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I am curious - what your favorite competition you have competed in? Whether it is just that the competition venue was awesome, the competition was fierce, or just that you worked so hard to get there….Whatever it is - I am just curious WHAT it was and WHY it is your favorite..
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Mine is for surely in high school wrestling. When I Was a freshman it was the match to go to state. I was a freshman he was a senior who was 38-2 and ranked #7 in the state. I Was a huge underdog and with 20 seconds to go in the match I was down 9-7. I then escaped to make the score 9-8. With 10 seconds left I took him down to take the lead 10-9. I advanced to state because of that much. All of my preparation and time training was all worth it. My dream came true. I got up and let out the biggest scream of my life. I stood there, victorious, happy.

i had some really great ones throughout my childhood between Boy Scout camps and soccer and volleyball, but i’d have to say the volleyball tournaments took the cake from a competition standpoint. we might’ve had more fun off the field at our soccer tournaments but the energy and fast-paced nature of the volleyball games made them more fun for me. squeezing 4-5 games into one day instead of 2 was also great because there was so much action. i don’t think i could do that now, but when you’re a kid you have soo much more energy and that seems like nothing, haha.

haha exactly. I agree. Some days it would be amazing to go back to being a kid and feel full of energy (without loads of coffee or energy drinks).

i loved soccer!! it was a sport i was pretty good in.. i LOVED the game and took it to heart.. i did track but not so much for the competition and basketball was not my favorite sport so my heart was not in it..
 
when i did a figure comp it was not about beating the other girls but proving myself that i coudl do it.. it was my first comp and i didnt expect to win but the rush i felt on that stage was amazing!!!!
 
in all i loved soccer… that was my thing!

 
What about soccer did you enjoy? Was it the actual competition against other teams and individuals or was it simply the love of the game? Do you consider yourself a pretty fierce competitor?
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I loved wrestling so much because I literally became a different person on the mat. I became ferocious. Nothing was going to stop me from winning. Only I could beat myself. That was my mindset anyway. It was my biggest source of stress relief and the biggest sense of satisfaction I ever felt. Very fulfilling and every single day I left practice feeling like I accomplished something. I would lay there, exhausted. But, feeling better than most because I know I Was one step closer to my goals!

Mike…
I loved soccer because it was challenging and fun… I was so competitive especially when i was younger… School was not my forte growing up… i was not in the honors classes but i wanted to be the BEST in something and sports was were i excelled.. I won most athletic girl… If i out my mind to something i do it 110%… That’s why i wont bother doing a marathon because i know that i would be the best due to shin splints, planter fasciitis ect.. I loved running because i was faster then most people, i liked challenging my opponent because i was aggressive and competitive and not scared to get hurt (omg lol i am so different now), and i had great hand eye coordination… I guess that’s what i loved about the sport… it was just something was good at and had fun…
 
I wish they had a girl’s roller hockey or just hockey team… I would have dominated!

Haha! So you were sort of a wreckless type of athlete? Just win at all costs? That is awesome! That is how being a kid should be. I mean being a kid in sports anyway haha (not in other kid activities, of course). Sports should provide the platform for development and the encouragement of those skills (competitive fire, drive, integrity, teamwork, etc).

For me I Am always mixed. Because I. Absolutely. Loved. Football. It was my life. THAT is what I trained for. I jsut happened to be pretty decent at wrestling because of that training and mindset. However, as a football team we just were not very good. So, I always gave it my absolute all, but, my teammates didn’t prepare as hard as I did. They didn’t lift that often (only maybe 5 out of 11 starters did). They didn’t show up regularly to off-season running programs either. So, I was much more invested. I would be the one very shaken after a loss. I had sacrificed so much more. But they didn’t care that much because they just showed up and played.
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With wrestling - it was all ME. That was it. So I learned that ya know what, I Am sick of depending on other people. I am sick of letting other people determine whether or not I will be successful. I LOVED and THRIVED off the fact that it was all on ME.

Wow mike.. i love that concept “it was all me”
 
It’s a shame that you loved football so much however your teams lack of motivation took the fun and drive out of it.. however with wrestling you have nobody to blame or count on but yourself.. your results demonstrated your dedication… what an amazing thought and mindset for a teenager.. your hard work paid off!! Know i understand why you are such a driven person… it seems like sports really shaped you as a person…
 
haha yeay i was super agressive and
Competitive as a child… more so then now… i am not into team sports anymore… I like to train for myself and set my own goals…
 
I think when i was younger i felt like i had something to prove because I always wanted to be the best and known as the best (not so much for my own sake)…
 
Nowadays I don’t really care about other peoples expectation, all i care about is my expectations and making a better future for my husband and I …
 

ahahaha jim.. you are all about the competition.. it seems like that is your drive..

 
Sports absolutely shaped me as a person. It was absolutely a very positive thing though. Otherwise - I am not sure what sort of commitment and staying power I would have with anything. It has taught me to stick with things through the good, the bad, the ugly, everything. IT just made me see that quitting wasn’t an option. I just didn’t want to let my teammates down in football a lot, and, in wrestling I couldn’t let MYSELF down! I had worked way too hard to ever consider it.

mike… did you have any people who inspired you to be the best you could be in sports.. a teamate, coach, parents, pro athlete?  what was y our defining moment that gave you drive

You know, I couldnt really say there was necessarily a defining moment. I think it is jkust something I developd over time. I had an older brother who I always wanted to beat and that was really my only athletic goals growing up - to do better than what he did. I think more so my parents (mainly my dad) just encouraged the DEVELOPMENT of it, I wasn’t simply thrown into the fire. I wanted to go into the meets and whatnot, I Was never, ever forced.

Good topic… what do you think of parents pushing kids to do sports and practice everyday… do you think it’s a good thing or will most kids burn out??
It’s a tough topic because i am sure the pro athletes practiced everyday… is that what it takes?? Even if the kid does not want to?
 

The pro’s are a small minute % of the population. Forcing isn’t the answer. The problem is we have become such a paranoid country…everyone is a creeper mentaslity that our kids aren’t allowed to play out side. The biggest problem isn’t even food as much as it is not moving. Just contemplating all the high school and middle school injuries we see. How many kids growing up did you know..tear an acl or what ever…? None ..ever they played all the time in every direction every sport with no parent telling them how to solve all their problems….did I go on a rant? yeah just a bit! Just ashame thats all.

jim…. i am not sure if i underand your post.. it does  not really relate to my questions.. thats why i am confused.. maybe it does and i just dont see your point?  haha it was a rant but about different things ???

Parents stick their kids in things and force them because they didnt fulfill theirown goals in life. Also a lack of athletes as opposed to sportmasters. Im a basketball player…..your 10 yrs old you are a kid!!!!! You need to do many things. Burned out some of these kids have been playing a single sport year round for so long, by the time they get to high school they have a longer career than some pro athletes. Unless a child loves and chooses to practice it should never be a forced issue. There are many ways to stay healthy and competitive outside of our own ideas of what those are.explore many ways to be active…rock climb, flip tires, monkey bars….

i see your point but i am not talking about just average kids playing in highschool..
 
i am talking about what it takes to become a pro athlete and play in the majors.,, i am sure all pros had to practise day in and day out..
i am sure there parents had to push them alittle even if they still loved it…

They are the 1%

 
yep i see what you are saying.. however what about people playing in the minors or d1 schools.. i am sure they had to practice just as much…
 
i know my brother in law was an amazing baseball player.. he loved it and was GREAT.. he could have made it in the pros but he had a shoulder injury..
 
he had to practice ALL the time.. even when we went on vacation he had to practice.. i am sure he didnt want to all the time but thats what it takes to be a pro.. just like olympic lifters.. the pros have to train HOURS a day.. its there full time job! i am sure they rather be doing other stuff but they have to inorder to be the best..  

Thats who makes it to the pros …the guy who didnt sustain a major injury!

llulko, I think you and musclegym are both right. Most of the pros have to work VERY very hard to get to where they are. However, of all the pros I also believe there is about 25% of them that don’t have to work hard at ALL. They are complete genetic freaks and don’t work hard in practice, etc. They are the drama kings or queens and try to get all the attention. The game comes easy to them. Ya know? I know many many athletes who have made it to the highets levels in their sports with a very average work ethic.
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The MAJORITY still do have to work their tails off to get to that level, and 99% of us who still work taht hard will never reach the top because of our own physical limitations.

mike.. i think you are right.. BUT  the majority have to work super hard to get to that level but there are that FEW real pros who are genetic freaks.. good point

And those very FEW who are genetic freaks and can get away with it make me mad haha. It is those very FEW genetic freaks that also have UNBELIEVABLE work ethics that turn into the greatest athletes ever. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, etc. That combination is almost impossible to beat.

who is the best ALL around athlete of all time.. michael >jordan??

Yes. There is no question. Well, I suppose it is debatable depending on your own viewpoints, generation, and your favorite sport. But, I think maybe the most well respected athlete in the world is MJ for sure. He was just such a fierce competitor

i agree.. i think htey have a poll every year and he still makes it as number athlete of all time.. he changed the game of basket ball and still holds records.. that means something!

 The pros are genetic freaks at that level there is more than just working hard..they are the best in the world even the worst guy in the league is better than the best guy who isn’t.

yes genetic freaks but with ALOT of work put in.. thats our point.. you cant get to that level without the work put in..

What is the best competition you’ve ever WATCHED? I have seen a lot of amazing competitions that I will never forget. The 1 competition that will stay with me until the day I die is watching Tiger Woods at the US Open back in 2008. It was simply the most inspirational 4 days of golf I Have ever seen. Tiger played on a TORN ACL, and a fractured leg and WON A MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP! This was all on his LEAD leg too, not his back leg. Simply incredible. He was in sooo much pain, but, his mind overtook his body and just willed himself to win. He wanted to win worse than anyone could ever imagine.