What are the components of a sporting experience? Sports include a variety of physical activities, including football, baseball, basketball, soccer, and tennis. Many activities are considered a sport, whether they are played for competition or as recreational activities. Emotions are an important part of the sports experience and reflect the athlete’s self-evaluation of their performance and the expectations of others. Some feelings are anticipatory, occurring before the performance, and others are post-performance and follow the completion of the activity. Some sports even have rules about how athletes should manage their emotions, such as appropriate behaviour during national anthems and postgame victory celebrations.
Sporting history can be traced to prehistoric times. African races took place across the continent, and European explorers were often amazed by the prowess of the primitive peoples. The Nandi runner was said to run long distances at a pace that would have brought their opponents to collapse. The Tutsi high jumpers, on the other hand, were famous for flying to amazing heights. Photographs of these feats were taken by anthropologists such as Adolf Friedrich zu Mecklenburg.
Socialization benefits sports have long been recognized. Physical education and adult-organized children’s sports programs were once hailed as important socializing tools. It was thought that these activities could train young athletes with desirable traits and behaviors. Inculcating the desire to win at all costs was also considered one of the benefits of sports socialization. Nevertheless, the exact role played by these socializing agents in a child’s life depends on the type of activity.