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David Tase
Intro. To Sports Studies
Sportography Assignment










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Sports are a huge part of many individuals lives and the impact can be dramatic and
influence people throughout their lives. Sports have a great impact on todays society and the
different social contexts they are in for different people. Whether it is sports or just any type of
physical activity, it will have some type of impact on your socialization and how you go about
your life in the future.(Simson) Sports can be a good experience and have positive results or it
could be a negative experience and affect you negatively in the future in different social
areas.(Rector) The way sports and different events are today are very different to those that took
place fifty years and have a huge impact on the way they influence our society and the people in
them.
Personal Sportographies
In my life I have experience and have been a part of sports for a long time and the impact
they have had on me has been dramatic and have shaped me to be the person I am today. I used
to play tee-ball when I was in the second grade and I was only playing it for fun and to just keep
active. I was never really a fan of tee-ball or baseball but I played to just give it a try. My mom
and dad always supported me and enjoyed watching me. I remember I always loved to play with
my teammates and we always got along. My coaches were also very helpful and supportive of
us. One major thing I do remember during the season is we were getting team pictures taken on
a Saturday and I was so excited and everything to show off my uniform and be with my team.
But for some reason me and my family forgot about them and missed our time to be with the
team in the photography. I was heartbroken and began to ball as soon as we showed up and
figured out we missed the photo. The photographers were still there and I got my own photo
taken but all I did the whole time was cry. My pictures were taken with tears in my eyes and a
broken heart. I just wanted to be with my team and have my picture taken with the team that
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meant so much to me. I even remember my mom started crying too because her baby son was so
heartbroken that it made her sad and she knew how much that team meant to me. So that
experience really impacted me and the people around me because it gave me a social being in my
life at that time and that team meant the world to me and my self confidence as a kid.
The main sport that I played in my life was soccer in which I played for about five years.
I wasnt too sure if I would enjoy it or not but I gave it a try during my fifth grade year almost
before my middle school years. I started to enjoy it and was only playing for a club team but it
really gave me a different social aspect in my life and was a lot of fun. I remember I made a lot
of new friends and met a lot of new people during my beginning years of soccer and I only
continued to get better. I was only playing for the club team for my first two years and it was
with the same group of guys and we all became great friends and really close and we were
winning. It was a great highlight in my life and they were like my second family. My family
loved to see me play and always rooted me on and pushed me to become the best I could be.
One negative part that I will always remember is my dad on the sidelines. He was always there
for me and pushed me to the limits but I always remember every game all I would hear is him on
the sidelines critiquing my every mood and yelling at me. I know he just wanted me to become
better but after a while it just got old and had a negative effect on me and my performance. He
made me feel like I wasnt good enough or that I just sucked. He made it seem like everything I
did was wrong and it got to my head after a while. But once I reached the seventh grade, which
was my first year of middle school, I could have tried out for the school team but I was just so
used to and attached to my younger teammates who were still all mainly in sixth grade that I
didnt try out for the school team. So once eighth grade came around and all my friends and
teammates were in middle school I tried out for the team because I felt more comfortable. But
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once the tryouts were over I told I was cut and not good enough. I felt heartbroken, distraught
and just miserable. I was a very good soccer player and everyone saw that but I just wasnt good
enough. I didnt know what to do or think so I just went about my regular life for the next
couple days then all of a sudden I was at my house and the phone rings and my mom answered
and once she was done she looked at me with a smile and a tear in her eye and she said that it
was the middle school coach and he said he made a mistake and put me back on the team. I
didnt know whether to be sad, upset or happy. It was as though I was already heartbroken but
then I was told otherwise, which do I believe? It felt as though the coach just felt bad and just
put me back on the team, but I kept to myself and played for the school team my eighth grade
year. This was a major turning point in my sports part of my life because I felt like I wasnt
good enough. Then I kept playing and once I reached ninth grade which was my first year of
high school I tried out for the team and figured I would easily make it due to the fact of knowing
almost all the kids and playing with them just a year ago. We were pushed to the limits and ran
till we almost puked. It was grueling but I knew it would be worth it in the end. My parents still
supported me and couldnt wait until our first game because there was nothing that could go
wrong, right? Well this all changed when the last day of try outs were over and the varsity and
junior varsity teams were posted on the shed. Once we were dismissed we were all running over
trying to see who made what. Once I reached the shed I looked but I didnt see my name and I
knew I had to have misread it so as I walked away I went back and looked again to see and I
wasnt seeing things, I didnt make the team. When I went get my stuff to leave a couple guys
asked me if I made it because they could see the look in my eye and I said no and thats all I
could say. I worked all this time and put in so must effort and will and it all amounted to
nothing. It just didnt seem fair, so once I went to my mom and dad who were waited I just
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didnt say anything and once we drove away all I could do is bust out in tears. All my friends
and second family made the team but I was left alone. It felt like a part of me was taken away
and it was. Soccer was everything to me and had such a huge social aspect in my life it was as
though it was necessary to survive. I just remember feeling like my heart was ripped out and I
had nothing to look forward to down the road. I eventually got over everything and moved on
with life but when I went to one soccer game that season I remember the head coach came up to
me and asked if I wanted to be the equipment manager and travel with the team. It was as
though they knew they screwed up and was trying to win me back but I couldnt, so I just said
no. That to me was the turning point in my life because I stuck up for myself because I made
more to live for. From that day forward I never played on a soccer team for the rest of my life so
far. I just didnt want to be heartbroken again and that is a decision that may haunt me the rest of
my life because I know I was good enough it just didnt seem worth it. So all in all soccer really
shaped me to be the person I am today, because you may get knocked down a few pegs but you
can always get back up and fight. So I just believe that sports are still a huge part of my life and
I love watching them and playing them for fun, but this experience of mine was a great ride and I
met a ton of new people and friends and was a huge social aspect the made me the friends I still
have to this day. I hope to someday be an athletic director of some sort and I will always have
sports be a part of my life no matter what.
Other Personal Sportographies
The first person I talked to was my grandmother and asked her a couple questions about
her experience with sports. She said that since she went to school before the 1970s and there
was really no sports team for females of any sort. She said that physical activity was not a big
part of the society in which she lived in because there was nothing available and also everyone
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was busy working or trying to keep a living. During her time she said she loved to play different
games at her house outside with her family but that was all that she was ever exposed to because
her family wouldnt allow her to play with anyone else because she had to help around the house
as all the other kids had to. But she did say she loved to play games but there were no structured
sports teams around her or at her school. The only type of socialization she got was at school or
just at her house with her family. She also noted that since she was a female that opportunities
were tougher for females than they were males due to the gender inequality going on still during
her time.
The other person I talked to was my mom and asked her the same questions. Although
she did play some sports there were some similarities because she also said that the females
opportunities were not as good for females then there were for males. My mom played field
hockey and basketball in her high school. She said that in elementary school and middle high
that she was never exposed to any types of sports or physical activities at school. During her
younger years she would just play with the neighborhood kids down the street with just different
games they made up. But in high school she was exposed to more social teams with structured
teams and rules. She was able to play field hockey and basketball but she mainly liked to play
field hockey. It gave her a sense of being part of a team and let her socialize with other girls and
enjoy sports since not a lot of females were interested in sports at the time. My mom said that
sports were just a way to get away from everything and enjoy the atmosphere and culture. She
said that sports had a big impact on her life and helped her also grow her personality and way she
looked at sports because it just gives everyone a different social context they need. Although she
never won any trophies or anything just the feeling and impact sports during her high school
years helped my mom appreciate and acknowledge what sports mean to some people.
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Comparing my experiences with my grandmothers and mothers experiences during our
different time periods I could tell some big differences in the impact and socialization context
from then till now. Back then sports were not as a big of a deal as they are now and werent
even around in at some points as well. The gender differences also played a key part in sports
and who they were available to as to compared to now where there are equal right almost
everywhere for gender biases. Sport and physical activity played a key social aspect in all three
of our lives and seemed to help us all grow as individuals and meet new people. The biggest
difference I could tell is how back then winning wasnt everything and things were more about
the socialization and fun aspect as compared to now where everyone wins at all costs. Sports
have changed drastically over the past ten years where coaches and players only care about
winning and will win at all costs even it means breaking a kids dream and heart. I dont ever
think sports will ever go back to being the way they were before all the cheating and win at all
costs mottos but looking the positive side is looking at what a great socialization opportunity it
give for kids and teen all across the world and helps them grow to the individuals they will
become.








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References
- Simson S. Rosalind. (2011). The Title IX Athletic Regulations and the Ideal of a Gender-
free Society. Sports and Entertainment Law Journal, 1-54. Retrieved from
http://www.law.du.edu/documents/sports-and-entertainment-law-
journal/issues/11/SIMSON-FINAL-SELJ-FALL-2011.pdf
- Nikpour, Noelle. (2011). Impact of Sports. Sun Sentential, 1-6. Retrieved from
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-10-02/news/fl-nncol-sports-oped1002-
20111002_1_health-benefits-healthy-bones-wonderful-sports
- Mercer, Lisa. (2011). How does Sports Affect you socially? Sports Strong Journa, 6-9.
Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/536430-how-does-sports-affect-you-
psychologically/
- Rector, Lucy. (2012). The Benefits of Team Sports. Education, 1-8. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Ed_Benefits_Team_Sports/
- Brittain, Ian. (2012). The Games People Play Have Lasting Effects on Our Culture and
Economy. Boise Weekly, 4-8. Retrieved from http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/good-
sports-the-impact-of-a-sporting-economy/Content?oid=2697837