Being Competitive

A crucial characteristic to have when it comes to playing sports is being competitive. This drives athletes to obtain and accomplish their goals. Without competition sports wouldn't be fun. Imagine a stadium full of fans that didn't care if their team won, let alone the athletes not caring. This would bring no adrenaline rush or intensity to the game. I believe every athlete out there has, or at least should have, some type of competitive bone in their body. Where do you draw the line though?

When trying to be competitive and scare away the competition you should do it in a respectful manner. This includes having good sportsmanship, and not doing anything that will seriously harm an athlete’s self-esteem or physical state. Being respectful will not only make you look like a better athlete to your teammates, but it will make you more desirable to coaches and other teams will respect you as well. An athlete who knows his/her boundaries as a respectable person will benefit in every way. 

Though being competitive means being respectful, it also means having fun and simply playing for the love of the game. Athletes can be competitive and have the desire to win without harming others. Granted, athletes will get hurt and there's not much you can do about it. If you want to look intimidating there are other ways to go about it. An athlete’s posture/stance has a huge impact on how they are perceived by other athletes. By simply having a straight and determined face you can get into other athletes' heads. This causes no physical harm, but causes others to over think their playing. Some people, however, react positively to a little friendly competition and can rise to the occasion.

The main reason people play or watch sports is for the competition aspect of it. Yes, many people simply love the game and that's all there is to it for them, but others love the adrenaline rush and strive to overcome the physical and emotional barriers involved in playing. The competitiveness of the game is why some athletes pursue their career. Nothing can come between an athlete and their love of the game and their desire to win. Being competitive is an extremely important characteristic to have in the world of sports, but there's no denying the passion shown through athletes who truly and whole-heartedly love the sport they play. "Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her." -Mia Hamm (Life Daily)