UWC Basketball

I take the position that UWCSEA should pay equal amount of attention to all sports. If swimming get to train for a whole year, basketball should get to as well. Some will say that this can’t happen because basketball only works to go for a season, just like the NBA. But, I say that we could train for the whole year. This way kids get to play their sport for a long time, we would create a more “gelled” and better team, and could become better players as individuals as well.

Firstly, if we play basketball for a whole year, it will create a more bonded and gelled team, naturally. The players in the team will be more experienced, and trained well. An important example of this is from my own personal experience, I can tell you that playing a match right after having met my teammates is quite difficult. We don’t even know each other's strengths or weaknesses well enough yet and, forget that, we don’t know each other well enough yet. In addition to this, an article called “Basketball Health Benefits” by Better Health Channel says that one of the advantages of basketball is that “it helps you to make new friends and see them regularly teach you about being a good team player”.

This makes me think that, with going into matches and only have 1 season a year with your team, you can’t become as close to them and see them develop. It is not possible to see them teach you over a long period of time, . Thinking about swimmers or gymnasts, they have made such close bonds with each other because they get to train almost everyday, for the whole year. Having bonds with your teammates means you feel more comfortable around them and as the evidence says, you can see them regularly teach you about being a good team player. With basketball only coming for a season a year with training twice a week, the bonds and how well a team can potentially work together, can’t happen.

Secondly, basketball is majorly beneficial to one’s health in many different ways. It not only develops the team and how good you are at the sport, but it also develops your individual fitness and health, in ways that other sports could not.

An important example of is an article that says, “Basketball promotes cardiovascular fitness. It involves intense running and jumping, which gives the heart and lungs a through workout. It also tones your muscles with the running, jumping, dribbling and shooting.” Even though basketball might not be a sport that “builds muscle” it does tone your muscles and trains your cardiovascular fitness, which is helpful in many different situations.

Also I quote that, “A typical basketball game simultaneously develops speed, hand-eye coordination and cardiovascular endurance in a way that sports such as baseball & softball might not. Moving quickly back and forth across the court develops lower - body fitness, while shooting, defending and passing develops upper body fitness. (Stan Mack, June 24 2015.)

Basketball not only makes you better at the sport, but it improves your physical being and health by a lot as well. As the evidence says, “in a way that sports such as baseball and softball might not.” This shows that basketball does have its own unique benefits that other sports might not be capable of. The amount this sport can improve all different areas of our physical fitness, imagine letting us get to play it for a whole year. 

Last but not least, UWC young athletes would get to play the sport of their choice for the whole year. Swimmers or gymnasts who get to do the sport that they love for a whole academic year, and train about 5-6 times a week. Why shouldn’t we? I understand that it could be difficult for our school to supply us with basketball courts and basketballs for the whole year. People argue that the gymnastics gym is set and fixed, and so is the swimming pool. But, the question I ask is why does our school pay so much attention to gymnastics and swimming? How come they have fixed courts or venues for those 2 sports?

Something our school could do is perhaps take us to outdoor courts and organise something to give us as young basketball players, an opportunity to play basketball for longer than one season.

Something that is significant to notice is that when you go to our UWC school shop, swimming jumpers are available to everyone, even people who don’t do swimming. This is only for swimming, not any other. This proves that our school pays so much attention to swimming, much more than it does to any other sports. 

All this adds up to suggest that our school needs to pay more of an equal attention to all sports in our school, instead of just swimming and gymnastics. For us as basketball players we should get the opportunity to train just as much as swimming and gymnastics, because it is not like those sports are any more “special.” Basketball has multiple benefits to individuals, for example cardiovascular fitness, it creates bonds within a team and it gives us an opportunity to train just as much as other sports.

Bibliography

Better Health. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/basketball-health-benefits>.

"Importance of Playing Basketball." LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 24 June 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/464674-importance-of-playing-basketball/>.

"Top 10 Health Benefits of Basketball." Health Fitness Revolution. N.p., 08 Apr. 2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2016. <http://www.healthfitnessrevolution.com/top-10-health-benefits-basketball/>.