THE PENNY PUB
A Journey Through Sports
How childhood adventures, neurodiversity, and family traditions shaped my relationship with sports
The 2024 Olympics are coming! Hence, I began to reflect on my relationship with sports from this writing prompt. Over the years, my attitude towards sports has changed immensely, it was characterized by moments of enthusiasm as well as uninterested periods and some difficult encounters. Every stage, whether playing, watching, or avoiding them, sports have shaped my views and connection with the sports world.
When I was young, I couldn’t do without sports. My first memories included playing soccer at the local youth league. Today, I can still remember dressing for a game. It was so exciting to run across a pitch and be overjoyed at scoring a goal. Soccer introduced me to the sporting universe; there, I learned about teamwork, resilience, and keeping fit all through life.
With time passing by, other sports disciplines found their place in my interest. Next came basketball, which became another obsession of mine. The coach who put me up to join the school team taught us discipline and hard work, among other things.
Hours upon hours spent practicing dribbles, shooting hoops or running drills were both exhausting and rewarding experiences for me personally. What I loved during that period was the friendship and adrenaline pumping rapidly on match days along with my mates.
My explorations in other sports include tennis and swimming, having also tried gymnastics. Every sport exposed me to a new physicality about my body and forced me to put myself in varied ways.
Naturally, I began watching games as well since I enjoyed playing them. Some of the best times were when we sat with my family and shouted out loudly when our team would score. Sunday afternoons were for NFL football on TV, and Super Bowl season was one of the highlights of my year. My father would discuss plans for games as well as how players performed afterward during games. This enhanced my knowledge and love for the game.
I love the Olympic Games more than anything else in sports. The splendor accompanying the opening ceremonies, the amazing performances, and the stories behind athletes making it after overcoming unconquerable challenges got me hooked. I can vividly recall sitting with Mom, watching gymnastics competitions while admiring participants’ elegance combined with the strength that they demonstrated. It became clear how these Olympics motivated people by displaying the ultimate limits of human achievement through determination.
However, my journey with the sporting world hasn’t been all plain sailing. When I was in high school, I was injured in successive accidents that made sports participation harder for me. One such injury that affected my knee during a soccer competition saw me benched for months, while another one on the shoulder during basketball season only compounded the matter. The pain of these injuries was hard enough, but to feel unable to participate in my favorite games was even tougher.
These injuries made me rethink how I approached sports. I started concentrating more on recovery and maintaining myself physically fit. Although there were no competitive games left for me to play, I turned to less intense recreation like yoga and hiking. These activities enabled me to still be active and maintain continuity both with movement as well as physical challenges, which had always characterized my life.
Being neurodiverse myself, I have experienced different cognitive and sensory experiences in my relationship with sports. I often lack concentration and manage my energy levels poorly, a characteristic of ADHD.
Sports provided me an opportunity to release the extra energy that I had through their rules, which are well structured, and the fact that they are physically demanding. This helped me control my symptoms, enhance my concentration as well as transform my fidgeting into something beneficial.
However, there were challenges, too. Sometimes, loud crowds, bright lights and intense competition became very overwhelming due to sensory overload. For instance, during breaks, I would wear noise-canceling headphones or take time off to relax after a match.
Moreover, despite these obstacles, my neurodiversity has also provided me with unique strengths for sports participation. One is my ability to concentrate on specific tasks — a characteristic among individuals living with ADHD known as hyperfocus. When I eventually found a sport that excited me, it became part of me, allowing me to spend hours upon hours practicing to improve on the techniques employed within it.
Sports have also played a significant role in my family traditions. Every year, we host a Super Bowl party, complete with themed decorations, delicious food, and friendly betting pools. It’s a time for family and friends to come together, share in the excitement of the game, and create lasting memories.
Again, we do the family Olympics every year. This time, we were inspired by the actual event and had our fun little competitions in summer. Races like relays and tug of war are meant to make us happier and more attached.
The 2024 Olympics is at hand; it would be nice to get further inspiration from the extraordinary athletes once again. I have gone through passion, disappointments, growth, and adaptations for sports.
Since my childhood soccer days, sports have provided me with a lot of lessons as well as helped me manage my neurodiversity while bringing my family closer to each other. No matter how many times I am in the fields playing or watching and reflecting on what happened after a competition, sports will always be dear and important to me.
