Playing a Sport Feels Great

By Henry Cruz

There's no better feeling than when you're playing a sport you love. As you kick a ball around, either towards a basket, goal or over a net, you feel awesome as the adrenaline kicks in. You just want to keep playing more. Everything about that sport feels great and exciting. While playing, you hear people cheering and calling out your name loudly.

The cheering sounds great at first, but after a while it can become nerve racking. Why? This is because you feel the pressure , that people are counting on you to do well. This pressure may cause you to feel very anxious about playing your favorite sport. You feel the high expectations held by those watching you, who want to see you play great all the time. Sometimes, just thinking about this makes you not want to play your favorite game. You can feel overwhelmed or just tapped out.

But in a stressful situation like participating in a sport, all these things can change.

My advice? You can breathe in and out before the game begins and leave the negative thoughts behind. Try to think positive. Stop thinking of what other people's expectations may be for how you play and ignore them. It's a fact that there is always going to be pressure when you're competing. The stakes are high and all eyes are on you. But don’t let that pressure get to you. Just always do your best and keep pushing yourself to do even better...for you and nobody else.

Last but not least, have fun. That's what playing a sport is all about.