Finding Childhood Discourses
Parents start their kids off with sports around the age of five to six. Some of the most popular starter sports are gymnastics, soccer, swimming, baseball and many more. I started off playing soccer at the age of five, and then played hockey and gymnastics at the age of six. I did not choose any of these sports, my parents choose them in hopes that I would one day love a sport and want to continue on playing it.
Sports are essential for childhood development as they build character. As once said by Coach John Wooden of the UCLA basketball team, “Sports do not build character. they reveal it.” Being on a team involves working with others and overcoming differences to be successful. Sports are also crucial for other types of development. “…sports play a primarily positive role in youth development, including improved academic achievement, high self-esteem, fewer behavior problems, and better psychosocial” (Truesport.org). Every child should be involved in a type of sport to promote these behaviors.
James Paul Gee wrote a paper called Literacy, Discourse, And Linguistics Introduction. He introduced a term called Discourse. He describes Discourses as, “…ways of being in the world; they are forms of life which integrate words, acts, values, beliefs, attitudes, and social identities” (7). A sport is essentially what Gee terms a Discourse. Finding the correct sport Discourse is the issue for many parents and children. The way to find the correct sport is to try many of them out. I played hockey starting at six years old, took a break for many years while I played soccer and picked hockey up again in high school. I played soccer, hockey and lacrosse through high school. I knew I wanted to play soccer in college because every since I was little soccer never compared to any other sport I played.
Once my parents and I found out that I wanted to be in the Discourse of soccer I started playing on a few different leagues. I played for two different town teams when I was twelve. These town teams gave me the foundation to move onto higher level of play teams. Then once I was in high school I began playing for a club team called Seacoast United. I played on Seacoast United for three years. Seacoast really helps kids develop skills to become experienced players. Throughout Seacoast I was also playing on my high school team and a women's summer league team. All the hard work I put into finding my sport Discourse when I was a child paid off because now I am playing my favorite sport in college.
Finding the correct Discourse is a hard thing to do but for me and for everyone a like, it does come. Parents must encourage their children to try numerous sports. Whatever sport they like, let them stick with it and see where it takes them. Sports involve traveling and other expenses but the end result is always worth it. It takes time but if a person stays committed they will eventually find their true Discourse.
