(INTRO)When one thinks of sports, beauty is not something that pops into their head immediately. Usually competitive, rough, team, winning, etc. are what come to mind. If you really stop to think about it though, sports are full of beauty. John Armstrong who writes “La Bella Vita” discusses beauty, how “…human nature as an arena in which two powerful psychological drives are at work.” These two psychological drives go hand in hand, and when two work together, it allows us to see the full potential beauty has to offer. “…The sense drive which lives in the moment and seeks immediate gratification…craves contact and possession” (Armstrong), can explain the beauty you see on a small scale such as a beautiful pass, shot, play, goal etc. On a larger scale “…The form drive [is] the inner demand for coherence over time, for abstract understanding and rational order” (Armstrong). This could be seen through the team working together to overcome challenges and succeeding to accomplish their end goal. There is a lot of beauty found in the game of hockey, and it is not just the beautiful plays that players create to score a goal, you can find beauty in all the minute detail. If you take the sport of ice hockey for example, although in general the sport is rough, ice hockey requires a lot of finesse, if you look at the top hockey players who have perfected their stride, the beauty that can come from a skate stride is like none other. Making those tape to tape passes, the sound of the ice as your skates leave their mark with every stride that you take, the sense drive from the bruises, the broken bones, the tears, joy, laughter, anger, the endless hours shooting pucks in your driveway, the early mornings waking up to go to practice, the late nights getting home from games just to wake up and do it all over again the next day. Those things are what give the game beauty. The form drive doing it all for the end goal to win, to be the best player you can be. Hockey is a game that is full of beauty and when all of those little pieces of beauty come together they are able to create a magnificent work of art.
(P1) Beauty in sports is when the team is able to come together, preserver, and overcome challenges, to accomplish the goal of winning. They are required to face adversity, step outside of your comfort zone, and push yourselves to be the best you can be each and every day, until you are able to do that you will not be able to experience the beauty of teamwork.
(P2) Never taking anything for granted, going to the rink, field, court everyday wanting to be there and get better. Before you know it your career could end and you may be left with the regret that you took some practices for granted. Always try to find the beauty in everything, take a minute to step back and reflect on the beauty of what you are given and the beauty of the world.
(P3) If you do all of those things, in the end everything will fall into place and all that hard work, perseverance and dedication to something you love with pay off and you will get to experience the true beauty. (winning a championship)
You make great use of this exercise. Well done.