Activity Journal Entry

Showing perseverance and commitment

Are there ever feelings of doubt or wanting to skip practice?  If so, how did I move through them?

I always enjoy participating and attending practice, therefore there are rarely ever, if any, feelings of doubt about going to practice. There are factors that may at times get in the way of going to practice, such as homework, outside friends, or factors from my personal life. These are all external factors, however, that I rarely have any control over. I do have control over how I choose to approach each factor with respect to my desire of wanting to go to practice. Sometimes I must make sacrifices so I can go to basketball practice.

How do I motivate myself to stay active?  

Due to my passion for basketball, I rarely have to explicitly motivate myself, it comes more naturally from my want to get better and attend practice. There are other factors that do help with that motivation, such as my friends on the team that shares the interest, playing basketball games myself, and watching professional athletes play basketball

What have I learned from this activity and how did this learning (ie a change in perception) apply

to me as a person?

This activity has taught me self-discipline and work ethic. This applies to me by putting in hard work in areas of my life that may seem uncomfortable or inconvenient to achieve a desired outcome.

Taking on new challenges:

What new challenges have I taken on when doing this activity?

I’ve taken on the challenge of always wanting to improve my abilities. When playing a sport, it can be very easy to just want to stay at the skill level you’re at or get worse with less practice. However, I’ve been able to fairly consistently motivate myself to always want to improve.

How have my perceptions of the sport changed over time?

When I first started playing basketball, I wasn’t very much into the culture whatsoever and was just playing to socialize and exercise. However, as I got closer with the basketball team, I immersed myself in the culture and the different ways the game can be played. I still do not know everything there is to know about basketball, in fact I am very far from reaching that point (I really only know a couple dozen players), but my perception of the game has very much from the beginning.

How is the activity meaningful to me? What is the value of this sport or activity for me?

This activity is most meaningful to me because it is what connects all of my friends. If it wasn’t how I met my friends, it’s how our relationship grew. Without basketball, I would have much less middle ground with all of my friends. This gives it great value. I value each practice I have because it offers a chance to improve upon my friendships even more

How do I feel when I learn something new in this activity? Describe it. 

As I still don’t know very much about basketball, I am always quick and eager to learn new things. Whether it be new moves, or how a certain player is doing in the current or previous seasons, I’m always attentive to learning new information.

Strengths and areas for growth:

What are some things that I found out about myself that I didn’t know before?  Do I like these traits?  If so, how will I use them in the future?  If not, can I change them?

One thing I have noticed about myself when playing basketball is just how competitive I can get and how short my temper can be while playing sports. This can work as both a positive and negative thing, depending on the situation. When I get competitive, I tend to tunnel vision a lot and don’t always work the best with my team. In turn I tend to try and do things on my own, which can sometimes work, but usually not. When I get like this and lose my temper, I actively try to take a step back and do what is best for the team. My coach as well points this out which helps me relax and calm down. This can be helpful, however, when I maintain a level of competitiveness while making sure I am working as a team player. This can get me in better positions on offense and let me play better defense when I have a level head.