I can remember, many of my friends and I have been very athletic. In fact, the majority of the people at both my middle and high school participated in some type of sport. As we grew older a lot of us also got worn out too. When we started applying for colleges, deciding whether or not to continue playing for a team was going to be the catalyst of our choices. Some people chose to go on, and others chose to leave it in the past.
I chose not to continue on with my swimming career in college 1. because I wasn't good enough and 2. because I just wouldn't have the time. Any athlete who has a passion for their sport understands how hard it is to drop everything and leave after many years of hard work put in. Sometimes though, it reminds us that all of it made us stronger.
From my experience, not doing a sport in college has had many wonderful benefits.
For starters, I have time! Since I have been at school, I have participated in various clubs and extracurricular activities. In high school, going to practice is something that eventually consumes every athlete's life, and leaves little room for expressing any other interests.
Now, I finally have time to do whatever I need to do without worrying about time crunching for a meet or practice.
Another wonderful thing about not doing sports in college is the time it gives you to mentally relax. Sports are very stressful for not only the body but the mind as well. It is very taxing mentally to push your body past its limits every day for the sake of improvement, and your body feels it as well. Athletes are constantly hungry, tired, and in pain. It becomes especially difficult to stop when all your coaches and teammates are cheering you on too.
Now, I just relax as I please and find myself more stress-free than before.
Along with my new found free time, I now have the ability to plan my own day instead of following a regular agenda. Going to practice used to be an everyday and definite event. Planning out my own days without the hassle of having to train leaves room for spontaneity to guide.
This new found freedom now means anything could happen.
Although discontinuing swimming has brought many good things into my life, I also regret leaving behind all good it brought me with its presence in my life. Most athletes grow up playing with the people on their teams for many years. I constantly think about all the amazing people and memorable times with the girls I grew up swimming with. A bond is formed between you and everyone else and you're there for support on and off the field. Being on a team teaches you the importance of cooperation and communication.
While sports really do kick your ass, they are rather good for you.
I was arguably more in shape when I was swimming miles every day, than now simply working out everyday instead. A lot of sports teams require their athletes to follow a strict diet and work out plans in order to mold them into the perfect competitor, and it works. For a good duration of the year, your body is in tip-top shape and you find yourself at your healthiest.
Being apart of a sports team is wonderful because of the discipline it teaches you. Every athlete is required to maintain a certain GPA in order to remain on the team. The motivation to compete becomes your pressure to work hard in every facet of your life. You discipline yourself to resist the temptation to want to go out knowing that you should probably stay in and study or rest instead of going out. You also find yourself disciplining yourself to continue on because more often than not the reward is worth all the pain.
All in all, there is the good and the bad of being on a sports team. Yet, it is something that many athletes wouldn't take back for the world. You learn some of your most valuable lessons from working alongside other people who have the same interests and goals as you. You are all working together to help each other and through that, you become one. Not to mention, you learn many valuable skills all the while staying fit.
At the same time though, college is a very stressful time in itself. Everything, even the sports are amped up in intensity. Now more than ever it is essential to stay on top of your grades, your job, and your extra-curricular activities considering how competitive everything starts to become.
At the very least though, you had sports to teach you how to come out on top or die trying.