The real importance of sports | Sean Adams | TEDxACU

Summary

The speaker passionately discusses the pivotal role of sports in shaping young men's character, especially in a time when traditional institutions like family, church, and military are less influential. With one-third of American children growing up without a father figure and declining church attendance, sports emerge as a crucial platform for teaching virtues like teamwork, community, and personal responsibility. The narrative is punctuated by the speaker's personal experience of failure in a relay race, which paradoxically underscores the importance of learning from setbacks and the enduring values imparted by sports.

Takeaways

• 🏋️‍♂️ The speaker's love for sports stems from its perceived honesty and meritocracy, where performance determines participation.
• 🤔 The importance of sports is highlighted as a potential solution to the lack of traditional role models for young men, given changes in family structures and societal norms.
• 👨‍👦‍👦 Currently, many American children grow up without a father figure, which sports can help弥补 by providing male role models and values.
• ⛪️ Church attendance is declining, which traditionally was a place where men were raised with certain virtues; sports can fill this gap.
• 🏡 The military, another institution that has historically helped raise men, is seeing a decrease in recruitment, further emphasizing the role of sports.
• 🤝 Sports teach valuable lessons in teamwork, community, and loyalty, which are crucial for personal development and societal cohesion.
• 🏆 The concept of playing for each other rather than for individual glory or external validation is a key lesson from sports that can be applied to other areas of life.
• 💪 Pride, when defined as personal responsibility and daily excellence, is a virtue that can drive success and is an important lesson from sports.
• 🏃‍♂️ Failure in sports is a valuable teacher, instilling resilience and the understanding that setbacks are temporary and can lead to growth.
• 👨‍🏫 The speaker's personal experience of failure in a relay race taught him the importance of heeding advice, the impermanence of failure, and the value of learning from setbacks.
• 👊 Sports are positioned as a critical institution for the development of young men's character in a time when traditional structures are weakening.

Q & A

Why does the speaker love sports?

The speaker loves sports because he sees them as honest, where if you can produce, you get to play, and it's that simple.

What importance does the speaker suggest sports might have that we haven't recognized before?

The speaker suggests that sports could be the last bastion for raising men, providing characteristics and virtues in a time when other traditional institutions like the home, church, and military are less effective.

How does the speaker describe the current situation of fatherless homes in America?

The speaker states that about one third of American children, around 15 million, grow up in a home with no father, leading to many young boys growing up without a daily example of manhood.

What trend does the speaker mention regarding church attendance in America?

The speaker mentions that less than 20 percent of American citizens attend church services regularly, and this number is expected to decrease further by 2025.

Why does the speaker believe sports are significant in today's society?

The speaker believes sports are significant because they teach virtues like teamwork, community, fidelity, personal responsibility, and daily excellence, which are crucial for character development.

What does the speaker mean by 'the virtue of the huddle'?

The 'virtue of the huddle' refers to the unity and teamwork learned in sports where players from diverse backgrounds come together with a common goal and work hard as a team.

What lesson does the speaker learn from his failure to win a national championship?

The speaker learns that failure is not permanent, that one should follow the advice of coaches and mentors, and that failure can be a part of life that leads to growth and improvement.

How does the speaker describe the role of pride in sports?

The speaker describes pride as personal responsibility and daily excellence, which he believes is necessary for success in sports and life.

What is the speaker's view on the importance of sports in character building for young people?

The speaker views sports as a crucial institution for character building, teaching important life lessons and virtues that are essential for young people's development.

What historical figure does the speaker quote to emphasize the importance of sports?

The speaker quotes former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes to emphasize the importance of sports as a place for personal growth and development.

Outlines

00:00

🏆 The Role of Sports in Shaping Character

The speaker expresses a deep love for sports, which they believe provides an honest meritocracy where performance dictates participation. They argue that sports, along with the home, church, and military, have historically been key institutions for raising men. However, with changes in society—such as the absence of fathers in many homes, declining church attendance, and reduced military service—sports may now be the last significant arena for instilling virtues like teamwork, community, and personal responsibility. The speaker highlights the importance of the 'huddle' as a metaphor for unity and shared purpose, and discusses the value of pride and handling failure as critical life lessons that sports can teach.

05:01

🏃‍♂️ Learning from Failure in Sports

In this paragraph, the speaker recounts a personal experience of failure in a 4x400 relay race during their senior year at North Carolina State. Despite being in a position to win, they hesitated and ended up securing second place for their team. This experience taught them the importance of heeding the advice of coaches and mentors, as well as the temporary nature of failure. The speaker emphasizes that failure is not permanent and can be a learning opportunity, leading to personal growth and development. They conclude by reflecting on the broader significance of sports in developing young people's character and the honor they feel in contributing to this process amidst societal changes.

Keywords

💡Sports

Sports are physical activities that are governed by a set of rules and often aim to test physical prowess and skill. In the video, the speaker expresses a deep love for sports, viewing them as an honest meritocracy where performance determines participation. Sports serve as a platform for personal growth, learning teamwork, and developing virtues like discipline and resilience, which are crucial for character building.

💡Huddle

A huddle in sports refers to a group of players coming together in close quarters to discuss strategy or motivate each other. The speaker uses the term to illustrate the power of unity in sports, where diversity is embraced, and a common goal is pursued regardless of personal differences. It symbolizes the community and teamwork fostered in sports.

💡Manhood

Manhood, as discussed in the video, refers to the qualities and characteristics traditionally associated with being a man, such as strength, responsibility, and leadership. The speaker laments the lack of male role models in various traditional institutions and posits sports as a remaining venue for imparting these virtues to young men.

💡All-American

Being an 'All-American' in sports is an honor given to the best athletes in the United States at the collegiate level. The speaker mentions being an All-American to highlight the personal achievements possible through sports, but also to contrast these individual accolades with the collective and moral victories that sports can offer.

💡Teamwork

Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the best possible sequence. The speaker emphasizes the importance of teamwork in sports, suggesting that it's not just about individual performance but about how players work together towards a shared objective, which is a valuable life skill.

💡Pride

Pride, in the context of the video, is redefined by the speaker as personal responsibility and the pursuit of daily excellence, rather than a negative trait. It is presented as a driving force for success and a key component of the character developed through sports.

💡Failure

Failure in the video is discussed as an inevitable part of life and a valuable teacher. The speaker shares a personal story of not winning a national championship, using it to convey that failure can be managed and learned from, leading to growth and resilience.

💡Accountability

Accountability is the obligation to report, explain, and be responsible for one's actions. The speaker links accountability with pride, suggesting that taking responsibility for one's actions is a crucial aspect of personal development, which is often learned and reinforced through sports.

💡Diversity

Diversity refers to the inclusion of different types of people in a group or organization. The speaker uses the example of the huddle to highlight how sports bring together individuals from various backgrounds, creating an environment that fosters understanding and cooperation among diverse groups.

💡Preparation

Preparation in the video is discussed as a key to success in sports and by extension, in life. The speaker implies that the discipline and hard work required to prepare for sports competitions are transferable skills that contribute to success in other areas of life.

💡Character Building

Character building is the process of developing moral and ethical qualities in an individual. The speaker argues that sports are a critical institution for character building, especially in the context of a society where traditional structures like family, church, and military are less influential.

Highlights

The speaker's lifelong passion for sports, despite not growing up in a sports family.

Sports as an honest meritocracy where performance determines participation.

The potential unrecognized importance of sports in today's society.

The speaker's personal achievements in sports and how they pale in comparison to the broader impact of sports.

Historical ways of raising men in society: home, church, military, and sports.

The changing dynamics of family structures and the impact on raising children.

Declining church attendance and its implications for societal values.

The reduction in military service as a means of character development.

Sports as a remaining institution for imparting virtues and character.

The importance of the 'huddle' as a metaphor for unity and teamwork.

The concept that teams play for each other, not just for fans or coaches, to achieve success.

The speaker's personal pride in personal responsibility and daily excellence.

Learning from failure as a virtue that sports can teach.

The speaker's personal experience of failure in a relay race and the lessons learned.

The importance of heeding advice from coaches, teachers, and parents.

The temporary nature of failure and its role in personal growth.

The interconnected relationship between preparation and success in sports.

The potential decline of traditional institutions and the increasing importance of sports in character development.

The speaker's honor in fighting for the growth and development of young people through sports.

Transcripts

i love sports

i've loved them from the time i was a

young man

i loved him even though

i didn't grow up in a sports family i

think i fell in love with sports

because i saw it as honest

if you can produce you get to play

and it was that simple

i come to you today to talk to you about

maybe an importance

in sports that we haven't recognized

before

i've been able to do a ton of things

because of sports i was able to

represent my university i was able to

become an all-american i won watches i

was in magazines and all of that pales

when we talk about the importance of

what could be in sports

right now

historically there's been four ways

barbados by which we raise men in this

country

in the home

in the church

in the military

and in sports

cultural changes

have changed the mix on the importance

of how those things work

in the home

right now one third of american children

about 15 million children

grow up in a home with no father

that's a lot of young boys growing up

without a daily example of manhood

in their home

in church

census tells us

that less than 20 percent

of american citizens go to church attend

a church service

on a regular basis

and if social trends in america follow

europe like they usually do by 2025 the

number could be 12 or 13 percent

of american citizens attend a church

service on a regular basis

because of technology cyber advancement

the current administration's desire to

bring the number of active military

down to its lowest point since world war

ii

eighty percent of applicants to the

military get turned away

not raising a lot of men in the military

either

what we're left with is sports

could be the last bastion

by which we give the characteristics and

the virtues

with which we raise men

in sports

where we learn the virtue of the huddle

where you take north and south east and

west conservative and liberal black and

white you put them in the same huddle

you give them the same color jersey you

give them a common goal you let them

sweat tear up and work hard together and

special things start to take place

where we learn teamwork community

fidelity

we care about each other don't let each

other down

the yo coaches term that says

teams to play for a great fan base win a

lot of games

teams that play for a great coach win a

lot of games

teams that play for each other

win championships

it's a concept we could use in our

families right now

what about pride

where i'm constantly reminded

that pride is the worst of the seven

sins and i constantly have to remind

people unfortunately i got a lot of it

but i don't think you get anywhere in

this world without some pride without

some passion without some accountability

where pride for me means

personal responsibility and daily

excellence

that's my pride

we talk about failure

the virtue from failure sports based in

failure sometimes those under virtues

that allow us to succeed in life because

we've experienced some failure in other

places

i wanted to be a national champion i had

been blessed enough to be an

all-american i'd done a ton of stuff but

i've never been an individual national

champion

we get to

my senior year we're at north carolina

state

and i have a shot to be a national

champion in a number of events

i get second place i get third place so

i'm all american again

but i'm not a national champion

and that's what i want it to be

we get to the 4x4 relay i'm the anchor

and i want it on me i'm the kid i sat in

front of my house

with my walter mitty stories thinking

i'm putting myself in places where i can

be the hero

i counted down three two one and shot

the basket i wanted to anchor that four

by four relay

we get down to the anchor and i'm

waiting like this

and i'm waiting for my guy to bring me

to baton he gives me the baton i take

off running i'm in third place

by about 12 or 13 meters

within the first 50 meters i go past the

guy in second place

somewhere along the back straight

i pull up next to the guy in first place

and for the life of me i have no idea

why i don't go by him

my coach had always told me if you get

up next to him you have to go by him and

make him run your race if you sit next

to him you'll end up running his

i'll run tide with him for about 200

meters until we get to 50 meters to go

i'm closing in

about 40 meters to go he starts pulling

in front of me

and he's pulling a little further away

from me and finally i'm getting the

notion with about 10 or 15 meters to go

that i'm going to get my team second

place

again

i was miserable

i was crushed at that moment it was one

of the toughest things i ever had to

experience but you know what i learned

from it

one

do what your coaches

and your teachers and your parents tell

you to do because they usually know a

lot more than you do if i'd done what i

was coached to do that day

i win that race

two

failures not permanent

failure is like a rain cloud

and sometimes it rains on you and you

gotta ride it out

and three if you don't internalize it

and you don't personalize it you'll

realize it's just a part of life and you

will grow and become better for it

all those lessons i learned

in sports

to manage failure to be in community to

understand

the characteristics of diversity to

understand the interconnected

relationship between preparation and

success

all of these virtues that we have

learned in so many other places in life

that seemingly

we have to learn in sports now

where are we going to get them from how

important does sports become

former supreme court justice oliver

wendell holmes probably more popularized

for coining the phrase clear and present

danger

also said

the place for any man completing all of

his powers is in the fight

and i don't know if i'm completing all

of my powers

but having the opportunity through

sports to fight for the growth and

development of young people

when seemingly every historic fixture

around them is breaking

as a fight that i'm honored to be in

thank you very much

you