The Value of Sport
July 8, 2009 at 3:30 pm Brandon Parrott 2 comments
by Brandon Parrott
Executive Director, Slam Dunk for Life
Ask me what my favorite memory from childhood is and if you asked me again tomorrow I would give you a completely different answer. The one thing that is guaranteed to be consistent is that no matter what day of the week you ask me, my favorite memory will involve sports. Whether it was winning the Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Illinois, playing in the 1995 Aloha Bowl or waking up at sunrise in Estes Park, Colorado to stretch before a day at FCA camp, my life has been shaped, molded, changed, enhanced, impacted, devastated, influenced, and blessed by the opportunities and experiences sport provided me. Not only did I gain great memories but I learned important life lessons that have helped me outside of athletics. Roles and positions that I was put in helped prepare me to be a better student, a better husband and now a better father.
Here are some interesting documents on the Value of Sport:
Sport England & the Value of Sport
I’m glad their are researchers out there gathering scientific data to support what my heart, eyes and ears have witnessed first hand. It is my strong conviction that through sport lives can be changed. It changes communities and is one of the single greatest things that influences social change in the world.
That is why I believe in Slam Dunk for Life. That is what excites me about 2,000 kids signing up for SDFL camps this July. If just one child can develop their self confidence, change their pattern of poor behavior or be inspired by the lessons we will teach, then it is worth every penny that goes into putting on these camps.
Entry filed under: General News, Thoughts and Ideas. Tags: Community, family, Opportunity.
1.
Annie Webb | July 10, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I concur that there are so many intrinsic value of participating in sports. During the late 50s and early 60′s, the opportunity for me to play basketball in the inner city of NY kept me off drugs, increased my self image and taught me so many basic life skills. It also, allowed me to interact with people who were from different backgrounds
2.
Dr. Mark H. Tompkins | July 20, 2009 at 3:06 pm
As the immediate past President of the BOD for SDFL, I participated again this summer with the camps. I helped Coach DeLeon at my alma mater Theodore Roosevelt HS. There were almost 150 kids attending the camp last week, and as is typical with EVERY camp, the kids had a phenominal time and ‘grew-into’ a organized, respectful, and functional group by Friday afternoon.
It has been on honor servining on the BOD for the past six years, and look forward to the next six!!
God Bless….
Mark H. Tompkins