expository

Discipline in athletics if learned and applied correctly can correspond to our every day lives. We must first understand that being an athlete on any team is a privilege, not a right. We can see an example of that in the young adult novel, Deadline, by Chris Crutcher, the only way to make a team is by earning your spot. Our young, unlikely hero Ben Wolf, usually a Cross Country runner drops the act to join the football squad.
He earns his way to the starting line up after proving he can keep up with the big boys by disciplining his body. He trains himself enough to always keep his head in the game, and in the last few moments where stamina and heart count, he knows how to outlast his opponents. One last thing about Ben, he’s only got one year to live. Through proper obedience we find a young man, virtually on his deathbed, going out and performing top-end at a sport he’s never played by disciplining not only his body, but also his mind.
Through disciplining the mind, one can achieve anything. Two years ago I was overweight, just getting out of high school after choosing to forego my senior year of lacrosse, the most important year. I decided that it was time for changes. Just three months later after quitting soda, chocolate, and caffeine cold turkey, and exercising on a regular basis I found myself 20 pounds lighter, and in the most shape I had been since lacrosse. I did this through determination, and the will to never give up until I achieved my goals taught by my hockey coach, Karl Hoffner, as well as Mike Evans, my lacrosse coach.
Discipline is more than just training your body and mind though. It is also learning principles that can apply to every day life. One of those, is managing your emotions. In another Chris Crutcher novel entitled Whale Talk, T.J. has anger issues that only escalate when his archrivals are around and making his life a living hell. Many times he is ready to fight them, seemingly the only way to solve his problems. But then he starts a swim team with a bunch of unlikely heroes; they learn as a team through self-realization how to handle their problems. Eventually T.J. learns how to handle his problems, and keep his anger in check. When his dad is murdered by one of his rivals, he chooses not to get back at him, not to fight.
Through this example T.J. teaches us all a life lesson that I believe everyone should harness. This specifically just came through discipline he learned in athletics. To control your temper, emotions, and to harness your strengths and your will to overcome any and every obstacle is discipline everyone should apply to their lives.