Vayo,+Ryan


 * Winter/Spring 2011 Mr. Dunne **

** A Pre-Game Warm-up **

What do sports mean to you as an athlete and as a fan? Sports have been a big part of my life since I was young both as an athlete and as a fan. As an athlete sports can teach very important life lessons like teamwork, leadership, and hard work. It also helps to give you goals and something productive to spend time doing. As a fan sports can help you in many ways. Sports can be something you can turn to during rough times or simply a fun way to bond with friends and family.

What has been your with youth sports? Describe your best and worst experiences. I would say my best and worst experiences have come during losing seasons. While a tough loss or many of them can be one of the worst feelings being on a team that comes together and emerges even stronger is one of the best. I've always connected with the phrase "you have to fall if you want to know what standing up feels like" and the falls will end up being some of the worst experiences, but when you "stand up" it will be the best and most lasting experience.

Do athletes make good role models? Identify one or two professional athletes to make your case. Athletes are just like everyone else. Some make great role models while others make terrible ones. Athletes like Drew Brees exemplify great morals and values, but others like Micheal Vick can prove to be a disappointment to those who look up to them. It's not the fact that someone is an athlete that makes them a good role model, it's how they act as a person. Being an athlete just makes someone a more viewed role model.

What sports/teams do you pay attention to the most? How much time do sports occupy in your life? How do you spend that time (attending, watching, reading, talking, participating)? I definitely pay the most attention to new England sports teams. I would say sports occupy a good part of my life whether it's playing, watching games on tv, going to games, reading things like sports illustrated, or just talking about sports with friends.

What sports-related issues would you be disappointed //not// to cover in this class? Why? I think the steroids problem in sports is a good issue to cover. This also relates to athletes being seen as role models. Steroids have become an even bigger issue now that they have made their way all the way to high school sports doing harm to high school athletes that don't really know any better and just want to be like their "role model" pro athletes.