Charlie Graves Rebecca Agosta English 1102 April 14, 2014 Disciplined Sports When people think of sports

and athletes, many different atypical assumptions of the athletes come to mind. People have the tendency to view athletes as teenagers that are reckless and irresponsible kids that have priorities all wrong. There are many stereotypes for teenage athletes such as teenage athletes party, participate in more sexual activity and substance abuse. However, it may be true that teenage athletes do participate in all of those but not more than the average teenager. People rarely see the other side of the athletes, the very successful and responsible side of there life. The article High-Risk Behavior in Teenage athletes, points out the statistical difference of behavior and discipline in the average teenager and teenage athletes when it comes to the abuse of various substances. A statistical analysis show that teenage athletes are 25% less likely to drink beer and 40% less likely to drink liquor as well as being 50% less likely to partake in marijuana or other hard drugs. This expresses the discipline that teenage athletes have to focus their attention on other things that are more important such as school and their sport rather than participating in substance abuse. An important point is that athletes are reversing the standard stereotypes that people already view them as bad examples for children and give the community a bad reputation. I know this is usually how it

is because when I was playing sports in high school I witnessed the effect that drugs and other substances had on the students that were not student athletes and how many times it lead to acting out and getting suspended. I also know that using drugs was never heard of in our locker room because everyone understands the importance of not doing that. In many cases I believe that people did not partake in drug use not because of themselves but because they knew that they could not let the person next to them down for the sake of the team; because, in the end the team was the most important thing to us not the idea that something would provide us with personal enjoyment. Doing something or thinking of your teammates before yourself is something that is taught in the leadership and the responsibility aspect of sports John Wooden said, Sports do not build character. They reveal it. This is a quote that I have learned is very true over my past endeavors with sports. Statistics show that teenagers/adolescents that participate in organized sports are less likely to end up on the wrong path. It is proven that teenagers that participate in athletics are prone to a more positive production in school as well as a better-behaved personality. TrueSport refers to the five Cs that are essential in the development of young minds. They are competence, confidence, connections, character, and caring Sports have also proven to show more self-esteem and confidence in teenagers and adolescents as well as increased bodily health. The Internet article from TrueSport talks about how there is an increase in the participation of athletes compared to non-athletes therefore leading to a better public image refers to sports being something that bring out the best in people. A main point in this website is that it

explains how teenagers that are involved in sports are more likely to be successful in school because of their motivation level. With these motivational increases the athletes are many times portrayed as leaders or role models in their schools and their communities. I conducted an interview with my former football coach and weight-training teacher. Coach Reggie Lucas has been coaching football been coaching football for over 15 years after he played football in high school and college. For my interview I was exploring his perspective on the behavior and discipline of the many athletes that he has coached in his career. Lucas said, Athletes have higher expectations because they represent the school to the alumni and entire community. And they have higher expectations in class, on the field, and in society. Since Lucas is not only a coach but he is a teacher that not only has athletes as students but he also has a large number of non-athletes I asked him if there was a difference in the behavior of athletes and non-athletes. Lucas responded, Absolutely, the difference is many times the athlete is much more well behaved because athletics hold them accountable. As well as more times than not teachers expect the student athlete to represent the school and show more leadership. When I asked coach Lucas about which sport he believed required the most behavioral discipline he said that the discipline and the behavior of an athlete completely relies on the coach that they have. Lucas talked about how any sport ranging for golf to football to swimming can all provide excellent leadership and discipline it all has to do with how the coach runs the program. I asked for his opinion on how football (the sport Lucas coaches) teaches teenagers about discipline. Lucas said Football makes growing men mature

based on power, strength, teamwork, and mental toughness. Coach Lucas also reminded myself of something that was preached to us for four years and is something that I will always try to follow. The thing that Lucas and the rest of our coaches drilled into our heads was C.A.T. Which stood for Commitment, Accountability, and Trust. There are many accounts of different behavioral occurrences, which are documented in the Journal of Sport Behavior. One of the areas of the book that I focused on was the chapter on Examining the Benefits of Athlete Leaders in Sports. When completing the research for this thinks article they interviewed Basketball, Hockey, and Volleyball players. One of the main points was they were asked what they thought was the amount of the team that needed to be viewed as leaders. Overall the athletes that they believed that 85% of the teams roster should be comprised of athlete leaders.(Journal of Sport Behavior, 346) They then proceeded to go more into detail and discover that the athletes believed that 19% of the roster should be occupied by formal athlete leaders, while the remaining 66% by athletes occupying an informal leadership role within the team.(346) Having these team leaders is a huge resource for building team structure and cohesion. With the younger team members having this many leaders in addition to the coaches guiding them on their journey eventually they will develop into the leaders on the team and share this knowledge with the players to come after them. This is a huge part of the development of teenagers and their strides towards greater behavior and discipline because young men will respond significantly more to a fellow peer leading them and guiding them in the right direction. This is what will eventually guide the

teenagers to become leaders not only on the team but also in their school and community. The idea of the many different leaders on the team and the different roles that they have can also be connected to the expression of multiple personalities by Gee. Many times an athlete can have multiple personalities that are rarely seen by more than a select few people. Athletes many times be a very quiet person that does not necessarily exemplify the qualities of a leader when they are in a social setting or in the class room but then when it is time for the athlete to participate in his/her sport they can turn into a different person, this person may turn in to a very vocal and motivational leader that strives to push their teammates to the limit. It has also been see that people can maintain one identity however have different identities in that one. Such as a athlete can be a very outspoken leader and always be the one to motivate the team but then when the time is right the person can be a leader that merely says nothing at all. Many times saying nothing at all can be heard louder than yelling at the top of your voice such as when the coach is talking and fellow player are talking and the leader of the team does not say anything he/she stand and listens. This is significant because those that are not leaders will realize this and start to do what is needed. So Gees reference to multiple personalities can be see in many athletic leaders for the betterment of their team. Athletes can also be seen as having multiple identities when it comes to their work ethic in school and their performance on the field of play. Because many times athletes will be seen in an entirely different light from their peers as they are from their classmates.

Through the works of Gee, TrueSport, Journal of Sport Behavior, High Risk Behavior in Teenage Male Athletes, and the Interview with Coach Lucas it has been concluded that in the majority of the cases with teenagers, athletics can be a very vital and useful tool in the development of behavior and discipline in teenagers. It shows that even will all the different sports having a sense of belonging and being a part of something bigger than ones self can be very beneficial to the development of young men and women. As well as showing an increase in the academic performance among athletes and a decrease in the amount of athletes that are involved in disruptions among peers and involvement in drinking or use of illegal substances. Therefore breaking the stereotypes of athletes and proving that sports are a great tool for the development of upstanding citizens and leaders in their community.