Cross Country The Sport example essay topic

There are many sports played around the world today. Cross-country running and baseball are two that a lot of people participate in. Many do not even consider running to be a sport. Although it differs greatly from other team sports that are popular, it is a very unique sport. Baseball is a team sport and consists of a number of people playing different positions. Someone could be a great baseball player, but be a terrible pitcher.

It is not necessary to have all the skills of all the players to be a good player. In Cross-country however, it is necessary to have the skill of running for everyone. To be good at the sport you have to have endurance, speed, and desire to win. Although everyone might be capable of running that does not necessarily mean that they have the ability to run. Running in a cross country race calls for an awareness of the rules, attention to the course you are running on and knowledge of the technique of running. Although the ability required differ between these two sports, a more important difference is the idea of team vs. individual.

On a team sport such as Baseball, the team practices together and learns how to work together as a team. It becomes important to know your teammates strengths and weaknesses and work with them. During a game, if the entire team loses, the focus goes more on how well the team played, and not necessarily on the individual. A problem with this is that one person could have an excellent game, but because someone else did not, the entire game was lost. In Cross-Country the sport is more about individual ability. During a race, how well you do is placed entirely on your own shoulders.

It at times is stressful because human nature usually causes us to blame other factors for why we did not succeed. In running though, if you do not do well there are no other factors to point a finger at except yourself. Another difference is how strenuous the activity. Although I do not play baseball, I have watched many games. When I watch my friends walk off the field after playing a baseball game they look no where near as tired as when I walk off a cross country course.

Playing baseball is more about playing the game correctly to win. Cross-country running is about using all your energy and running as hard and as fast as you can. Someone can learn to play baseball but it is much harder to learn how to run. Running is an ability that is inside of you.

The feeling of accomplishment is also a differing factor. After a baseball game, whether it was won or lost it the team as a whole has the same outcome. If they lost the players are upset or mad, and if they won the players are happy and excited. In cross-country, it is not about how well you did in the race, because too many factors contribute to that. The same teams are never run against, and the same courses are never run on. As a cross-country runner you cannot get used to your surroundings because at each race they change.

A baseball player has the same looking field for each game and they play the same teams several times. In Cross-country, the courses are different lengths and different difficulty levels. After a race, even if you cam in dead last, the feeling of accomplishment from how tired you feel, and how much you put in to it. If you know there is no way you could run any farther, or could have run any faster, that is accomplishment. The place you come in becomes insignificant.

Although baseball and Cross country are both sports they differ greatly from each other. A team sport is more about teamwork while running involves individual ability and determination.