Background

    You all know that it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to talk about high school sports. In this blog scores and your regular sports stories will not be discussed. Issues with high school sports among other things will be discussed. Each week a new question will be asked and answered.  This week is just background information that we must get through.
    The start of sports, not modern day, dates all the way back to the time of ancient Greece. Greece is famous for their competitiveness and forging the way for modern day sports. The first olympics were recorded in Greece. Though they were not like the modern day olympics, they paved the way for our modern day event. Then, and now athletes were treated like celebrities of great status and power. Athletes get just as much attention draw to them as the president of the United States. Sports have changed greatly from the time of the ancient olympics. Track like events and horse races were a staple in the ancient olympics now, sports seems to be boiled down to the four major sports; basketball, football, soccer, and baseball. Though these four sports are widely considered the four “main” sports two of them are not even considered an olympic event.
    Unlike other forms of entertainment, sports can be appreciated by nearly everyone on the planet. There is a sport for everybody out there. Whether it be archery, or football. Almost everyone can appreciate some sort of physical activity, which is why sports are such and interest for me. Not only can sports be enjoyed by just about everyone but they also give kids a way to vent and they give kids a safe haven. It has been proven that kids who actively participate in sports are less likely to end up in trouble. I can account for this first hand. If it weren’t for playing sports, I would not care what grades I would get, I would not care what I do in my own personal free time because it wouldn't effect anything. But since I do play sports I strive to do the best I can so I can continue playing sports without being ineligible for any reason. If someone is dedicated to a sport, it can keep them focused and goal oriented, which is a very important thing in life. Another reason why sports interests me is because sports give you real world lessons every day. For example: sports are the epitome of life not being fair, you will never win at everything. It also teaches kids to be adamant about working hard because if they can work hard they will see positive results. Also it teaches them that nothing is handed to them on a silver platter.
    Clearly sports are played by both men and women, and that high school sports are played by kids in high school generally from the ages of 14-18. Many kids around the country participate in sports related activities. Despite the economy statistics are showing more and more students are becoming student athletes. For the 20th consecutive year participation has increased in high school sports. 3,114,091 girls and 4,422,662 boys participating in high school sports in  2008-09 (NFHS.org). Football is the number one sport for high school student athletes with over 1 million participates nation wide.
    As you can see, sports are a passionate subject for me, and I very much enjoy talking about them. More stories to come in the weeks ahead. Stories about performance enhancing drugs, the economies effect on sports and much more.

" NFHS | High School Sports Participation Increases for 20th Consecutive Year." NFHS | National Federation of State High School Associations. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2010. <http://www.nfhs.org/content.aspx?id=3505>.


"Ancient Olympic Games - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Olympic_Games>.