Sports and Me

The spirit of competition is quite intense in the human beings, and it comes naturally (survival of the fittest model of nature's design). In sports, as in other spheres of life, lots of competition is there. But that is not what amuses me. The amusing element is that even simple games can become challenging once you play against some good players.
Two things I learnt from my experience of trying out various outdoor sports. First is, one can get hurt in any outdoor sports, even a game like badminton. Second is, there's a concept of a 'smash' shot, which can be clearly seen in games like table tennis, badminton, volley-ball etc. It basically means using a lot of energy in one shot so that it becomes faster and more difficult to break or return.

The first game that I had played was Badminton. Simple enough, I thought... a light cork which can be conveniently made to reach the other side of the net. When I played against significantly better players than me I found the complexities in the game, the tricks and techniques that could be and are usually used.

Cricket was the second game that I had played. A bat, a ball, three wickets, some protection kit, fielders etc., phew! quite a complex one. Add to this, long list of rules and various fielding positions etc. I did find cricket as a complex sport. And since I was (am) really afraid of facing the ball, I prefer(red) the bowling part rather than batting part!

Table Tennis was the third one, a complete disaster I must say... didn't learn it seriously though had plenty of time to do so and my father was willing and had lots of free time to teach me. I found this sport a little tricky, not complex though! The ping pong ball moves quite fast but smoothly, which I really like(d).

I found volleyball second in number, in terms of simplicity, i.e., just after badminton, among the sports I've played. Initially I found it a bit difficult to make the ball reach the other side of the net, but with some practice I found that the game was quite simple. The only problem part I thought was the 'smash' shot, but later after breaking those shots and making the ball reach the other side of the net, I grew more confident about the game. Later, looking at some real good players playing Volleyball I realized that the game might look simple but the tendency of people to get better and introduce some challenge induces some innovation and raises the level of expertise that can be achieved.

The more one plays, the more one learns is something I realized after I started playing basketball. I played for a few weeks in my first semester, but when I realized I wasn't picking up the game, I left playing it. I started again in my 6th semester and was more into the game this time, so I learned a few things.

A couple of months ago, I decided to go for P.T. so that I also get into the habit of waking up early. After P.T. everyone played hockey, so I also joined them. I found hockey interesting, especially after watching the 'chak de' movie. The interesting parts I found were the rotation of hockey-stick so that ball is hit by only the front part of the stick, and that the ball shouldn't touch any of the body part, and that the ball shouldn't be lifted in air and should be kept on ground.
Hockey is my latest attempt towards learning at least one outdoor sports in life! All the previous sports I just mentioned were not the ones I know well, just that I played them sometimes. I feel a threshold has to be reached, a threshold in performance, crossing which a person plays reasonably well and can say that he/she knows the sport. It might take longer for people like me, but for people with better experience in sports would take lesser time but the threshold can be crossed.

I hope to cross that threshold soon.