Class differences are very real and apparent in sport. I remember as a kid I went to a Baltimore Orioles game and I couldn�??t understand why there were so many people that had on ripped clothing, and were trying to sell me things I definitely didn�??t need outside the stadium. When I grew older I remember asking my father about that day, and he said that game happened to be a 3$ ticket day, in the middle of the summer. See I was only used to going to Yankee games back in New York where tickets were much more expensive. I then placed the puzzle pieces together and realized that many of the people attending the game that day must have been low-income families and individuals. Their behavior wasn�??t bad by any means; I just was just a different kind of experience.
Sport is a good vice to analyze how outside factors such as poverty, class, race and gender affect and change sport. With effects similar to the rest of society. In the article �??For Good Health it Helps to be Rich and Important�?� by Erica Goode she states that �??Scientists have known for decades that poverty translates into higher rates of illness and mortality.�?� This is where I see how factors of race also intertwine with those of neo-liberalism politicks. People understand that lower levels of income translates into less jobs, more illness�?? and even death, but its not cost effective to fix the poor, rather than just concentrate on the middle and upper classes.

When I was young I probably played about every sport that was available to me. I come from a middle class family so there were various sports that were accessible. There were three main sports that I played but every now and then I would dabble in a few others. The three main sports were baseball, basketball, and soccer. I also played a little bit of tennis, swimming, and even went to gymnastics camp. I was always one of the better players in any of the sports that I played. However it was always in my nature to play the team sports more seriously and more competitively. I have always enjoyed the social aspect of being on a team. As I grew older it became less and less feasible to continue playing all three sports because each one was becoming much more demanding. I let go of baseball first, then a few years later basketball got the metaphorical axe so I am only left with soccer. It is a goal of mine to play professionally however I do understand that it is improbable. Like Eitzen says �??A career in professional sports is nearly impossible to attain because of the fierce competition and so few openings.�?� To make it professionally not only do you have to be good enough but in some ways you have to get lucky as well. So many times players with enough talent get overlooked for various reasons. For example if you do not play at a big name school you are much less likely to be considered for a professional career even though you may be as good or better than a lot of the players that come from those schools.

I thought aaron c was a good example of what we have been talking about. His story was the perfect example of the dream to play pro and the reality of the small number of full rides given. I do however think it is great that he tried as hard as he did and that is also why I think sports are great because they give people something to strive for.

I agree with Angie Brewer and the article "Upward mobility Through Sport" in that the non-stop practice that being good at any one sport takes is almost a detrament to the profession or career an individual will most likely end up undergoing. You do not realize it, till your already in a given career, how much futher your career would have been if you would have used all the time spent practicing sports on preparing for your career. Another thought that comes to mind is how much further that same fictional persons career may or may not be if he or she would have went to the high class public or private schools. (Just another thing determined by socioeconomic status.)

I never realized it before but social class really does play a huge role in what sports we play growing up and even now. Not because of taste, preference, or values, but there are certain sports that most people never get to play at all because of the high price of participating. All during my growing up years, I played most of the common sports like baseball, soccer, and football. These are all sports that are not extreamly expensive to play. Most parents can afford to enroll their kids in the local organizational leagues in the mentioned sports. But lacrosse, on the other hand, is one sport I did play that most lower class families kids had the opportunity to participate in. I got lucky because I have a cousin, whos family is a little higher class than mine, that let me have all of his pads and equipment. without his hand-me-downs, I would most likely not have been able to play lacrosse. One interesting aspect of this mind-set is that the best lacrosse(for example) player in the country might never know because he never had the means to play or may have grew up in a region of the nation that dosen't know what lacrosse is.

Another thing that is sociologically obvious whaen it comes to sports is the teams that do the best are the teams that have the most money and thus live in a higher social class. The Little League World Series is a great example of this. Just about every little leage team in the country technically has the opportunity to play in the LLWS if they can make it. The problem is that only the teams with the money to have the best bats, uniforms, and other equipment really have the chance to acually make it all the way to the WS. Its not that anyone can't "make it", its just that some are more or less likely to than others(according to certain factors such as social status). The same is the case withe the softball league that I play in as Prof. White said, only the teams with the most money are the ones who win with consistency.

I believe that social structure actually determines an indiviuals experiences. Individuals are made by the society in which they live or are a product of the social status in which they grow up. This goes along with Karl Marx and his Dialectic Ontology theory in that "Men do not make their own history as they please, but under a set of circumstances that already exist". It appears to me that one's family's socioeconomic status is the one single most dominant factor in determining what sport one plays or what we wear, what we eat, where we work, and even who we marry. There are efforts being made in contrast to this ideology like providing funds for lower class kids to participate in sports that they normally would not have a chance to play. It is a good start but I dont think there will ever be a equal playing field for those of all social classes.

I believe that sporting choices, to some extent, are made for you. Your class status plays a role in this because whether you are middle class, high class, or low your choices are made for you. In the upper class society you can afford to play more expensive sports.
The article about health and how the lower class people have higher mortality rates and people with high stress levels also have high mortality rates. I do not know exactly how this ties into sport, but I do see that sports is stressful and if you do not have the correct nourishment you will have a high mortality rate but is that what I should be getting from this article.

Since a young age I have played sports for fun with my friends and verse others for friendly competition. I tried the sports such as swimming, dance (which I consider a sport as well as those who dance), softball and track. Eventually I found my niche in swimming and dance.

The one regret I do have however is unlike other people I wasn�??t encouraged to play sports to get scholarships for college because I knew my parents would send me to college. Even though the article with the myths talked about how the odds of getting a full scholarship are very rare, especially for women I still think it is something that is great to strive for. In high school I lost all motivation to continue with sports when other things at the time seemed to be more important. By quitting sports I think I lost out on opportunities that other people who continued with sports experienced. I do believe that I gained a lot of valuable lessons from my sporting experiences. I learned teamwork and devotion, and how to work hard at something you love to do. As Eitzen states, �??the reality is that upward mobility through sport is highly improbable.�?� I understood this, even at a young age. Even though I had the passion for the sports I played, I knew that I was not trained the way the top athletes that had any possible chance were.

It really interesting to see what sports everyone played and to see if it was effected by where they grew up.

I agree with you dye233, because todays day in age most college athletes that are thinking about taking their game to the next level never really think about having to rely on school. In my opinion the NCAA should have a policy where the athletes have to follow a certain cericulum, because most of the athletes going pro take classes like wood carving 101. If one athlete gets injured in their senior year of college and no team picks them in the draft; I guess they would be shit out of luck.

i agree with c. brown that once you know the odds of getting a sports scholarship it is better to focus on academics to improve the future.

I agree with David Bowser statements about the high costs associated with these travel teams and the commitment that comes not only from you the player but from your family. They are giving up their free time so that you could travel and play, as well as spend lots of money while doing so.

Looking at francesca's story i too, agree that sports on a social level can bring together all the classes. We have to make kids understand, that money isnt everything, and just cause someone is in a lower class than yourself there's no reason to look down on them. We all live in this world together and it would be a lot less problematic if we could all just work together, and stop comparing our selves to one another, class, race, and religion shouldnt get brought up in sports or anyother aspect of life. You are who you are.

I agree with J. Hyson and I believe that sports can sometimes get in the way of school. Like the article says, sports and scholarships can most definitely help and provide opportunities to go to college and get a degree. This also creates a distraction of why we are in school.

I agree with Andrew Offsey that social class will allow people to participate in different sport activity. If your family is able to afford the registration fee, equipment, and uniforms. Then most likely you have an option to play more expensive sports. The lower social class may be restricted. They may not be able to participate in some sports due to economical costs.

I agree with C.Brown about class mattering in sports. When you start out playing young usually the people who are born with the skills do better. As you get older its the people that deveop the most skills through camps,practice or whatever. But usually the people who can afford these are usually upper class people. It doesn't guarentee to become good but they have more options on their side to help them.

I agree with J hyson sport is a great stress reliever and a good way to get away. Sports usually was fun for me so no matt how rough of a day i had when i played sports i usually felt better. You get to put aside everything in life for a bit and have fun which helps me and many others cear their head before taking on life again

sorry dyee223 had such a tough past with not being able to play sports. But i agree with them that athletes have a lot of pressure on worrying about losing their scholarships. I can't imagine being able to live that life since they spend so much time with sports while trying to do their duty as students.

I agree with the comments said by J hyson. Sports I feel are a stress reliever and a good way to get away. I also believe that lacrosse and hockey are relatively expensive sports and this is why you see the middle class towns and upper class have these teams. There is also a space issue for these sports and many lower class places dont have the room or money for these sports

As i had stated i agree with what C.Brown said. As you get older and begin to play in more competitive leagues you will being notice class separation.

I like what francesca said about playing for the love of the game. It's the love of the game that is hopefully common in all of the players on the team and it seemed especially true in her story of how a team can come together to support another teammate. I also think that the coaches can and should be given more credit for thier support of the players when they have done something that positively effects the team.

I agree with francesca. Being involved with sports teaches you some of life's greatest lessons that most people wouldn't pick up until later or not at all.

I agree with dyee223 about Collegiate level sports consuming up a lot of time and energy along with classes. When students have scholarships to keep in mind it also increases pressures and stress on making it through and getting a degree. Sports teams in college especially division 1 schools, require time for team meetings, practice, etc. but they also require time in study hall as well.

I agree with francesca in that when were on sport teams we have to be there for each other like family. We need to support our teammates just as we do our friends and family. I think its great that everyone put their own issues aside to help out her teammate in her time of crisis. Those are the kind of values we need to take away from sports.

I enjoyed the writings of Frank Bowen describing a different aspect that I had not encountered before. The injury he sustained definately prevented him from doing something he enjoyed. Where my parents didn't limit my choices when I got hurt and his did shows how much different our parents are. I also agree with his points on how much sports can shape you as you get older.

I agree also with Julie O. and J. Hyson. Sports take up a tremendous amount of time, effort and dedication. Especially playing at the D1 level you have an enormous amount of pressure put on you to perform at 100% everyday. When you have to travel all weekend and be away all weekend the last thing you want to do is homework on the bus trip or last minute late Sunday night. You defiantly learn to balance and manage your time because it's so easy to fall behind. The emphasis I hear everyday from my parents is that I am a student...athlete, not the other way around.

Francescas story about her basketball team was a perfect example how sports can bring people from different classes together. Class differences is only shown on the court by things such as shoes and apparrel, not talent. Sports bring people together everyday.

I would second the idea by mnaviasky that it wasn't until travel soccer that social status became real apparent. Playing at a recreational level, social status is still present but not as obvious. But when playing travel and going beyond your general area of playing, social status is very evident in the teams, players, coaches, and equipment, as well as field conditions you play on. Attending my 12 year old cousin's soccer game, a lot of these things became apparent.

Having played with Dave Bowser on the Baltimore Bays, I know exactly what he is talking about. A lot of people take for granted the amount of time and money that their families put into their athletic choices. But like most people have said in their comments, I think people realize what their families have done for them as they mature.

After reading the response by J. Hyson, I have to admit that as far as the idea that sports can get in the way of school work, I agree. I think, like the article says, sports and scholarships can most definitely help and provide opportunities to go to college and get a degree. Sometimes though, I have to remind myself that I am here for school and not for lacrosse. I find that I neglect my studies a lot and my schoolwork, based on lacrosse practice, or games, or simply being too tired from waking up at 5:30am for practice. This being said, I agree that sports can, in a sense, get in the way of doing school work if you fall behind and allow that to happen.

I agree with the comment that J. Ondranko left when she refers to the article by Eizten discussing how sport can lead to upward mobility. A lot of athletes are given the opportunity to play a collegiate sport and get a college education primarily because of their ability in sport not because of their grades. I�??m not saying that once the student athlete is in college that they get things handed to them, because I know from being a student athlete that is not true. However, if you are one of the highest recruited athletes for that year, with decent grades and tremendous athletic ability, one can pretty much go where ever they please.
Also referring to what Kat Kennan said about her school not having much funding for athletics; I think that is a very frustrating situation to be put in when you really love a sport. If you are not given good coaching and equipment, it is hard to stay involved with sports.

I understand exactly what kat keenan is saying about the area she is from not getting attention from colleges because I too am from the Southern Md area. Not St. Mary's County but Charles County. And we definitely played Great Mills every year in soccer. And our team went through the same obstacles of having good players but our coach was useless so that reflected bad on our team because we barely won either.

The sport that consumed most of my young adult life was soccer. I began playing in elementary school because that is what most kids my age played and a majority of my family played as well. Soccer didn�??t take too much money to play, the only things you really needed were a pair of cleats and some shin guards, and then you had to pay the league fees. So my middle class standing went along with the demands of soccer.

Throughout my soccer career I played recreational soccer and then added indoor soccer to that and eventually landed myself on a select team. Even as I began playing just on a recreational team, I saw the class differences. It seemed the more money you or teammates�?? families had, the better off your team was. When I started playing we only had the basics to play. But as we began to grow as a team and win, the higher class families began donating money and all our team gear was paid for, so we had a better advantage against the competing teams. Then as I moved up to select a definite class division was evident. These teams travel all around to play the best teams, so you had to have the money to not only pay to be on the select team but you had to have travel money as well. Not only that but as Upward Mobility Through Sport states, �??The demands on their [my] time and energy are enormous even in the off-season.�?� I only played on that team for two years and we were able to afford the traveling but I�??m sure if I would have played longer it would have really stretched us because we didn�??t live the upper class lifestyle.

All of this led to playing soccer in high school, which was pretty much a given because that was what I knew. But as I began playing in high school I realized that a lot of my teammates had aspirations of being the next Mia Hamm. I realized after my sophomore year that soccer wasn�??t going to get me into college, even though I started varsity as a freshman, and began focusing on academics because college was an absolute in my family. As Upward Mobility Through Sport states, �??women athletes have even less of a chance to receive an academic scholarship,�?� and �??while women comprise about 52 percent to 70 percent of all college students, they make up only 35 percent of intercollegiate athletes.�?� So, when I lost my love of the game I decided to stop playing and completely focus on my academics. I knew right then in there that soccer was going to get me nowhere in life and the only way I would be able to make money one day and maybe bring myself up a notch on the class standing scale would be to go to college, work hard and focus on my academics.

When I was a youth my sporting choices mainly included baseball and basketball. At a very young age, I was taught by my grandfather about the game of baseball. My grandfather was an immigrant who came to New York City from Cuba at a very young to live with his wealthy Aunt. When he was younger he attended every Yankee game he could possibly see, and has many score cards and programs to prove it. He has always been a diehard baseball fan and in turn has past his excitement for the game to his children and grandchildren. Once my brother and I were old enough he taught us how to throw and hit the ball. Soon enough it became a routine every time we saw him we would throw the ball around. We both played recreational leagues when we were younger as well as travel leagues. As we grew older though we both learned about how extremely slim the chances were for us to really excel and make/earn something from our abilities. �??A career in professional sports is nearly impossible to attain because of the fierce competition for so few openings�?� (Upward Mobility Through Sport�?� : The Myths and Realities, Eitzan). I think I realized my slim chances at too young of an age along with the fact that my parents were divorced and could not afford to send us to special camps and it discouraged me for trying to compete with fellow classmates who could afford these things.

I started participating in sports at the age of five. It was always soccer in the spring, and baseball in the fall. As I grew older, I continued to play baseball and soccer, but grew apart from soccer. Around fifth grade I wanted to play football, but wasn�??t allowed to because my mom was afraid that I might get injured. Iin middle school I played basketball in the winter, participated in a bowling league, and played baseball in the spring, and was finally allowed to play football in eigth grade. When I reached high school, I continued to play baseball and wrestled for one year, and did track in the spring for another. After an end of the year tournament for wrestling I had a brain aneurism and was no longer able to participate in wrestling or any type of heavy contact sports. Upon receiving the news and being home schooled for three months, I lost my interest in participating in organized high school sports and focused on personal fitness. After I graduated high school and entered college I continue to work out and enjoy playing football or basketball with my friends in pick up games as often as I can. The reason I enjoy them is the aspect of competition. Since I cannot participate in college athletics and don�??t really have the time for club or intramural sports, I work out what I can with my friends. What I get out of working out is personal satisfaction. To me it represents hard work, determination, commitment, and discipline, all attributes that I can apply to all aspects of my life such as schoolwork and jobs. Playing in pick-up games with my friends helps me to bond with them and to enjoy my free time and relax. And I can still have that competitive aspect of sports without being in an organized league or team. I don�??t necessarily believe that my family�??s economic status impacted the sports during my youth and today. The reason I participated in those sports was because all my friends and everyone in the community was doing the same thing. Sure it was a predominately upper middle class neighborhood, but that�??s what you did to participate in sports while being social at the same time. In D. Stanley Eitzen�??s reading he writes how sport can be an escape for some people (although very unlikely), and how they can gain wealth from the talent they possess. I believe this to be true, but I�??m unsure as to believe how economic status would impact the sports you can become rich off of. I believe that if one can truly excell in a sport and become great at it, they will find a way to participate in it, and grow with it �?? one way or another.

When I was in my teens, I was a soccer player through and through. I believed when I was younger that because I was excelling on my team against my teammates that I could use my ability to get a scholarship and go to college. This dream never became a reality for many reasons. For one, the area I�??m from doesn�??t get enough attention from colleges because it is a small town, Great Mills Maryland located in St. Mary�??s county. Most people have never heard of this place let alone been there. Two, of the high schools in my area, mine was the poorest. Literally cross the street from a trailer park around the corner from the flat tops (run down one bedroom shacks). The school got little funding for text books and even less for athletics. Thus the school couldn�??t hire experienced coaches and the teams suffered for it. Though my soccer team had good players, the coaching was less than to be desired which left my team with only a single win my senior year. The lower class standing of my high school hindered my chances of ever receiving a scholarship for soccer. Not mention as Eitzen does in the reading, �??While women comprise about 52 percent of all college students, they make up only 35 percent of intercollegiate athletes with similar disproportionate distribution of scholarships.�?�
Luckily I did well in school and my parents saved up so that I could go to college without a athletic scholarship. The system is flawed in that those that have an opportunity to pursue sports to benefit through high education are limited by what they have as far as coaching and equipment in high school. Plus, playing colligate sports doesn�??t necessarily mean receiving a degree or a professional career. It is however, a great opportunity for both if the athlete has the drive and talent to accomplish those things. Mainly, class matters in sports as far as the prospects one can receive.

All my life, I've always been a more of a sport spectator than a player. While I did play baseball during my early childhood, I have never been seriously committed to participation in any organized athletics. During my high school and college careers, when most people develop their most serious relationships with sports, I was always to busy with work to play. My intention is not to call those who did spoiled or lazy. In fact, I have great respect for those who are dedicated to their sport of choice. However, I have never had the luxury of a work schedule light enough or flexible enough to commit fully to a team sport. In high school, I had to save up for my car and the gas to run it, in addition to the gas and repairs to keep it running. Now, and throughout all of college, I have had to work full time to pay for all of my own food, clothes, car, and additional living expenses. I simply do not have the extra time to practice for hours every single week that is required by a serious competitive sport. In a very real way, my social class and family income is a perfect example of how money can affect one's experience with sport. As stated in the article, �??The demands of their time and energy are enormous even in the off-season�?� (Eitzen, 250), and those factors are not something that I have ever been able to offer.

I agree with Marc Ingram, sports has also made me competitive. However, there are so many more positive values I learned that I beleive it is far better to participate than not.

I was involved with sports from a very young age until I graduated from high school. I started out running track in the junior olympics in the third grade to playing volleyball, basketball, and track from junior high school until graduation. I was also a cheerleader in the ninth grade. So I am priveleged to the fact that I have had an array of experiences in sports.

Many of the choices I made regarding the sports I played were limited to what was offered by the schools I attended. I was lucky to attend schools with so many sporting options, however, I never played anything outside of school related sports. I am sure this is because of the environment I grew up in. My mother could never afford to pay for ice skating lessons, or even send me to the elitest camps in the sports I was playing. Like it was mentioned in class, there are certain sports associated with certain social classes, and I definitely wasnt playing polo.

I do believe that I gained a lot of valuable lessons from my sporting experiences. I learned teamwork and devotion, and how to work hard at something you love to do. My participation wasn't the one leading to stardom. As Eitzen states, "...the reality is that upward mobility through sport is highly imporbable." I understood this, even at a young age. Even though I had the passion for the sports I played, I knew that I was not trained the way the top athletes that had any possible chance were. I was not able to develop my skill because of the social class I was in. There were many days when my mother wasn't sure where we were going to get our next meal, so there wasn't any way she could possible invest in my athletic future.

There are not any sports that I carry into adulthood, but I try to expose my two chidren to as many opportunities as possible. My two daughtera are involved in soccer and swimming most actively. Getting involved in an alternative sport, swimming, has given me new insight. I have experienced being involved in a non african american dominated sport and the differences in the types of people who are. On my daughters swimming team, she is the only black participant and on her soccer team, she is the only black female, althought there are definitely more minorites on her soccet team than her swimming. I have also realized the amount of money it takes for these alternative sport as opposed to the one that would be offered in the school system. However, I feel like my children should be exposed to as many evironments as possible and at least given the opportunite to experiences certain sports that would other wise be considered out of their social class.

Sporting choices to some extent are made for you. Your class staus plays a huge role in this becasue whether you middle class or high or even low your choices are made for you. The upper class society can afford to play the most expensive sports. The sports that you need all kinds of different pads, guards, skates, sticks etc. The lower classes have to rely on what there bodies can do for them. This is why you see more boxers in a lower class soceity. You would rarely see an upper class kid boxing or putting there body on the line as many lower class kids do. Mnay think it is there only way out.
I read this article about health and how the lower class people have higher mortality rates and people with high stress levels also have high mortality rates. I do not know exactley how this ties into sport. I can see that sports is stressfull and if you do not have the correct nurishment you will have a high mortality rate but is that what I should be getting from this article.
For example when I was a young kid my parents would not allow me to play football until I was around the age of 13. I was resitricted to soccer and basketball. These in my parents minds were the safer sports. This I feel is a norm for many middle class kids. They are restricted to certain areas becasue of social staus.
My parents hoped to get sports to make me a more disciplined and focused person. From this aspect I feel like sports did this for me. Sports also can change people in good and bad ways. Becasue of sport I feel I am a very competitive. I am so competitive that I will not lose to even my younger cousins in any game. This is one way is very good but in others can really hurt your relationships with people. I have been called cheap, dirty, and even ruthless when it comes to sport. This is an aspect that many atheletes will not admit.

Growing up I was encouraged to play every sport that was offered to me and that I did. The sports I played ranged from anything from basketball to lacrosse. Though some of the sports I enjoyed more then I others it didn�??t matter to my parents, when the next season approached I was signed up for the sport of the season. I was never restricted from playing a certain sport because of money or class. I was always fortunate enough to be able to play whatever sport I wanted without any limitations. Though majority of the people I played sports with had limitations put on them because of money it never seemed like that when we were a team. Financial limitations were never evident between us because we were a team and all were friends.
The one regret I do have however is unlike other people I wasn�??t encouraged to play sports to get scholarships for college because I knew my parents would send me to college. Even though the article with the myths talked about how the odds of getting a full scholarship are very rare especially for women I still think it is something that is great to strive for. In high school I lost all motivation to continue with sports when other things at the time seemed to be more important. By quitting sports I think I lost out on opportunities that other people who continued with sports experienced. Playing sports was something that I did growing in hopes to gain new experiences and learn more about myself and the games I played.

I was lucky enough to be born in one of the richest areas in the country (kings point makes up a majority of my town). I am from the middle class part of my town but it is above average compared to many towns in the country. I had options of what i could do, but didn't know how many options i have had. I started playing soccer, baseball, and basketball all through the police athletic league, but for each season you paid a fee to the league for uniforms, ref/umpires, and other expenses. I was lucky enough to be able to try out for travel teams, and have options of whatever i wanted to. I loved sports since i am competive , athletic and find it a good way to have fun and meet people. I was able to go to camps,clinics, and other events that allowed me to get better knowledge and skills of the various sports. I didn't however know that leagues were open for individual sports year round. I had however had taken advantage of having the option of playing sports such as tennis as well. I would play various pickup games of basketball, baseball,kickball, or whatever i wanted at peoples houses, at the schools we went to or parks. Many lower classed areas don't allow people to have the same options. During the summer my parents paid for me to attend sports camp at Friends Acadamy and was allowed to play various sports. I was trying to get better and become better fro myself as well as to compete for teams. I have been lucky enough to be able to ski for a few days each year, which is more than some people have been able to in their lives. I have been able to walk,jog, hike,rock climb,kayak,parasail, jetski, wrestle and do many other sports or events. They are classified as sports or events from different classes, but I have been able to experience as many as them as possible due to me being more towards the upper class even though i am not really wealthy.

Now as a fan I have been able to go to various sport events. No matter what it is i have been able to afford to go to football,baseball,hockey,or basketball games at various times during the year. If i dont get to go i try and follow by watching them on T.V but even that sometimes is hard to do because of cable,newspapers, or whatever, and especially when you are on the road. Sports have been easier for me to follow since i am able to have more chances to go to which is tougher as they are not so lucky.

J. Hyson makes a good point about the value of playing sports in college. While it seems like a viable option, there are so many time restrictions on what classes you can take that it makes it very difficult to get the classes you need for a degree.

I agree with francesca Terrano. It was great how his basketball team really came together to help support the girl that was having trouble on his basketball team. It is much easier to just let someone go and not advice or help them. It takes well minded people to want to come forward to try to help someone, and that is what his basketball team did.

I agree with nychik when she mentions the amount stress that trying to afford a sport brings on. You definitely need to take into account your health as well as your affordability when it comes to supporting your child's sport choices. Personally I know my mother went through a very stressful time during my junior and senior year because not only was I playing a travel sport, but so was my little brother. The amount of time and money can take a toll on the whole family.

I have been playing organized sports nearly my entire life and throughout my playing years someone has always made sure to say just go out and have fun. Now more than ever, after reading "Upward Mobility Through Sport?" do I realize how seriously that statement should be taken. Growing up mostly playing soccer and baseball, I was never the superstar on my team but always landed somewhere in the middle with regards to my skill level. After years of playing soccer and finally having to decide if I was going to pursue a college scholarship, I made the decision that I was probably better off just working on my academics to get into a good school than relying on whatever skills I had as a player to maybe have an offer or two thrown my way. Knowing that soccer is not a mainstream professional sport in the U.S. and now seeing statistics such as, "...3,481 male high school seniors who played football during the 1994 season. Of these, 31 recieved full scholarships at D1-A schools (0.0089%)," (Eitzen, 250), it was an easy and has so far been a worthwhile decision. The thing that I noticed most about those numbers is that surely the number of male high school seniors playing football has gone up, and even the number of kids recieving scholarships has had to have gone up, but all across the country you have more and more student athletes who are in competition for scholarship opportunities that I would bet are not increasing the way that the number of athletes are. The odds seem to be shifting even farther away for those looking to get scholarships and "make it big" by playing sports.
I also wanted to comment on the relation between class and the different sports that are available to each. I would say that my family, which consists of 2 married parents and 3 children including myself, has been able to live comfortably and would most likely be considered middle class. Having all three kids playing different sports at different times, I was lucky that my parents were able to accomadate for my brother, sister and I. Looking now, I can see how our social class may have influenced what sports we played. We all played team sports but never really had the opportunity to play such "upper class" sports like golf or skiing. I'm sure the investment in a new multi-hundred dollar golf set or pair of skis for any of us did not seem to make financial sense, especially when time constraints and travel were already a big factor in sporting arrangements. Not until after expressing interest to play hockey for my high school and being told that it would be too expensive to buy all the pads and pay for ice time did I realize that I wouldn't be able to play some sports because of financial restrictions that would have to be imposed in order to make sure we could maintain a comfortable but not extravagent lifestyle. After reading Eitzen, you see just how many people rely on sports to move up in the world and get out from the shadow, or socially ascribed class, cast from thier parents. But after seeing the stats and knowing how intense some people can be in the pursuit of a dream that seems so close but in actuality is simply out of reach, I come back to my original statement that sports should be played for fun and enjoyment. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you should just have fun and forget about competition. Competition is what makes sport fun for many and I know that in my future sporting activites the competition will be what keeps me interested and coming back for more. Now go outand have fun.

Growing up I always wanted to play football, but the only football programs around were at the high school level and I was only in elementary school. That made it easy for Mother to keep me from playing. Then finally a recreational league started as I was entering the fifth grade. I think the reason I wanted to play football so bad when I was younger was because I liked all the equipment that football players had to wear, the look of a football player was so cool with all the pads on. I remember my Mom always telling me that it was to dangerous and that I would get hurt, that�??s when I went to my Dad. He said as long as my grades were good I could play. I played football all through middle school and then through high school. Football was what Hereford High was known for and they had one state championship under their belts and they wanted more. Making it to the playoffs just about every year the program was getting big. My freshman year the junior varsity team had not lost a game in four seasons and the coach told us the only way to do better was to repeat.
Throughout my high school career, playing football was what I did. It was a great experience. I knew that when I graduated high school I would also be graduating from the sport of football too. I started my sophomore year on JV, and my senior year on the varsity but I wasn�??t looking for any scholarships out of my football experience. What I was looking for was a chance to play on a championship team, and I got that chance my junior year. Our team beat Joppa Town at Ravens Stadium. Coming home from that game was an amazing feeling one that I would never get again, from football at least.
In the article �??Upward Mobility Though Sports?�?� it talks about the myths that sports have in our society. One of the myths was that sports lead to a college degree. �??Another barrier is that they are recruited for athletic prowess rather then academic ability. Recent data show that football players in big-time programs are, on average, more then 200 points behind their non-athletic class mates on SAT scores.�?� When a student that is just barley academically eligible to play in high school how are they supposed to keep up their grades in college? I mean, so they are really good at a particular sport and that gets them in to college, they are then supposed to earn a four year degree when they barley got their high school diploma. It doesn�??t make much sense but it happens all the time.

Throughout elementary school I played a number of sports including basketball, softball, and gymnastics. Over this time I started to really get involved with gymnastics. I got to the point where I was invited to join the competing team at my gym. By joining the team you not only had to pay for gym time, but you also had to pay a fee to be a member of the team. Other additional costs included paying for team uniforms, competitions, and traveling expenses. Although I loved the sport it was too �??expensive and require considerable individual coaching and access to private facilities.�?� (Upward Mobility Through Sports?) My family could not afford these costs and this is just one example of how class affected the sports that I played throughout my life so far.
The following year I started junior high and joined the field hockey team. I began to really love the sport and by the time I was a sophomore I decided that I really wanted to play field hockey in college. I joined a club team and started playing all year round. My dream was to play at one of the top Division I Universities, partially because four girls from the school next to me were on the U16 National Team and had the same dreams, so I thought it was realistic. But to my disadvantage they had opportunities that I did not. They were given the chance to start playing field hockey in fourth grade and had connections through people that I did not know.
Just the other day I was having a conversation with a fellow teammate about the opportunities post graduation for Division I athletes, specifically females and the sport of field hockey. We discussed how much time, effort, and money we put into the sport during and prior to our college careers only to result in no relation to our future careers. We spent most of our lives so far concentrating on the game and in three years it will not help us get a job writing for the New York Times or teaching at an Elementary School. In some cases it will hurt us. As it said in the article, �??The demands on their time and energy are enormous even in the off-season.�?� (Upward Mobility Through Sport?). It�??s very probable that I will graduate, but in some aspects it prevented me from pursuing my original plan of majoring in athletic training. As an athlete here at Towson, it is not possible to major in athletic training in four years due to the amount of required athletic training hours to graduate.
I do not regret playing field hockey throughout high school and college because I love the game. On the other hand when I look at the educational options that I sacrificed it makes me think if I would have benefited more in the future if I did not play field hockey in college. It is something that could go one way or the other. Pursuing a dream of sports for four years or pursuing a desirable career for a lifetime.

The fact that Michael Jordon had to wait two hours to be able to buy one Lexus is absurd (The Picture: Growing Economic Insecurity and Inequality pg 47). The thought of things like that has driven millions to madness. Everyone wants to be like that, have untold wealth at their fingers tips. This thought has made the Average Joe try for professional glory in untold droves. Everyone at my high school used to joke about how athletically inclined basketball players just happened to find a small school in the middle of nowhere. I would like to think that some of the kids that passed through those halls as an athlete carried it over into a college degree and a future, mostly because the person in charge of admissions had faith that he was doing the right thing. When I was a freshman in high school, I told myself that I wanted to play basketball at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. It never occurred to me that a 5�??11 white kid that can�??t dunk wouldn�??t be able to do that. I played my freshman year and probably could have continued for at least one more year. I, however, relegated myself to other sports in my life. I played baseball and ran track when I was younger, but those were temporary solutions for boredom and I never really paid attention to them. I played soccer and lacrosse throughout the rest of my high school days, but lacrosse is another sport where I find the truths of class shown. Most of the kids that played were from fairly well to do families from at least a middle class standing. The sport gets very expensive. To play club here last year, I ended up paying about three hundred and fifty dollars. And to play beyond high school in college is incredibly difficult. Either the right scout has to see our or you have to be from the right school/area. There is also almost zero chance of playing past college, there is a small pay check in professional lacrosse and the leagues just are not that big. It makes mainstream sports like football and basketball that much more appealing. �??But while the possibility of staggering wealth and status through sports exists, the reality is that dramatic upwards mobility through sport is highly improbable (Eizten 249).�?�

As I have stated in previous postings, the sports I played competitively when I was young were roller hockey, basketball, lacrosse and golf. I also played football and baseball, but just for fun. Looking back on it I definitely see a correlation between the area I grew up and the sports I chose to take part in. At the same time I believe there are other important factors that contributed to the sports I played.

Roller hockey was the first sport I started to play when I was young. I continued to play up until I entered college. A big reason I played was due to the location of where I lived. This was because the biggest roller hockey league and facility in Long Island was located a few miles from my house. If I hadn�??t lived right near such an enormous roller hockey facility I probably would have never picked up the sport. That was not the only reason I began to play though, a lot of it had to do with my father�??s interest in hockey.

I began to play golf do once again because it was something my father participated in and I found it to be a lot like hockey. As stated in class though I would not have had the opportunity to play that sport if I did not grow up in an �??upper class�?� area in Long Island. If I grew up in harsh conditions in New York City I would have probably had to pick up a different sport that did not require high fees to play. I believe a lot of what I decided to play when I was young and currently had to do with the area I grew up in, but that is not the only reason I played those sports.

Mike Manley made a good point about being able to tell the social class of a teammate based on how often they could afford equipment ect. I didn't really think baseball was that expensive of a sport because my dad already had a lot of the equipment to practice with and told me it was better to use the stuff I had broken in, it didn't occur to me others might find the sport expensive and show the different social classes.

Sports were the best inventions ever. I have enjoyed sports since I was born. When I was less than one years old my parents took a picture of me with baseballs, footballs, soccer balls, etc. The best memories even though I am not a soccer fan now is when I played at the age of four I beleive. I then began playing baseball, which I stuck with longer than any other sport besides recreation sports like golf and tennis. My dad always tried to get me to try new things and see what sport I would fall in love with. Since I can remember my parents took me to professional and collegiate sporting events which made me even more interested in playing competetive sports. Also what I found pretty humorous about all of Ryan's comments about Columbia is that they are true. I was born in Columbia and still live there to this day. There are people there from every class and it is interesting to go to school there because you see everything. Sports in Columbia were always extremely competitive and they helped build me into the person I am today. I was not the one who had new equiptment every year and matching cleats, when almost all my friends were those kids. I dont believe class had a big role in sports in Columbia because even in high school sports there were all county players that were wealthy and there were close to poor kids that were also all county players that got full scholarships. Without sports in my life I honestly dont know what I would have done for the past 15 years of my life.

Growing up, I saw countless sacrifices my family made for me to play high level soccer. I started playing club level soccer at the age of 12 in Harford county. At that age, coming from a middle class family, I thought nothing of finances and the time commitment this put my family through. As I got better and moved to better teams, it was clear the class level associated with the level of soccer. I watched my teammates get new cleats every three weeks like it was nothing. Because of the travel and time commitment necessary, it was clear this progression of sport had moved from middle class suburbia to a higher economic and social class. As time wore on, I joined one of the premier teams in the area, the Baltimore Bays. It seemed every weekend we were traveling out of town, spending a lot of money on hotels and eating out, and it didn�??t end there. As things progressed, I had chances to go overseas and play sport at a very expensive price tag, not just financially, but the time commitment that went along with it. Had I not come from a middle class family none of these things would have been possible and a attribute a lot of this to my parents who gave everything, but most importantly their time for me to have every opportunity to excel at sport.

I participated as a youth in three main sports. Having grown up in a predominately baseball household it was only natural that my interest was in playing. Since my dad is a baseball coach, he worked with me constantly on drills, plays, and the game. Once I switched over to softball and my dad realized I was serious about playing, he set up a batting cage in our basement. Being a coach, he already had a lot of the equipment and knowledge needed for the drills. This helped with keeping the expenses down as well.
There are various social classes seen in baseball. In my opinion, little league baseball is not too terribly expensive as opposed to some other sports; therefore, it provides more of an opportunity for various people to participate. The more advanced you become it does begin to cost more but that is just like any other sport. Even to attend baseball events, there are plenty of opportunities to go and watch the pony league and even our hometown minors team for a reasonable price. We are fortunate enough to have a minor league stadium in town providing the surrounding area with more of a chance to attend sporting events.
The atmosphere of the game and the fans has changed some from when I was younger to now which it has made an unfortunate turn. Going out to a baseball game meant fun, entertainment, a sense of community, and rooting for your home team, that is no longer the case. There is not the support from the community as much because they are unhappy with the outdated stadium or the losing team, so attendance is low. It disappoints me to not see the family going out to the game when we really are lucky to even have a stadium five minutes away. That is why I chose to work at the stadium as soon as I could so maybe I would be able to change the community�??s perception. Working in the stadium is what ultimately lead to my major decision so I could make a larger impact on the fan�??s experience.
By participating in the game, I wanted to get a sense of team cohesion, discipline, and accomplishment. All of which I think were achieved. Being a very competitive person, playing fulfilled my drive to improve and work harder. I liked the fact that we had to work together as a team to achieve anything and if we lost, we lost or won it was as a team and not an individual.
The two other main sports I participated in were competitive gymnastics and dance, yes dance is a sport. Starting gymnastics first gave me many of the skills I needed for when I decided to dance. There is so much room for fast advancement and an unlimited amount of skill choices. It was great exercise and needed hard work and discipline with not only controlled body movements but a controlled mind as well. I originally started gymnastics because of my fearless ability and flexibility. It became something I enjoyed and competed in for a while. The problem our family had with gymnastics was the strain it points on your joints and the increased cost as you improved. The higher the level, the more training and gym time you needed, as well as different uniforms, and competition fees to name a few. Compared to the other families in competitive gymnastics, we were struggling with the cost increase, my mom enduring a lot of the stress and pressure to keep up. As shown in the study For Good Health, It Helps to be Rick and Important, the harder someone has to work, and the lower your status compared to others adds more stress. My mom did not want that stress and pressure that came with the sport, that is when I got into dance.
Dance is not cheap either, however the cost stayed stable until the end of the year costumes for the recital. Most of the girls in my dance studio were middle to upper class; it depended on which studio you attended as to the social status. There was a studio downtown strictly for producing disciplined and amazing dancers who most would go on to dance professionally; that studio was mostly an upper class studio. The one other studio in the area was not into the professional level as much as it was for recreation and that was a middle class studio. Attending the studio I chose, there was a lot of talk and rivalry with the other two in the area where social status was apparent.
Participating in dance is what got me into theater and opened a door of theater as an opportunity. Since my studio was the one in the middle, not very strict but still had the potential to be a great studio, I realized I wasn�??t getting out of the training what I had hoped would happen the more advanced it became. It was a good way to stay in shape, express yourself and a lot easier on the body than gymnastics, but in order to fulfill my sights of theater and dancing I needed something more challenging and strict. By the time I realized that, it was almost too late and I had become comfortable in my studio and the surroundings. We were in the middle of the social class that attended the studio and I knew how things operated.
Social class was apparent in all three of the sports and did play a role in the sports I participated in. Not only did I participate but also supported the sports by attending several events and becoming involved by working in the field.

The sport I played when I was growing up was soccer. I played for a small private elementary school . I was able to play soccer and it didn�??t cost my parents a lot of money . The only real costs were cleats, shin pads and the soccer ball. I guess economically it was inexpensive for me to play. I had the same soccer ball for many years and shin pads are fairly cheap. My parents started me out playing soccer. I was born in the U.S. but my parents were not. Soccer is more popular in other countries I guess that is why I was guided into that sport. Economically soccer can be cheap sport to play. In soccer you only really need the ball and an area to play. In other poor countries many kids play without shoes, much less cleats or shin pads.
They just have the ball. I attended a small private elementary school when I played soccer, so all my games were paid for in tuition. The school provided the referee�??s ,coaches, and equipment. The only thing my parents needed to buy me at that age were shoes and pads. What I learned from playing soccer at that age was interacting with new people and realizing not all people are good at sports. The soccer team at my elementary school, was to bring out school spirit and have other parents meet each other. Our team lost every game, every year, but as a young kid I was just happy to play.

I have always enjoyed playing sports throughout my entire life. From the very beginning of my childhood up until recently I was always involved in playing a competitive sport. I am fortunate enough to come from a well supported family, in which I could pick and choose the sports I wanted to play. My involvement in sports started as a young child, and included baseball, basketball, and soccer. I first started playing recreational sports. Generally, the strength of sports was that it neutralized gender and race �?? you were recognized if you were good and succeeded by being better than average. But something struck me even at an early age. Playing sports was always competitive, and played at different levels according to each teams�?? prowess. An interesting dichotomy had also formed. The teams in the league where I grew up were pretty affluent. There were a select few teams that were from lower class backgrounds. It was fairly easy to depict which teams were from the lower class, mainly from the old equipment that the team still had. The team that I was fortunate to be on and a majority of those others were fortunate enough to have up-to-date equipment and the newest styles. It was unfortunate to see the lower class teams not be able to afford the newest equipment. Opposing messages were being conveyed to us �?? if sports were the great equalizer, why did some teams have sub-standard equipment and why didn�??t the County step in? Or was it the role of parents to provide equipment for their kids�?? team? Did kids play for the love of the game or need the newest equipment to build a new level of self-confidence? These poorer teams were learning a lesson that is hard to come by, that discipline and consistency are constants in sports and help in relationships and future career choices. Admittedly, it was great to see these select few teams be able to participate in the sports that the middle and upper class were participating in. Once I reached the high school level I only played baseball. At this level there was an even bigger difference in class. I�??ve lived in Montgomery County my entire life where there are a few schools that are known as more �??ghetto�?� than others. Those schools were the ones with the older equipment and older playing fields. I played baseball all four years of high school, fortunately enough to have the best equipment and a nice field to play on. I began to realize again after my freshman year that is not always what makes a team the most successful. Some of the best baseball players in the county were from the teams that were considered from the �??ghetto�?� schools. To me that was impressive. I loved participating in baseball and the main reason why I continued playing in high school was to try to play at the college level. I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship my freshmen and sophomore year in college before getting injured, taking me out of baseball for good. Playing in college is where I saw the least class difference. Individual talent counts more at this level, depending on what the end goal was after college. To me it was not realistic to play past college, although to some it was different. Even though I received a scholarship to play baseball I still took advantage of doing well in school. This is one of the main differences at the college level. Whereas someone from a lower class background who has received a scholarship may pay less attention to academic subjects than concentrating on the playing field, they are counting on their athletic ability to play professional sports. As explained in the reading Upward Mobility through Sport? The Myths and Realties, �??A career in professional sports in nearly impossible to attain because of the fierce competition for so few openings�?� (Eitzen 250). Most coaches these days have strict standards adhering to school policies that maintain a certain average. This incentive hopefully gives an athlete the basic skills outside the playing field. This shows it�??s important even though it feels good to play a sport in college that it is essential to concentrate on school. Underlying both attitudes and aptitudes is a love for the game. Perseverance at something you love makes the sacrifices smoother. I played baseball at the college level myself because of my love for the sport and the sheer enjoyment of playing. Most importantly, seeing people play and succeed in a sport they loved no matter what their class level was just a great feeling. Being on a team together strengthened bonds that took shape over the years. These relationships can be continued on past college. Excellence and enthusiasm rarely are combined for long, but sports is a doorway which offers the potential of a successful transition from college athletics into local or national sports media or marketing.

I agree with mmaltagliati that class distinction is evident in all sports even at the smallest levels. His example of looking at shoes and being able to tell whether they were from a higher class background made me think of my own background in soccer, where it was obvious who had more money based on whether they had $150 shoes, or the $40 imitation model. Maybe people spent more money on these shoes to make themselves feel more important than the other kid with cheaper shoes, but I guess sometimes class distinction is as subtle and unconscious as the brand of clothing one would wear.

Ever since I was around the age of 5 I have been involved in organized sports. As a youth I started with recreation soccer and not long after was part of a club soccer team traveling anywhere from New Jersey to Florida to compete against the best teams. I also played softball as a child but lost my interest in it quickly because of the lack of action, which is when I picked up basketball for another sport. My club soccer team took up most of my time due to the fact that I was playing year round and traveling so much. I was lucky enough to not have to worry about traveling expenses and the high demands of money my club team wanted. Then from the ages of 13-14, I broke my leg, ankle, and arm; all playing soccer which put me on the path of lacrosse because it is more a non-contact sport. By freshman year I was playing soccer and lacrosse. While my soccer team was very successful, I mainly played just for the love of the sport and for the social aspect of being on a team with all of my friends. Lacrosse on the other hand I played because it was a tradition to play at my high school. My high school team was one of the most successful teams in the country, winning multiple state championships and known for girls earning scholarships to top universities for lacrosse. That is how I got to the next level of playing colligate lacrosse here at Towson. I received a scholarship to play, (I guess I am part of the lucky 35% of girls to receive a scholarship). It was just so much easier to get recruited for lacrosse than soccer which is why I�??m playing lacrosse along with the fact that I like lacrosse better. While in high school, lacrosse demanded a lot of money. Going to camps to get recruited and getting individual training to be able to play with the best at my high school was not cheap. We also traveled to Upstate New York, Maryland, and Virginia to compete against teams which required a lot of extra funding. My parents knew that spending the money now, would pay off in the end if I received a scholarship. Playing lacrosse here has supplied me with more than a scholarship; it has provided me with me new friends and all the great aspects of sport such as determination and discipline.
As far as attending sporting events goes, I attend most of Towson�??s men�??s lacrosse games. I prefer to watch football on TV but enjoy watching a men�??s lacrosse game too. Even though I play lacrosse, I prefer to watch the men�??s games over women�??s just because they have so much more action in them. I lot of people think that the girl�??s game has too many whistles but they just do not understand all of the rules most of the time. I also regularly attended the Philadelphia Phillies college and dollar dog nights just because of the cheap deals to see a ballgame. I�??m usually lucky if I make it to more than one Philadelphia Eagles game a year, just because tickets are so expensive for football games.
A myth stated in the online article says that sports provide long term security for athletes. In my case, sports provide no long term security because there is no professional league for women after college. I also know men that play professional lacrosse do not get the big bucks because lacrosse is not a big enough sport yet. I was surprised to read that some baseball players were making such little money. I feel like football is the top sport right now in our society and is where the major bucks are, unless you are Alex Rodriguez of course. Either way, sport can be providing professional athletes with large amounts of money but the money goes quick when they are living the fancy and lavish lifestyles they are living.

I like what Mike Manley had to say. I hadn't really thought about it like this, but he said that because he did not have as much money to buy equipment as often as his teamates it only pushed him to work harder. Without the newest top of the line baseball bat, he had to work harder with his older bat to play well. I thought that was interesting and motivating for other less fortunate people who cannot afford all the best sporting equipment.

Our social standings in society including our race and class are definitely a major issue when concerning sports. When I was in my youth, I played soccer and little league just like all my friends (who were middle class for the most part). I remember one instance when I was younger that relate well to this topic. I had friends that were rich and I had friends that were poor. My best friend Jay's family did not make a lot of money. He was the best soccer player I knew out of all of my friends. However I got to play on the strikers travel soccer team and because of his family's income he could not afford to play. Thinking back, all of the higher-class kids played on the striker�??s team and the lower class played on the Rec team. I don't think I realized that back when I was younger but it is interesting to look back on that now. It's just so unfortunate that some of the best players like my friend Jay, could not get an equal opportunity to play on the better team because of how much money his parents made a year. However, once you reach the high school/college level, you can be rewarded for your efforts with scholarships if you are that skilled of a player. This is misleading for so many athletes though because they think that getting a scholarship gives them a really great chance to become a professional athlete. The statistics show that the chances of going professional is still so slim and these kids that concentrate most of their time on sports instead of academics, end up in a lot of trouble concerning their future. "While the possibility of staggering wealth and status though sport exist, the reality is that dramatic upward mobility through sport is highly improbable (Eitzen, 249)." My point to all of this is that sports can be your passion and your favorite thing to do, but do not make it your life until you reach the professional level. No matter what, I think that you have to try and do well in academics first and foremost and leave sports second most important. You never know in this world how far you can get in sports and it is always good to have a back up plan incase everything backfires on you.

Growing up in Columbia, Maryland you are bred to play soccer. From age six to High School, soccer was the only thing I knew. Of course I tried many other sports but soccer was the one sport that was most popular and it dominated the area. It was hard to not notice the 10,000 soccer-mom minivans coming out of the Soccer Complex on the weekends. I played all throughout Elementary and Middle school and High School tryouts just became another stepping stone to where I wanted to be. Eitzen states in the reading (MYTH: Sport Provides a Free Education). �??�?�as low as the chances for men, women have even less chance to receive an athletic scholarship.�?� I knew growing up that I always wanted to play at the Division 1 level. Girls around me either on my club or high school team were receiving scholarships to Clemson, Maryland, Santa Clara etc. My closest friends around me were living it, I knew it was possible. Another one of my friend�??s received a full scholarship her junior year of high school to play at Virginia. She was just an average student. I realized then that sports can provide a gateway to a top level university. Normally she would struggle to get in simply based on academics. Then there�??s always the dream of playing at UNC Chapel Hill, but after a while you realize being on a collegiate team that is always top 1 or 2 in the nation is a very slim to none chance. From then on I decided to buckle down in school to keep my grades decent, and my center of attention became a scholarship for soccer, no matter what the odds might be. Most freshmen in high school were worried about being popular and how they are going to get there SAT scores higher. When I was freshmen I focused on my soccer resume, the one that I would be sending to different college soccer coaches. In other words, my ticket to a college education was going to be through soccer.
As of now I play soccer here at Towson, I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship. I believe growing up in the area I did, there were so many chances to succeed. The facilities in my area host top name tournaments every year, where teams from around the country come to compete. I credit a lot of my success to growing up into a positive atmosphere where the opportunity is there you just have to take advantage of it. Sports provide that chance and it�??s a great way to receive an education while doing something you love.

At age 5, when I first began playing organized sports, the cost of participation was of my least worries. But when I reached the age at which I could diagnose the FULL costs and class barriers of playing sports, my appreciation for the game and my family increased.
My mom was a single-parent, constantly working overtime and night shifts, in addition to her full time job. I would consider my childhood to be placed in the lower-middle class but with many restraints. My extended family helped out a lot and would take turns babysitting me so my mom was able to work more. My mom allowed me to play soccer and was able to afford the costs that came along with it. Soccer and football were the only sports being played in my general area. However, my family introduced me to the remaining popular sports(i.e. baseball, basketball, etc.). Football, in the area I grew up in, was 100% African American and soccer was predominantly white. Soccer was my only choice, which was fine because I loved the game and my best friend played as well.
Soccer proved to be inexpensive until I started playing in a travel league. Then, my mom was paying for uniforms, tournaments, equipment, and travel expenses. Soccer proved to be a good pick because I am still playing today at age 22. Although, my financial status restricts me from the amount of soccer I can play. I now play indoor soccer for two leagues and that costs more than I can afford! But I get more out of playing soccer now than when I was younger. Then, it was about winning and getting trophies. Now, I am playing with good friends and has proven to be a great and fun social sport for me.
It was once a dream for me to play Division I soccer or any college soccer when I was younger. This would be accomplished by receiving a scholarship because I wouldn�??t be able to afford college otherwise. However, as Eitzen states, "...very few high school athletes actually receive full scholarships." Without a full scholarship, paying the remainder to attend that college would still prove to be too expensive. I realized my education was a better bet and would prove more successful. I find it very easy to look at sports today and depict the social class structures within them. Class is a barrier in sports that few can overcome.

I have always been an extremely active child, and when I was younger I was enrolled into the Recreational soccer program like many other children around my age. I continued to play soccer from the age of 5 until I was 18 and a senior in High School. My older brothers had both played baseball but I was never one to be interested in softball. I was the type of kid who constantly needed to be running around and using my speed, and softball had too many dull moments for me. When I reached 6th grade I began to pick up lacrosse which is the sport that Upstate New York is known for, as it is in Long Island and the State of Maryland as well. I had always thought that I would play soccer in college. It was my dream to play soccer in college in fact, and until I began lacrosse that seemed to be the only option for me. This all changed around my junior year in high school, when my Varsity lacrosse team won the New York State Championship. Hardly a week later I had received multiple emails and recruitment letters from college coaches. Never before had I realized how much easier it was to get recruited for lacrosse than it was for soccer. In order to be seen for soccer I would have had to join multiple teams like the Olympic development program, or year round club teams that costs over hundreds of dollars and would require driving 3 hours just to get to practice. For lacrosse I always had tournaments that I could attend to attempt and get seen, and the directors of these events would send letters to high school coaches to encourage their players to come play. On top of this, making it to the NYS championships was the best recruiting opportunity I could have had. That one day I saw coaches from Northwestern University, Syracuse University, Princeton, Duke, UNC, Notre Dame, Cornell, Towson, Brown, UPenn, etc. In a 4 hour span I looked at coaches from some of the most prestigious schools in the country, who came out to watch 4 high school teams compete for an honor. Eitzen talks about how sport is a �??path to upward social mobility.�?� (Eitzen, Page 1) Though it sounds like a bizarre concept, the rational behind it is actually quite true. Sports give student athletes the chance to attend colleges that they may not have gotten into on grades alone. Giving students opportunities to go to great colleges can certainly begin to help them on the right path to a prosperous future. Playing a sport and getting recruited can help with someone who may not have been able to pay for college otherwise. Despite that very little students receive full scholarships as Eitzen says, many times, especially with in state tuition, full scholarships are not necessarily needed. I�??ve also found that coaches bend the rules by paying for a student�??s meal plan or partial housing as part of their scholarship. Having played and still playing lacrosse at Towson has associated me with great connections that will hopefully assist me in future internships and jobs when the time comes. Seeing as I still want to work somewhat in the sporting environment when I graduate, having these connections will certainly help me.

When I was younger my view on sports was different, but also very similar to how I play sports today. When I was in middle school and high school I played almost every sport from basketball, baseball, football, volleyball, tennis, hockey, and lacrosse. I remember before anyone had a car in the neighborhood we all got together and played the sport that was in season. When it was football season we played football. Basketball season we played basketball. Baseball season we played baseball.
I noticed now I have changed many of the sports that I play. I noticed I play golf a lot more then I did when I was young. I figured out that when I was younger I really didnt make any money, and I deffinetly didnt make enough to play golf. Many of the courses around here range from $20-$80 and even more if you want to play on a PGA course. Now that I actually make more money than before I can afford to play every once in a while. Most of the other sports I used to play I would play here and there, but golf is the one that changed significantly over the years.
I have been playing in a football league BSSC downtown for two years now and I think its interesting that it cost $75 dollars a season to play football in the park, but dont get me wrong it is well worth it. I think many people play just because its something to look forward to at the end of the week, its a good way to meet new people, and you get to go out and get those beer specials afterwards (some may say to get in shape, but its not a priority for many of us).
I think a lot of people lose that childhood way of playing sports, and thats why its such a good idea to play in a league, if not for fun then for bragging rights, but it keeps people in tuned with their competitive nature they had as kids. It is deffinetly a lot better to go out and play sports then to stay at home watching sportscenter.

As a youth I was given many opportunities to play numerous sports such as soccer and baseball. I started playing soccer when I was around the age of 4 and continued to play until I was about 16. Baseball on the other hand I started at the age of 5 and played until the year after I graduated from high school. When I was younger I lived and breathed baseball. All of that changed once I was introduced to football in 5th grade. Basically the pee wee football leagues were much too expensive for my parents to afford when soccer was so cheap to play. One in pee wee football you are responsible for buying all of your equipment, two, it cost too much to sign up so I was never really given the option to play football. Once I was given the opportunity to play football in the elementary school level I took it and dropped outdoor soccer all together. I did still play indoor soccer just because I had so many friends that I had accumulated over the years and enjoyed playing with them. But after that football took over my life. Throughout junior high school I came to the realization that by playing football it gave me an advantage in the classroom. I developed relationships with the teachers and they knew who I was. In 8th grade I played fullback (which is normally a blocker) and scored just about every time I touched the ball. This helped to further my position in the classroom because the teachers knew who I was. I eventually chose to watch film and lift during the offseason in football which took over my life leading me to cut out soccer all together. Now in my collegiate life I participate in flag football and softball. I choose to do so just because I am a competitive person. The competitiveness that I have accrued over the years leads me to spend a lot of money to go to sporting events that I shouldn�??t really buy tickets for but I do. The ravens fulfill my need for football and the Orioles for baseball. One big reason that I attempted to train so hard in football was that I wanted to further my football career by getting a ride to a college. This was not feasible due to the fact that I am only 5�??7�?� and played middle linebacker. So Eitzen is on point in his discussion of the myths of getting a free education. The odds of getting a full college scholarship are worse than most lottery drawings. Of the guys that I played football with there is only one that has received a full ride and he plays at Stanford. He is a tight end and just recently scored his first touchdown as a college player in his red shirt junior year. Basically the education that he is going to receive is essentially setting him up for life.

I have to agree with j. Hyson on that sports is a good way to get to the next educational level, and that it is a complete time sucker. I know a lot of people that play varsity sports most of which hate it and only do it for the money. That is the reason why I play club not varsity.

I have played sports my whole life, for the simple reason, that I love being involved in a team. As a kid I played sports all year round, in the fall it was soccer, winter basketball, and spring soccer, lacrosse or baseball. I unfortunately was not aloud to play football or hockey my parents said hockey cost too much, and football was too dangerous. I played soccer all the way up through highschool where the football coach told me to come play football as the starting running back. I soon found out football was not my scene. I only played basket ball and baseball for a couple of season, baseball was just to boring and slow paced for me and well lets face it there isn�??t much of a career for a 5�??7 white boy in basketball. So through trial and error I narrowed my sports down to lacrosse and soccer, lacrosse eventually winning out. As a kid my dream was to get a scholarship to college and play professional soccer. This was before I knew that only 31 athletes receive scholarships. So I played soccer both fall and spring, and went to as many tournaments as possible, I even would play indoor soccer just to stay in shape and work on my skills. My dream came to an abrupt stop when I was cut from the high school team as a freshman. I tried out for the lacrosse team that fall and made it. Before high school I had only played lacrosse for 2 seasons, so I wasn�??t the best at it. I broke my thumb early in the season, and when I returned I found my self in a new position defensive mid-fielder. From then on it was lacrosse all year round with hops of it as my ride to college. I had practice everyday in the spring; I played fall ball in the fall and just ran and worked out in the winter. As a senior I had a couple of college choices and a couple scholarship opportunities, but not full rides, just partial scholarships. I ended up just going to my local community college and playing lacrosse there, after a year I transferred to Towson and I currently play for the club lacrosse team here. Since it is only club lacrosse we practice 3 days a week, but I try to attend as many Towson or Hopkins local games as possible. All I have every hoped to get out of playing the various sports that I have played, is to stay active and have fun. After college I want to keep playing lacrosse, or at least coach at the high school or even college level. I have learned a lot from playing various sports and have sports as a main part in my life.

Growing up, I played as many sports as I could. I played soccer, baseball, basketball and bowling. I loved all of them when I was younger but as I grew up I started to focus on just baseball and basketball. As we get older, we don�??t have as much free time as we used to because of work and school. These sports were not cheap either and I�??m blessed that my parents put all that money into my sporting activities. Baseball was by far the most expensive sport to play. Money was spent on equipment, tournaments and other related events. I played with a lot of kids that could afford to buy a new glove or bat every year and have the top of the line equipment. Unfortunately, neither my parents nor I could afford equipment that often. I was still just as good an athlete as they were, even though my equipment wasn�??t as new as theirs. It made me work even harder just to show them that its not a new glove or a new bat that makes me a better player, but it�??s the person.
I always worked hard to get better in my particular sport. I feel like sometimes I hadn�??t worked hard enough to get what I want. I was hoping that one day I could pay back my parents for all the money they put into my sports. I wanted to pay them back by getting a scholarship to a good college. I loved basketball and thought if I could make this a career, my life would be set. But just like the article says, there is a very small chance that sports will provide a free education or a college degree (Upward Mobility Through Sport? The Myths and Realities, Eitzen). I kept my hopes and worked hard but one day during tryouts in my senior year, I was cut from the team. My hopes and dreams went down the drain. Now that I look back on it, I think I could have worked a little bit harder to achieve my goal.
My participation is a sport has helped me develop into the person I am today. Soccer and basketball taught me how to work well with others to reach a common goal, teamwork and cooperation. Baseball and bowling taught me that there is no one out there to help you except yourself. When you�??re at bat, it�??s all up to you to make the right decision. Same thing with bowling, if there�??s any one to blame its only yourself.
Today, I participate in a few intramural leagues for softball, basketball and football. I take what I have learned about each sport growing up and use it in every aspect of my life. I do it for the love of the game, to meet new people and to stay active and have fun.

To add, in the Eitzen article, it was explaining how sports do not lead to a college degree. I found it interesting that statistics show that athletes take easier classes and many do not graduate. Many get into the a college based on athletic ability and many are below the academic standards for the school. I had a friend who applied to Towson, did not get in, then tried out for the dance team and was accepted after making the team. Her SAT's and grades did not meet their standards but because she was a great dancer, they let her in anyway. Many people may find that unfair, but i think one should do whatever they need to do to acheive it.

I think that francesca's story about her high school basketball team is a great example of how sports can, on a social level, bring together all classes. Team unity is a great way to even people out, especially when it comes to young kids that might not know better. The younger they can realize that it is not about how much money you have and more about the person being a good human being, the better attitudes they will have about different and lower classes later on in adulthood.

When talking about the role that social classes play in sports I can understand first hand the importance that money and class can play in the development of young athletes. Growing up playing ice hockey was always the highlights of my life. At around age 9, I started to play travel hockey for my hometown 'AA' team. This took us all over the place, from Canada to Nashville, and even to Columbia, Md! For 4 years I played in this organization with roughly the same kids, in which a couple of them are still my best freinds to this day. I was always one of the better players on the team along with a couple other kids. When we (the better kids on the team) became a little older around age 13 and hockey became a little more serious, my father and a couple other dads on the team, decided that we should tryout for 'AAA' teams (a step higher and more publicity in junior hockey and college terms). Since our home town did not have any 'AAA' teams we traveled to Cleveland, Oh to play. All three of us made the same team and started out the year playing together just as planned. By playing here, we would gain more valuable coaching, better opponents and more exposure. As the year went on the costs were getting more and more expensive. Now, for my two buddies on the team, money was not a huge issue for them. Their parents could afford the travel and team expenses, but it was really taking a tole on my parents wallets and after the first half of the year we had to pull out of the team. This was a huge blow to me, but now that I am older i understand that it had to be done. I continued to play on the 'AA' home travel team (which was still good hockey, but below the 'AAA' level) and did till I was about 16, when i started to play on the high school prep team at the prep school I was enrolled in. While i was playing prep school hockey my 2 best friends were continuing to play in better leagues than me and by this time considering the exposure to better play and coaching, they had surpassed me in terms of skill and level. I eventually ended up playing Div. III college hockey for two years, which from where i came from is better than most, but from the exposure they got because they could afford to leave town and play on better teams they both are now playing Div. I college hockey on full scholarships and one of them played on team USA under 18's and is drafted into the NHL.
Now i know that they are considered the "lucky ones" as stated in the reading that "only15% to 20% of males have full scholarships," but I cannot help to think that maybe if I were to have played at the higher levels all that time with them, that maybe I too could have progressed into a Div. I college scholarship. After all, as also stated in the reading my goal at age 13, like many other of my peers, was to become a professional athlete. So as shown in my case, even though it's sad and we dont like to think of social class being a barrier on our youth sports progression, in many reality cases it is, and many times it divides who plays professionally and who doesn't.

I have always been fickle when it comes to my hobbies. I started playing basketball when I was about 7 and played every year until I was about thirteen. I remember playing on travel teams and my mom always having to pay another fee whether it was for new shoes, a new ball, a new jersey or the flat fee for the new season. It seems the better you were, the more involved you got and the more expensive it was. I had friends who played through Howard County recreation and parks and their parents didn�??t have to dish out nearly what mine did. I later became bored with basketball and wanted to try something new in high school. I always thought tennis was a fun sport but because I was a teenager, I had to learn quickly if I wanted to make the team in high school. My parents always supported whatever new hobbies I wanted to take up, so they paid for private lessons so I could try and catch on fast before the tennis season started. Lessons were around 50 dollars a session, and I had them twice a week. I took lessons for about 4 months. It added up very quickly with the lessons and all the gear needed to play. I loved to participate but wasn�??t really into playing on the high school teams only because it was so time consuming; I wanted to spend my free time mostly with my friends. I also had a job and was more focused on making money. Being so fickle, I played tennis for about 2 years, and then took up track, then boxing both for a very short time. I think if I would have stuck with one sport, I could have been amazing. Being on a team playing sports taught me drive, motivation, sportsmanship, and teamwork. When I have children, I will absolutely encourage them to play and get involved in many sports.
Unfortunately, because I didn�??t stick with any sports long enough to play all throughout high school, I didn�??t get any scholarships to any colleges. When I think about it, I guess it wasn�??t necessary to get a scholarship because my parents had money and basically encouraged me to apply to any college of my choice. One of my closest friends whose parents basically told her that sport was her way to college because they wouldn�??t be able to afford it. Through the whole four years, she played her heart out to get a full ride. She always was excited for the season to end because she wasn�??t doing it for the right reasons. Yes, she enjoyed playing and loved lacrosse, but the main reason she played as hard as she did was to get a scholarship to any school. �??Good high school athletes get scholarships. These athlete scholarships are especially helpful to poor youth who otherwise would not be able to attend college because of the high costs.�?�(Upward Mobility Through Sport? The Myths and Realities, Eitzen). It�??s upsetting to think that some students play for that purpose only, but some do. I couldn�??t imagine having that kind of pressure on me. Those who received scholarships and went on to college to play have more drive than I ever had. I give props to those who maintain a college career balancing school work, sports, and a social life all at the same time.

I�??ve played many sports growing up, but the one that held most of my interest was wrestling. From eighth grade till the present I�??ve been involved in the sport, starting on a recreational team in eighth grade, moving up to JV in ninth and tenth, then starting Varsity as a junior and senior. My goal was to get good enough to place high in states and hopefully get a scholarship to eventually wrestle at a good college. What I didn�??t know starting however, was that many colleges had cut their programs due to two things, Title 9, and budget cuts. As stated in the reading by Eitzen, �??another reality is if you are a male athlete in a so-called minor sport (swimming, tennis, golf, gymnastics, cross-country, wrestling), the chances of a full scholarship is virtually nil.�?� Had I known this perhaps my grades would have been a little better in hopes of some sort of academic scholarship, because Sport does most definitely provide a free education for those in my sport.
To speak more along the lines of class structure in wrestling, I can say that different classes are obvious in most cases. Wrestling like most sports has necessary equipment, some shoes can cost up to $120 where as you can also buy a cheap pair for about $30. The kids that come from higher class would always have the nicer wrestling shoes. Speaking to the higher classes as well the kids that come from them, have more opportunity to attend camps and other clinics, as well as participate in all the out of season tournaments, which can cost $20 per weekend. So the class distinctions are definitely prevalent. It�??s a shame we can�??t get founding to get all the kids involved in more sports or get schools to pay for certain things to give all kids the same opportunities.

As a kid, I played basketball, baseball and soccer. I didn�??t play basketball or baseball for that long, but I played soccer for a majority of my life. I was better at soccer than basketball and soccer was much more fun than baseball, at least as a kid, because it had a much faster pace and you didn�??t just stand around, I played center field which is the worst position for a kid to play. So soccer became my primary focus and I ended up playing club level. I, like many people, became somewhat obsessed with the sport that I was good at. I had such great hopes for soccer. I looked at it as my ticket to college and even a career. But then I came to my senses and realized that even if I did make it, there is not much for a soccer player, in terms of scholarships or salary. After reading the scholarly article this week, I understand that I was fortunate to realize that at an early point in my life. The statistics in the Eitzen reading were staggering. I never realized that the percentages of people receiving scholarships and pro careers were so low compared to the number of high school athletes. The reading also pointed out that most people believe their athletic ability because they have to. I�??m glad that I have been raised in a situation where I could afford to give up my dream of being a professional athlete. I now play recreational soccer and my participation in sports is now purely for entertainment. As for sporting events that attend, I only go to football games. Football, for me, is the most entertaining sport to watch.

As I have stated before, being from Baltimore I have grown up playing lacrosse. Even as a kid I was athletic playing sports like soccer, swimming, and diving. When I got to high school I participated in Lacrosse, Volleyball and Track. Most of the teams I played on had kids and famalies from the same classes, living in alot of similar neighborhoods and playing on many of the same teams.
While reading the article I started thinking about the class differences and the ethnic diversity that is usually seen in sports. Going to high school at an all-girls private Catholic school, I rarely saw a diverse group of girls at school and in sport. I had two African American girls in my graduating class, none on my volleyball or lacrosse teams, and one Asain girl out of 114. I guess it kind of sheltered me in seeing other classes and ethnicities throughout my sporting career.
As Eitzen states in the reading, "MYTH: Sport Provides a Free Education." Playing lacrosse for a very competitive club and high school it was ingrained in me that what I was doing was training for a college career and scholarship. Every tournament that I went to each summer was for two reasons: one was to win, and two- to have the college coaches watch my every move, goal and style of playing. My club team went to the Nationals and got second place. This got our team alot of recognition, besides the fact that half of my team was made up of the best high school team in the country Mount Hebron). Although playing lacrosse in high school was the best time in my life thus far, it became stressful as all of the scouting began to come to an end. I was looked at by some of the best college teams in the country, but somehow ended up at UMBC. I still received a hefty scholarship, but because of my grades could not compete with the Duke's, Princeton's and Virginia's. I had the option of going to community college my freshman year then transferring to Ohio State with a scholarship, but there was no way I would do that. WIth all the pressure to stay on top and seeing all my friends go around the country with Division I scholarships, I could not possibly be the only one to go to (God forbid) community college. Therefore, I took the scholarship to UMBC and was prepared to sign my life away for the nest four to five years just to get a good education. Consequently, I had been fighting a back injury that finally caught up to me and made me red shirt my freshman year (when I would have started each game). I was told that I could continue playing and injure myself for life, or stop and decrease the immense pain I had been sustaining. I obviously ended my career in lacrosse and ended up where I had been so afraid of going : community college.
All in all, I am still attempting to attain my degree that I could have gotten for much, much cheaper if I had been playing. Nothing is for free, and if it was close- things like being able to walk when I am 40 take a bit of precedence over the matter.

I started playing sports a very young age. My father had played soccer during his entire youth up through playing soccer at the University of Maryland College Park. So when I was first able to walk, my mom told me that when I was walking I always had the soccer ball with me that my dad had given me.
When I was finally able to participate in organized leagues my dad signed me up and was my coach all throughout my youth. During these years of playing soccer I did see a trend. As I got older and started doing more traveling with soccer I began to notice a difference in the people I was playing with.
I come from a very diverse town and played on many recreational leagues with players of different race and ethnicity. However, when I took on travel soccer and began to go on trips I started to notice that a lot of my friends who were African American were not coming with us. They would play the games that were close to home, but when it came to traveling far and paying for transportation and hotels my friends would not join the rest of the team. Being only 12 when I first started to notice this I would ask my dad why and he would tell me because some of them were not able to afford it while my parents were able to. Being so young still I didn�??t understand until I reached high school. After freshman year soccer I and one of my best friends who is African American were asked to join the varsity team the next season. Every summer the varsity team would attend camp in Gettysburg.
I can remember packing then night before and calling my friend to see if he wanted to ride up to Gettysburg with my mom and me. He told me he wasn�??t coming because he was sick. However, later I found out that he was unable to pay and that cost him playing time that season because the rest of the team worked together that week and he had to catch up with what we did and learned at camp at the beginning of training camp.
Over the years I began to realize that soccer was not going to get me too far in life. I did talk to my dad many times about playing soccer in college and hopefully professionally one day. However, he explained that it would be great to play soccer in college like he did but not to choose a school based on soccer. I received a few small offers; however I did not take them. After my senior season was over I sat on the sidelines and just thought about how soccer had changed my life. I knew it was over competitively for now and that I had to move on from the game. To this day I do not regret not playing in school. I do miss playing; however I do realized that a four year college degree will get me further than spending most of my time on the soccer field.

I�??ve always played sports, and once I got older, I realized that there are differences in leagues, the players and the dedication required. The cost of things didn�??t really become an issue until I wanted to try and play hockey. However you could see in the smaller recreational leagues, it was cheaper, less strict about rules and amount of dedication. There were leagues in my community like EYO which were cheaper and less competitive, compared to SAC which was a club league in Columbia. SAC cost at least twice as much and played year round. Most of those who played in SAC played all the way up to college. I played softball and soccer for many years in the rec leagues like EYO but once I started playing lacrosse in high school, I stepped up to the more dedicated and higher leagues in the off seasons. When I look back at why I participated in sport, I wanted to learn teamwork, become dedicated and try to play in college when it came to lacrosse. People see sport as a way to move up in class status or to get a more from life, but sport can only do this if the person has the right means. You need money to play for the big leagues where you get the right coaches, the right lessons and the right exposure. According to Eitzen, people believe that sport is a way to college, as I did, a way to a good career with lots of money, a free education, or even a way out of poverty. These are myths because all of these require money and intense dedication which some people can�??t afford. It does happen for some people, but only after lots of time, money and sacrifices. Like I said, I learned that it takes a lot more than just one good team and league to make it, even to college. Sport can help someone up in status, most just done realize how much work it takes.

I have always had a passion for soccer throughout my whole life beginning at the elementary school level. It came very natural to me, and I couldn't seem to get enough. During my youth age up until adolescence I was happy with the choices I made about soccer primarily, and a couple other sports. Soccer was a priority rather than an extracurricular activity at school. I was on varsity soccer all four years of high school, and played on a D1 WAGS club team. I was more obligated to that than actually caring about school. The sole purpose of playing on a WAGS club team was to get recruited by college coaches, so they would get a glimpse of how I played. It was more serious than playing for high school because college scouts rarely attended games, plus we weren't nearly as good. I knew playing soccer at college would help me get into a good college because I didn't have a 4.0 in high school, and I didn't do extremely well on my SATS. In a sense I felt as if I needed to play soccer in college.
Nearing the end of my high school career, I was recruited by a few D2 and D3 schools to play soccer for them. After finally choosing one, I ended up starting for the team, and doing a pretty well. However, my grades weren't doing well, and I found myself stressed and procrastinating on school work more than I should have. My second year at school reality came into play a lot more. I started realize that soccer couldn't be my life, and needed to start thinking about the future and my potential career. Ultimately, I knew that I wasn't planning on going pro in soccer, so I might as well not be so stressed out about it. In addition to saving my parents some money and just strictly concentrating on school. " The demands on their time and energy are enourmous even in the off-season. Many athletes, because of these pressures, take easy courses to maintain eligibility but do not lead to graduation." (Myth: Sport leads to a College degree) I can relate to that because that is how I felt trying to balance out a sport and school work at the same time. It can be very stressful, and energy consuming. After you traveled to an away game you wouldn't look forward to coming home and doing two hours of school work. Although, some people can do it. Thinking about the choices I've made in the last few years, I am happier. I can still love the game, and play it not as intensely. I can manage school better, and not be so stressed and under pressure.

Ever since elementary school, I�??ve played sports for fun with my friends. I tried the basic sports such as baseball, basketball, and even pickup football, but eventually I found my niche in soccer. I played competitive club soccer up until high school, where the new focus was to play for a soccer scholarship and to boost my statistics against other local area kids. Luckily, I realized this was not the best option, and that soccer could only get me into college, and likely, nothing past that. My family never pressured me into only thinking about soccer for a college choice, but the lure was of course there for me to take a scholarship from a division two or three school for a cheaper education. With that, I�??m glad I chose Towson because otherwise, I could have ended up like many other collegiate athletes, who may go to school on a scholarship or grant, but which only covers partial the cost (Upward Mobility Through Sport? Eitzen). This happened to a few of my friends from high school for example, where they went to a private school on a football scholarship, only to realize a year or two later, that even with some of this extra money, they still had to cover more than half the $40,000 tuition, plus had to stay at school a year extra just to graduate. Looking back now, I�??m happy with the decision I made to take a step back from a game I love, and just to enjoy the game passively (through both watching games and following on the internet) and through less competitive leagues. I�??m sure I�??ve saved myself plenty of time to actually enjoy college to make some friends, have some fun, enjoy soccer still (and not become burnt out) and of course, save my parents some money too.

I do agree with dye223 as well. I don't feel as though sports should be the #1 priority especially above school. Because when you suffer from an injury and all of a sudden you are unable to play....what do you have to fall back on? If you don't have an education, you have a $8 minimum wage job! Wow thats what I've always wanted! I was always brought up to hold my education as a very high priority, above all and where I am in my life with school theres no way I could play a sport and succeed in school.

I also agree with dye223. He states that he knows someone who is taking the minimum amount of credits so he can continue playing his sport. I also know someone in a similar situtation. It seems illogicaly that kids now think sports should be the focal point of everything. They are only looking toward their present, but what about their future since they have very very slim chances of making it to the pros.

In my teenage years to even now, I have played mostly every sport offered. I was involved in basketball, soccer, cross country, track (both seasons), and baseball. I also played lacrosse and football, but not for as long as the pervious mentioned sports. Sports in high school and to an extent now are my life. I maintained excellent grades and excelled in sports as well. I was highly praised as a scholar-athlete coming out of my school. I received numerous awards for my performances in the classroom and on the court or field. I also received scholarships from three of the six colleges I applied to. I received a full grant to attend a division two school for basketball and academics. I also received two different scholarships here at Towson for academics and track (even though the track scholarship fell through due to disappointing circumstance). Now when I am posting this I do not want the audience to think I�??m bragging or that I am the greatest athlete out there. I am saying all this for a reason. According to the reading, Upward Mobility Through Sports? Myths and Realities by D. Stanley Eitzen it states many myths of sports and the individuals surrounding them. This article states that white male athletes are less likely to play a sport at the college level then an African-American male. Even a scholarship is scarce for any college athlete to receive (20% full scholarships and 15-25% half scholarships). I am a so called contributor to this theory. I received scholarships both half and full to different schools, but now what am I doing in college? The answer is not playing a sport. Yes I play intramural sports, but I am not on any varsity college teams. I am a white male who just has proven that the opportunity to play at the college level is very slim even with advantages over others. If it weren�??t for my academic scholarship here I would probably not be attending Towson University. Like the article says many kids believe they are going to make it in sports and that is how they will support themselves. However, like most kids I did not believe my abilities and scholarships would let me have a career in professional sports. I realized that I would never be a professional athlete and that going to college and receiving a degree would help me out immensely in the future. According to the article, male athletes have a 1 to 10,000 odd of making it professionally. So when people ask me am I upset I�??m not playing a college sport I answer yes. On the other hand thinking that my odds of getting struck by lightening or winning the lotto are better than becoming a professional athlete, I do not believe I made the wrong decision. Throughout my career of playing sports I only did it for two reasons. These reasons include: the love of sports and the fun I incurred while playing sports.

I agree with you Dyee 223 sports in college require so much time and effect. That to the point for some why is it even worth your time. Now i realize for some by playing a sport that is the only way they could afford college or get into a certain college, however to have to go to the pressure of sports and usually have restrains put on you for what classes you take is unheard of. It is also said that some people can afford certain camps that the teams they play on go to. Why even go to these camps? If you can take your whole team is that even fair?

When looking back on my sporting choices as a youth I played everything. I then found my niches with basketball and lacrosse. I participated in basketball and was pretty good at it and had dreams of playing in college. I look back on that now and realize at a young age I should dream, but in reality it would never happen. I played all of middle school on my team and decided that I should maybe focus more on one sport in high school. Looking back on this and somewhat being told what to do I should have never given up playing basketball. I attended all the practices and got a lot of time in the games and even after I stopped attended also all of the games. Also being involved in more then one sports can help relieve stress in our lives. Especially at a young age it is good to see sports and how different coaches, players, and staff interact.
I had been playing lacrosse for my entire life. I participated in every club, recreational and school team I could. I have played lacrosse at every possible level and have learned and since many things occur both negative and positive. I have also since that lacrosse like hockey are very expense sports to play. Also lacrosse and somewhat hockey are not the high paying pro sports like football baseball etc. These sports help you get a better education or should I say help give you the tools to getting a better education. I it�??s very seldom that many people can make a living off of these sports. I have seen why sports in college and the societies pressures would make professional sports players especially football and basketball just use the college to get to the next level and then never go back to finishing there degree.
It is hard being a sports player in the college ranks these days the pressure and the draining day�??s they have to endure. No wonder they don�??t take a course load they should and take on the small requirements that is given to them to stay eligible. I did this my freshman year and if I didn�??t transfer I probably wouldn�??t be able to do what I am doing now.
However by playing lacrosse I got a scholarship to play Division III lacrosse in Philadelphia at a small school. Thus comes in one segment of the reading from this week. Even though it was in an athletic scholarship I got a substantiation amount of academic money from the school. It is true at any level that sports can help you get money from a school and help people go to a school that they really like. I also do agree that sports at any level can get in the way of obtaining a degree. These days and in our society the stress and pressure on college athletes by coaches, alumni and even the student body it is hard to take a course load to gain a degree. This is one of the reasons why I transferred to Towson because I didn�??t want sports to get in the way of myself obtaining my degree.

I played three years varsity football in high school. I started off as second string defensive end in my sophmore year of high school and moved up to starting defensive end my junior year and started at nose guard my senior year. I chose to play football because I was a fairly big guy for my age. I was unable to play football in my youth because I was what they called "husky" back then and exceeded the weight limit. My family and I would always have football games going during Thanksgiving and my friends and kids from the neighborhood would always get a pick up game going at the local park. Football was always a favorite pasttime of mine growing up. So a chance to join an official team and play football legitimately was a no brainer for me. My brother, who is ten years older than me played football at my old high school also. My parents would bring me to games and we'd watch my brother play which is also what had drawn me into the sport. I didn't really hope to get much out of playing football until after it was over. I gained a good twenty pounds after the season was over mmy senior year. Usually, I would have been doing off season workouts, which I no longer had to be a part of. I did look foward to getting out my aggression after school at practice most of the time. It was the only time at school when I could hit somebody full speed and not get in trouble for it. There was a good amount of players on my team that were less fortunate. We went to football camp in Frostburg every year and not all of the players could afford it. The coaches made a deal with the players and their parents, and ended paying for them to attend the camp.
"Many athletes, because of these pressures, take easy courses to maintain eligibility but do not lead to graduation. The result is either to delay graduation or to make graduation an unrealistic goal." (Upward Mobility Through Sport?:The Myths and Realities, Eitzan).One of my best friends is a great example of this. i played ball wiht him in high school and he started all four years. He got a full ride to Penn State and has been taking twelve credits of general education class each semester. He has just this past semester decided on a major and does not think he is going to graduate for another two to three years. Collegiate level sports take up so much time and adds an insane amount of pressure on a student to the point of were they are in fear of not losing their scholarship.

I can see a very distinct trend in the sports I have played in my youth and continuing to my young adulthood. As part of my youth I played travel basketball year round. In this league, it seemed as though everything was costly. The team and area in which I played for was an upper class area in which handing out money each week was not a big deal. For my middle class family, it got to me a lot but with the ethics my parents have they worked hard for the money and never once said anything about how much was put into my sport experience. While playing basketball in High School I remember one ongoing situation in particular. We were a very close knit team. We were a family and no matter if it was personal issues, basketball related or money related we were there behind each other 100% and so were our families. One girl in particular on our team was not as fortunate as everyone else. Her shoes were falling apart, uniform was rarely washed and her attitude was one that was extremely hard to deal with. She was an amazing player however had a grudge against all of us in the beginning. Her father was in jail and her mother worked 2-3 jobs and was never home. Over four years you really get to know people. As we started getting to know her we realized how broken up inside she was. One day she came in and would not talk to anyone, threw balls and walked out of practice slamming the door saying she didn�??t need this in her life. Most players and coaches would give up on her after that. We however came together to help our friend and our family member. We came to find out she had been evicted that morning with little notice and no where to go. The stress of taking care of her siblings while going to school and playing basketball had gotten the best of her. �??Prolonged exposure to stress, researchers have found can lead to abnormalities in immune function and glucose metabolism and destroy brain cells�?� (For Good Health, It Helps To Be Rich and Important, Goobe). The stress our teammate was undergoing was breaking her body down physically and mentally. She was becoming sick more often than she was healthy and her attitude towards life suffered greatly. Recognizing this we took her under our wings and �??nursed�?� her back to health. She stayed at numerous of our houses until things were figured out. When doing shoe orders, sweats, warm-ups, etc we all put in enough money so she could get all the other things we got as a team. Our coach even paid in full for her to go to our away team camp over the summer and the dues to play in the different leagues and organizations! This is a life lesson that I learned and got out of sports and feel wouldn�??t be able to get it out of any other aspect of my life! I currently play intramurals and play in an adult basketball league back home over the summer. It is very relaxed and at this stage in my life economic or social differences are not as vibrant as they were throughout high school. The one thing that still ties us together no matter how old you are or what level you play on, is the love of the game!