“Mom, can I try playing hockey this year?” I asked my mom when I was about 3 or 4. I have stuck with that sport since I was that young. Playing sports has been one of the most important things in my life since I was a little boy. I have played various sports through my life, including hockey and lacrosse, which I still play now, and other sports like baseball, basketball, football, swimming, and some more. Sports can help people in many ways, and it has helped me so much in my 14 years of life already.

I believe that playing sports is important for quite a few reasons. First of all, it is a great friend maker. I barely knew anyone in Smithfield because I went to a small catholic school instead of the big public school where most of the kids in Smithfield went. I only knew the 30 or so people in my class, with a few additional neighborhood friends. Playing sports helped me meet new faces and get my name out around Smithfield. I met a lot of people who went to the public schools and made lots of friends. I became friends with people I never would’ve met if I didn’t play a certain sport. I stayed friends with all these people I met up until today, and now I can honestly say I know just about all of the freshman in high school with out even stepping into that building for a class once. When I came into my new school in 7th grade I didn’t know one person. My first day I met a few people who played the same sports as me and worked my way up from there. I may not be the most popular kid in my grade, but I know everyone, and I have heard people say that no one hates me in our class and that everyone likes me as a friend.

Playing sports can also help you keep in shape. I have played for an elite hockey team for the past few years, and it is taken very serious. We did lots of workouts in the summer, we have hard practices, and we are expected to give 110% every time our skates hit the ice. We also practice 2-3 times a week and we have games on the weekend. This helps me stay in shape because I eat A LOT. Thanks to how active I am, I never gain weight. I actually lose weight a lot, which causes me to eat a lot more. I also play lacrosse, which practices 3 times a week, not including mount practices. Lacrosse is an all running and body strength game. You need strong legs to be able to run up and down the field a few times if you are a midfielder. You need a strong upper body so that you can take a nice hard shot to score goals. Needing all these requirements call me to work out and be active outside of the ice rink or off the field, so I always am outside shooting pucks or lacrosse balls, skateboarding, or playing sports with my friends. I also surf in the summer, which takes a lot of technique and upper body strength again. Playing sports has kept me active which has kept me in shape, so I can thank playing sports for that.

As you can see, playing sports is important to me, along with plenty of other people in the world. Playing sports is just a hobby to me, but for some people it is their career and it is more than just a hobby to them. I believe sports is a great thing and everyone our age should have the experiences me and other people have had in their life because when you get older you will look back and you will have the feeling that you are missing something, and that will be the experience of