Giving Back...and still breaking a sweat

Every day we read in the newspapers and hear on television about how another sports superstar has landed a huge-money contract, paying them hundreds of millions of dollars to play their game for whatever team has the deepest pockets. These guys and gals are great athletes, but I think the people who truly show what sports are supposed to mean are those who get a simple “thanks” at the end of their hard day’s work of playing.

I read online that the running club that I want to join in the fall spends a couple nights a week holding practices for middle school kids who want to run but don’t yet have a high school team to represent them.

Thinking of these adults coming out to the track after their work day to run laps in the muggy Midwestern heat just “for the kids” made me realize how special volunteers are to sports. Mostly they’re coaches, but these volunteers also are also the people who get those tracks ready for the runs, bring water for the tired out kids and even the people cheering them on.

All of these people give something to a sport to make it more enjoyable for someone else because they are thankful someone made sports fun for them too. I’m definitely looking forward to this part of the club, because a lot people made my first runs really special, all at no cost to me.

I know a lot of kid athletes dream of landing that big contract with the New York Yankees or the San Francisco 49ers or the Los Angeles Lakers. But I think everyone should at least start their careers by volunteering to help others in sports. Not only does this pass along the joy of teaching someone to compete, but it also puts those big numbers in perspective: that simple “thanks” from a day’s work is worth more than all the millions in this world could buy.