• Question: My teacher just says that it help to eccell in sport,do you agree?

    Asked by etherdenc09 to Helen, Jenni, Mark, Martin, Stu on 16 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Jenni Tilley

      Jenni Tilley answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      A lot of people take a lot of satisfaction from doing sports – it keeps them healthy, they enjoy the comradery of being on a team, and they like pushing their bodies. Exercise also causes the brain to release endorphins – our natural ‘happy’ chemical! It’s als a great way to meet people.

      I’m not sure if you need to excel though – I’ve always been rubbish at sport, but willing to have a go, and I haven’t suffered much!

    • Photo: Helen O'Connor

      Helen O'Connor answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      I think people learn a lot of skills in sports that can help then in the rest of their life: how to work hard, set goals, learn to be confident and motivated, how to be a team player, how to manage your emotions (like anxiety or anger or stress). These are all skills that could really useful in anything you do – at work, school, university.

    • Photo: Stuart Mourton

      Stuart Mourton answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      I think playing sports is really important. As Helen says, so much of what you learn in sport can be transfered into life, and lots of very important lessons can be learnt on a sports field. I’m not sure you HAVE to excell at a sport, although setting yourself goals to improve may lead to you being very good at your given activity.

    • Photo: Mark Burnley

      Mark Burnley answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      If you mean it helps people in life, then I’d agree. If you mean it helps to study sports science, then I’d be less inclined to agree. I’d like to think I’m a pretty good sports scientist, but I’ve not excelled in sport as such (I didn’t get school or university colours). In fact, NOT excelling at sport has probably helped me because I can look at sports performance from a different perspective from somebody who has invested their whole life into it. A lot of people who do excel at sport also have a very fixed way of doing things and thinking about things, which may not help you become a scientist or really understand how the body works. Obviously not everybody is like that, and perhaps a mix of being good at sport but also being open-minded is the best 🙂

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