Pros and Cons of Basketball - Essay Example

Hon Lok Ho Julie Morfee Ewrt 1A Section 37 4 March, Physical Activity: Basketball Nowadays, people often spend their time at work or at school. The only thing they care about is what they can do to increase their chances of promotion or how much time they should spend on their assignments to receive a better grade. Most of the people in urban cities barely care about doing physical activities to stay healthy. However, the key to success at work or at school is to maintain a healthy lifestyle and ensure punctuality at work and school everyday. Physical activity and exercise are indispensable for all of us. I was a member of the basketball team in high school, and I can say that playing basketball for years has shaped me into the person I am today. Basketball has benefited me a lot, in terms of both physical and mental health. The physical activity I recommend is basketball. It is essential for basketball players to build strong mental health in addition to physical health. In order to make great achievements, personal skills alone are not the main contributors to success. Passion, team spirit and willingness to introspect are also essential qualities. I have been playing basketball for at least seven years now and I find it to be a really good sport. Basketball is a unique sport. Through my experiences over the years, I have found that my mind has become more mature and so have my skills. By participating in basketball matches since I was eleven, I have found that practice is not the only key to winning a game. Accurately identifying the opponents’ strengths and weaknesses can help a team gain a higher score. Therefore, I agree with Gladwell and Crawfords argument that physical activities require imagination, creativity as well as flexibility rather than blindly following textbook knowledge. While physical abilities are important for playing basketball, the importance of mental abilities also needs to be acknowledged. The height of a basketball player is one of the most important factors. If the height of an individual is not very low when compared to average height, he has a chance of becoming a good player. However, the main difference between a superstar and a normal player is not just their physical abilities, but their humbleness to improve on their weaknesses and sustain their strengths. In The Physical Genius, Malcolm Gladwell shares the secret of how Michael Jordan, the lord of basketball became the legend of this sport by spending a large part of his time wisely on reflection rather than exercise. He explains that though Michael Jordan and Karl Malone have unique skills that helped them become outstanding players, the only difference between them is that the former introspects his weaknesses and imagines how Malone would use these to beat him if they were in a real match. Mentality and reflection is probably the biggest difference between them (8). When I was the leader of my team, I would send one of my teammates as a “spy” to observe the strengths and weaknesses of our next opponent during their regular practice. By observing the opponents strategies and plots, we would find out the best way to beat them and score points by exploiting their loopholes. One of our team’s consensus is that knowing the imperfections of our enemies is the key to our victory. Our “spy-system” helped us a lot in our successes that would have been difficult to achieve with daily practice alone. If you have ever watched an NBA match or some playoff highlights, you would find that there are thousands of strategies that basketball players use during offense and defense. One can never learn all of them in a lifetime. Besides, some strategies may work better on someone while others work better on someone else. We need to choose the right strategy. In different situations, we need to apply different plans. For example, when my team is leading the game, I apply strategies that help us use up more time to prevent the opponents from scoring points. When we are at risk of losing a game due to a lower score, I apply strategies that help us breakdown the opposing teams offense. Therefore, we need to use different strategies in different ways at different times, choosing them wisely. People may question where do these strategies come from? Are they from textbooks? Definitely not. These strategies are created by players by reflecting on their actual experiences on the court and learning through these experiences. Without developing new strategies, players cannot make great improvements through regular training. In The Case for Working with Your Hands, Matthew Crawford argues that simply following a written manual does not necessarily mean one can do a job well. He states, “These manuals tell you to be systematic in eliminating variables, presenting an idealized image of diagnostic work. But they never take into account the risks of working on old machines. So you put the manual away and consider the facts before you” (6). The author describes that he does not agree with the idea of blindly following what the textbook states. It is true that the knowledge shown in a textbook is based on observations of hundreds or thousands of matches and it can absolutely tell you what to do in different situations. However, the decision of choosing which strategy to choose and at what time, is all up to the player, as a successful player not just follows books, but faith and the learning he derives from his own experiences. In my years of playing basketball, I found that it is important to be passionate. If you are interested in the game, you will have a greater intention to play it well and to improve yourself. In The Case for Working With your Hands, Matthew Crawford describes his own principle toward life. He writes “Ultimately it is enlightened self interest, then, not a harangue about humility or public-spiritedness, which will compel us to take a fresh look at the trades” (7). The author indicated that one’s self interest is one of the most important factors that lead to success. Having a strong passion for something implies that an individual loves to do it deep down in his heart, and the love is not easily influenced by other factors. Ever since I was interested in basketball, I have been fully motivated to devote every single minute of my free time to basketball. No matter how bad the weather is, I keep going to the basketball court and practice for at least an hour. The reason is simple – passion. Another reason for my love for basketball is that I developed a strong friendship with my teammates and have placed a lot of trust in them through the years. I once was a very self-centered person. I tried to get as many points as I could in the matches I participated in. However, my coach suspended me for my egocentricity and made me contemplate on my behavior. At that time, whenever I watched over my teammates training, I found that they actually did better when they worked together as a team. I then realized the importance of harmony and cooperation. Soon, I got back into my team and participated actively towards building team spirit. With weeks of continuous practice, I started to develop a chemistry with the team and everything went on smoothly. I started understanding each of my teammate’s strength, weakness and habits well. Thereafter, whenever we were in the game, we could still hand the ball precisely to each other, even if the opponents blocked our vision. Day after day, I have developed a deep sportsmanship with my teammates. Each of our members is indispensable and unique and missing any one of us is just like missing a piece of a puzzle. It might sound a bit old-school, but it is true that unity is strength. There is no doubt that you can play well if you are born to be a basketball genius. However, superstars like Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol still need to practice a lot to have a consistent performance and develop strong bonds with their team. After all, the only motivation that pushes them to keep on practicing is passion. No matter what activities one engages in, being interested in it is always the biggest motivation towards striving for better performance. Playing basketball not only keeps people healthy, but also brings them a sense of belonging by engaging them in teamwork and building up passion towards something. Works Cited Crawford, Matthew. "The Case for Working With Your Hands." The New York Times. 21 May 2009, n. pag. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. Gladwell, Malcolm." The Physical Genius." Gladwell.com. n. pag. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. Read More