Sports Person - As a career option

Introduction

Remember that special cricket match you saw with your father? Or that crazy Olympics football match that you and your friends saw together? The hopes and dreams of people and nations at stake.

The excitement, the anticipation and the thrill of the audience. The true test of physical fitness and presence of mind. All this is possible for us to witness due to the constant hard-work and practice of our athletes in the fields, courts, and rings.

From the very beginning of time, sports and sportspersons have received a heightened stature in society. Even today as internet and marketing fill our surroundings with sports-based slogans and one-liners, the spirit of sports and sportsmanship lives on.

It takes a great deal of commitment and dedication in pursuing the field of sports. Pain is an understatement and the labor is unending. But the sweet taste of victory and accomplishment is worth it all, only if you truly know what it’s like to win.

What does it take to be a Sports Person?

To speak the truth, sports is that one sphere that takes everyone in without any distinction. Of course, some people are born athletes but with the right amount of diligence, discipline, practice and raw hard-work, anyone could pursue a career in sports.

Sports is broadly divided into two main categories, i.e. indoor sports and outdoor sports. Indoor sports are sports played in a covered environment and their arcades cover less such as Badminton, Table Tennis, Wrestling, etc., whereas outdoor sports are played in bigger and more open arcades for games like Cricket, Football, Lawn Tennis, etc.

So one may choose the sport of their preference but to excel in it totally depends upon the grind that they put into it.

Key features for development of a Sport Person

• Training

• Diet

• Physical Exercise

• Practice routines

• Competitions, etc.

In a normal football game of 90 minutes, a footballer on an average runs for about 9.5 miles. Even badminton and table tennis players cover over 2 miles throughout the court and table in each game.

In order to be able to perform the same way, each day take more than just an ordinary diet and an extraordinary regimen of exercise and practice. The link between good health and good nutrition is well established.

Interest in nutrition and its impact on sporting performance is now a science in itself. An athlete’s diet should be similar to that recommended for the general public, with energy intake divided into:

• More than 55 percent of carbohydrates

• About 12 to 15 percent of protein

• Less than 30 percent from fat

Practice routines are most often used before competitions to make sure that athletes are prepared to perform their best. They can also be valuable in two other areas. Routines can be developed in training to ensure that athletes get the most out of their practice time.

There are a lot of things in sport that athletes can’t control such as weather conditions and their opponent. Ultimately, the only thing athletes can control is themselves. Sports routines can increase control over their performances by enabling them to directly prepare every area that impacts their sport.

How to become a Sports Person?

If you feel that your true calling in out there on the field and that is where you can truly perform to the best of your abilities then sports is where you belong. To pursue this interest and turn it into your dedicated lifestyle you will need to choose a sport and then start training for the same.

Due to the increasing value of sports and sportspersons, most cities in India today have proper sports facilities. Some of these are even governed by the state or central government.

In case your city does not have the adequate means you could move to more advanced cities with regards to sporting facilities. In a way pursuing sports is quite similar to pursuing education; the primary difference being that of the kind of practice and toil that one puts in the two.

Once you’ve enrolled yourself in an academy or stadium authority that provides training in the respective sport that you are pursuing, your life becomes a highly disciplined and regulated one.

Beginning right from the tedious warm-ups to the long hours of practice, you will have to give it everything you’ve got in terms of your physical strength and stamina. Taking part in local, district and state level competitions are also going to be a crucial part of your career until you are finally ready to take your trails to the national level in your respective sport.

Alongside, many relatively materialistic things such as equipment and sporting gears will also matter to an extent, but one must remember that it’s not the equipment but the mind that take the shot.

A day in the life of a Sports Person

Hi, I’m a sportsperson and I play Table Tennis. I hail from the U.P. district and I’ve been playing the sport for the past seven years. My life is all about the practice that I put into it and the dream that I’m doing all this for.

I want to represent India at the Olympics in the upcoming years. I lead a disciplined life trying to balance my training, fitness, and diet all at once. Here’s a day in my life.

6:00 AM: Just got up, going for my morning run. This is a 5-kilometer run and the first of the day.

7:45 AM: It’s time for some heavy breakfast. Not too heavy though because after this I need to play for about two hours. The district level rankings are just around the corner. Once I clear them, it’ll be much easier for me to receive state funding to be a full-time sportsperson.

8:30 AM: I’m at the stadium now for my morning practice routines. Here I spend two hours each morning working on my forehand push and backhand push.

It amuses me when people who are completely new to the game try difficult serves and top-spins for hardly one week before deciding that the sport isn’t for them. I’ve been practicing for seven years and I still find it difficult.

10:30 AM: After a shower, I leave for college to attend my classes. I’m pursuing a B.A. in History through the sports quota at the University of Lucknow. I am also a member of the college table-tennis team and we play several inter-college championships, one of which we won last year, which has brought me quite a bit of a fan-following in college.

As I walk over to my class, I receive several pats on the back and a handful of smiles and winks.

1:30 PM: College just got over and I’m going home to take lunch and then rest for a while. It isn’t so much an afternoon siesta as it is a few minutes of muscle relaxation. I need this because of the rigorous training session that’s coming in a few hours.

4:00 PM: I’m at the stadium again. Starting to limber up for the second and more extensive practice session of the day. I will begin by making the newcomer practice and introducing them to basic strokes of table tennis.

It often tests your patience because it’s hard for them to get it right at first, but as a senior and guide, even that teaches you to have patience.

6:00 PM: I’m done with the juniors. Now it’s time to get my lob practice routines. I have a buddy at the other end who’s giving me easy services, and my job is to return with a lob shot that’s measured, controlled, and steady. Many won’t believe the amount of practice that it takes to get this basic skill perfect.

6:30 PM: The rubber that I use for my bat is corroding. I need to order a new one as I need more spin in my forehand top spins.

I’ve been using the same table-tennis bat for the past several years, and I’ve come to have an emotional attachment to it, Hence, I take good care of it.

7:30 PM: My colleagues and I will begin playing matches amongst ourselves now to prepare ourselves for the upcoming rankings. Also, my t-shirt is drenched in sweat. Need a change.

At this point, it has ceased to be practice and started being entertainment. We’re laughing and enjoying ourselves to the fullest. After an hour of this, or two, we’ll call it a day.

As you just read about me, it takes a lot of hard work and stamina for becoming a sports person. We hope this article proved to be a fruitful one for you. Have your say in the comment box below. Enjoy Reading!