Athletes or Athleticism

What is an athlete? Webster says that an athlete is, "a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility and stamina." Few would argue that definition right? Right... well kind of.

Let's ignore Webster for a second and define an athlete as someone extensively trained to perform at a high level for a given sport. Sport being singular because very few people are true athletes in multiple sports. Sure people play multiple sports but are they athletes or are they simply athletic.

For me? I'll take athleticism over athlete any day of the week and I'll tell you why.

Athletes know their craft. They've been playing since they were little, coached for as long as they remember, and most will tell you they're experts in their field. They have been trained to outwork the opponent: kick further, run faster and throw harder. They are stronger, bigger and better than the rest and that's why they will win... wrong.

Kickball doesn't always suit itself to fastest, strongest nor biggest. Kickball is a game of situations and those that play regularly will tell you more often than not you play with your brain not with your iron foot.

Track athletes put their head down and run as fast as possible -- I need you to keep your head up and let your legs move naturally while your eyes tell you to speed up or slow down.

Soccer athletes kick the ball far and hard -- I need you to read the situation and place the ball in the most opportune spot to benefit the team.

Basketball athletes take over the game -- I need you to trust your teammates and make smart decisions when the time comes.

Athletes are great at what they've been trained to do. Athleticism is a product of adapting to the situation around you, learning, and then taking those learned skills and applying them in the necessary field. And when it comes to kickball I'll build my team with the latter any day of the week.