I’m from that kind of family who at every family reunion there has to be some type of sporting event going on. It could be flag football with the cousins and uncles, or pick up soccer games in the backyard. No matter what you have to bring tennis shoes, t-shirts, and your competitiveness to family events. Both sides of my family have played sports in college, from my dad playing baseball at Syracuse University, to my uncles playing baseball, football and soccer at Harvard and University of Arizona. So needless to say, not playing a sport in my family has never been an option.
I have played soccer since I was 9 years old. I fell in love with it from the first kick, and have been playing it ever since. My athletic career as a child didn’t start off so strong however. When I was 5 my mom wanted me to do what she always wanted to do as a child, dance. Reluctantly my father went along, and fortunately for him, but unfortunately for my mother I was about as graceful as a newborn giraffe. To this day I still am being made fun of for my lack of grace on the dance floor. My parents suffered through two years of “clogging ballet”, as they call it, a dance style that I apparently invented, and never signed me up for that graceful skill again.
Four years later, I guess the shame of my parents finally wearing off from the dance recital; they signed me up for basketball. My father had high hopes for me on this one, so confident that his hand eye coordination was passed on to me. To his dismay, this didn’t go much better. I just couldn’t get the concept down that you had to dribble the ball. Basketball season ended, and with me, and only me, not scoring any points all season, I said goodbye to basketball.
Soccer was next, and thankfully this one stuck. I have played soccer for 13 years and it has taught me so much about myself. These valuable lessons I figure can also be applied to school and to my future career.
There can be anywhere from 11-25 people on a soccer team. You quickly learn how everyone of your teammates play their position and handle situations under pressure. How are they going to perform when they are in a game and are called upon to try and score during a penalty shoot out? You try to find the right words to say to them, because you know that their goal can either cause you to move on to the regional final, or your season can be over right then and there. The same concept applies to business. As a marketer you are always around other people that you have to work with. You learn their strengths and weaknesses. You learn when they are under a lot of stress and how you can help them. You are a team. You will go through wins and losses. I have learned this just through dealing with group projects in my marketing classes. You will have some people who go above and beyond their work, and then you will have some who piggyback off others. Either way, at the end of the day you’re only going to be as strong as your weakest link.
The passion for sports was never an option for me. It’s a family heirloom! Future posts will continue to make a link between marketing and business concepts with the lessons I have learned from sports. The blogging world is new for me; I look forward to a new little playing field!
Just kicking it,
Kristina
I have played soccer since I was 9 years old. I fell in love with it from the first kick, and have been playing it ever since. My athletic career as a child didn’t start off so strong however. When I was 5 my mom wanted me to do what she always wanted to do as a child, dance. Reluctantly my father went along, and fortunately for him, but unfortunately for my mother I was about as graceful as a newborn giraffe. To this day I still am being made fun of for my lack of grace on the dance floor. My parents suffered through two years of “clogging ballet”, as they call it, a dance style that I apparently invented, and never signed me up for that graceful skill again.
Four years later, I guess the shame of my parents finally wearing off from the dance recital; they signed me up for basketball. My father had high hopes for me on this one, so confident that his hand eye coordination was passed on to me. To his dismay, this didn’t go much better. I just couldn’t get the concept down that you had to dribble the ball. Basketball season ended, and with me, and only me, not scoring any points all season, I said goodbye to basketball.
Soccer was next, and thankfully this one stuck. I have played soccer for 13 years and it has taught me so much about myself. These valuable lessons I figure can also be applied to school and to my future career.
There can be anywhere from 11-25 people on a soccer team. You quickly learn how everyone of your teammates play their position and handle situations under pressure. How are they going to perform when they are in a game and are called upon to try and score during a penalty shoot out? You try to find the right words to say to them, because you know that their goal can either cause you to move on to the regional final, or your season can be over right then and there. The same concept applies to business. As a marketer you are always around other people that you have to work with. You learn their strengths and weaknesses. You learn when they are under a lot of stress and how you can help them. You are a team. You will go through wins and losses. I have learned this just through dealing with group projects in my marketing classes. You will have some people who go above and beyond their work, and then you will have some who piggyback off others. Either way, at the end of the day you’re only going to be as strong as your weakest link.
The passion for sports was never an option for me. It’s a family heirloom! Future posts will continue to make a link between marketing and business concepts with the lessons I have learned from sports. The blogging world is new for me; I look forward to a new little playing field!
Just kicking it,
Kristina