Is it Fun to Run?
Conclusion: Finding the Fun in Track and Field
The results of this study shed light on several important characteristics of high school and college athletes participating in track and field. When beginning to research the motives of track and field athletes, I had expected to see many differences between the high school and collegiate levels. The results prove that I was right in some ways and wrong in others. After compiling the data, I found one singular and consistent difference between the thoughts of high school and college track and field participants. For high school athletes, the social aspect of track and field serves as a major motivation for continued participation and enjoyment in the sport. On the other hand, the college participants displayed a far more blatant interest in their own personal achievement, health, and pleasure.
The college athletes appear more interested in the personal aspect of the sport, while the high school athletes display a greater interest in the social aspect. These results can be explained by several hypotheses. For high school students in general, social life quickly develops a great deal of importance not typically seen in younger years. Adolescents become more and more interested in establishing new relationships and finding a core group of individuals with which to associate. Naturally, this interest extends to sports such as track and field, where a large group of students come together around a generally enjoyed activity. For high school athletes, track and field provides one more way to develop social connections. Collegiate athletics serves quite a different function, however. The characteristics of athletes competing at the Division 1 level mostly resemble the thoughts and attitudes of the state champion female from Homestead High School, which makes sense. Most track and field members at Notre Dame were also state champions or extremely accomplished in high school, so the correlation between their responses and those of the high school state champion appears quite natural. It is quite possible that stated simply, the most talented and successful athletes place their own accomplishments above those of the team. In college, the competition is at an all time high both inside and outside the team. Members of the team must challenge each other for the right to travel to meets, and the athletes they race against are all extremely talented. This creates an attitude of survival over social within the team. In their journal article titled "The Freshman Experience: High Stress, Low Grades," Z. Papanikolaou, D. Nikolaidis, A. Patsiaouras & P. Alexopoulos provide a more detailed explanation of the high school to college transition. They describe two major changes that could potentially affect an athlete's relationship to his or her teammates. First, most freshmen arrive on campus and experience a loss of their "star status." The researchers argue that these new athletes suddenly "no longer receive the attention and status they are accustomed to getting from fans, fellow students, coaches, and family" (Papanikolaou). They are faced with the likelihood of not dressing for games, travelling, or playing, and such an experience can leave a student feeling quite isolated (Papanikolaou). Secondly, freshmen must learn to deal with a new, different type of relationship with their coaches. The newly arrived athletes are no longer given special attention or priority by the coaches; instead, they must struggle against other accomplished individuals in order to regain status (Papanikolaou). These two difficulties produce isolation and further competition, which could understandably lead to a focus on one's personal well-being over one's relationships with other teammates.
On a different note, high school track and field includes a mix of some very skilled, dedicated athletes with some less talented athletes looking for a casual extracurricular activity. As a result, the atmosphere can never take on as competitive and driven nature when compared that of college. Finally, most high school track and field teams have no cuts or ways to limit the size of the team. There are a far greater number of participants in high school than in track and field, and thus a far greater chance of individuals connecting and establishing friendships. The environment in college seems to nurture a far different attitude towards the social aspect of track and field. The groups on a collegiate track and field team spend much less time with each other. They do not stretch or warm up with each other, and really only interact during meets and in the locker room. Every group within the team acts basically as a smaller team itself. Finally, scholarship money plays a major role in all collegiate athletics. Some track and field athletes participate in large part simply to fund their education. At the same time, they must compete with members of their own team in order to maintain or gain scholarship money. Clearly, the college track and field environment forces athletes to think about themselves more than making friendships.
While this difference in social attitudes arose out of my research, I also found that the college and high school athletes approached many aspects of the sport in a similar manner. Many of the participants described a love to compete and participate in their sport. They also described track and field as a way to either clear the mind or blow off excess energy. Most of all, both high school and college athletes exclaimed that track and field is just fun. While fun is a difficult term to describe, it is very clear that most of the athletes greatly enjoy what they do. As one participant answered, “I participate in track because it is my favorite thing to do in the entire world.”
What makes this sport so enjoyable for so many individuals? The answer, for all levels of competition, may revolve around the concept of flow. In his book, titled Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi discusses this unusual concept and how it can directly lead to enjoyment in one's life. Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as "the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it" (Csikszentmihalyi 4). Such a state quite clearly explains both the high school and college responses involving the "fun" or "love" of the sport. However, I have previously stated that high school track and field athletes tend to use the team atmosphere as a main reason to participate. Are friendships more important than flow for some people? As a matter of fact, Csikszentmihalyi argues that friendships actually are a form of flow, which would definitely explain the great deal of enjoyment high schoolers receive out of the team atmosphere. According to Csikszentmihalyi, the most rewarding relationships that lead to flow are those where each individual can "find new challenges in each other's company" (Csikszentmihalyi 188). The author claims that "there are few things as enjoyable as freely sharing one;s most secret feelings and thoughts with another person" (Csikszentmihalyi 188). Upon closer inspection, high school track and field provides the perfect opportunity for this flow experience to occur. A large group of similar individuals are grouped together with common interests and goals, and they are all challenged to reach new and higher achievements. The concept of flow according to Csikszentmihalyi makes the attraction of the team atmosphere quite understandable.
If building close relationships can make an activity extremely enjoyable, how do collegiate athletes survive without the same level of team unity as in high school? Csikszentmihalyi explains that the level of flow can increase as challenges become greater. If one masters a specific activity to the point where the mind can wander to other topics, the flow experience disappears. Therefore, one must always continue to increase the level of difficulty in a specific activity to maintain flow, and collegiate athletics provides the perfect grounds for doing so. These athletes compete on a level higher than that of high school, a level that requires extraordinary dedication and commitment. As Csikszentmihalyi metions, "One cannot enjoy doing the same thing at the same level for long. We grow either bored or frustrated; and then the desire to enjoy ourselves again pushes us to stretch our skills" (Csikszentmihalyi 75). While the opportunity to build close relationships shows a tendency to diminish at the college level of track and field, increased competition and expectations allows for new challenges that grasp the mind and take one's experience of flow to an entirely new level.
Works Cited
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow. Harper collins, New York, NY: 1990.
Papanikolaou, D. Nikolaidis, A. Patsiaouras & P. Alexopoulos. "The Freshman Experience: High Stress, Low Grades."Athletic Insight. 5.4. (2002). Web. 7 Apr. 2010.
<http://www.athleticinsight.com/Vol5Iss4/Commentary.htm>
The college athletes appear more interested in the personal aspect of the sport, while the high school athletes display a greater interest in the social aspect. These results can be explained by several hypotheses. For high school students in general, social life quickly develops a great deal of importance not typically seen in younger years. Adolescents become more and more interested in establishing new relationships and finding a core group of individuals with which to associate. Naturally, this interest extends to sports such as track and field, where a large group of students come together around a generally enjoyed activity. For high school athletes, track and field provides one more way to develop social connections. Collegiate athletics serves quite a different function, however. The characteristics of athletes competing at the Division 1 level mostly resemble the thoughts and attitudes of the state champion female from Homestead High School, which makes sense. Most track and field members at Notre Dame were also state champions or extremely accomplished in high school, so the correlation between their responses and those of the high school state champion appears quite natural. It is quite possible that stated simply, the most talented and successful athletes place their own accomplishments above those of the team. In college, the competition is at an all time high both inside and outside the team. Members of the team must challenge each other for the right to travel to meets, and the athletes they race against are all extremely talented. This creates an attitude of survival over social within the team. In their journal article titled "The Freshman Experience: High Stress, Low Grades," Z. Papanikolaou, D. Nikolaidis, A. Patsiaouras & P. Alexopoulos provide a more detailed explanation of the high school to college transition. They describe two major changes that could potentially affect an athlete's relationship to his or her teammates. First, most freshmen arrive on campus and experience a loss of their "star status." The researchers argue that these new athletes suddenly "no longer receive the attention and status they are accustomed to getting from fans, fellow students, coaches, and family" (Papanikolaou). They are faced with the likelihood of not dressing for games, travelling, or playing, and such an experience can leave a student feeling quite isolated (Papanikolaou). Secondly, freshmen must learn to deal with a new, different type of relationship with their coaches. The newly arrived athletes are no longer given special attention or priority by the coaches; instead, they must struggle against other accomplished individuals in order to regain status (Papanikolaou). These two difficulties produce isolation and further competition, which could understandably lead to a focus on one's personal well-being over one's relationships with other teammates.
On a different note, high school track and field includes a mix of some very skilled, dedicated athletes with some less talented athletes looking for a casual extracurricular activity. As a result, the atmosphere can never take on as competitive and driven nature when compared that of college. Finally, most high school track and field teams have no cuts or ways to limit the size of the team. There are a far greater number of participants in high school than in track and field, and thus a far greater chance of individuals connecting and establishing friendships. The environment in college seems to nurture a far different attitude towards the social aspect of track and field. The groups on a collegiate track and field team spend much less time with each other. They do not stretch or warm up with each other, and really only interact during meets and in the locker room. Every group within the team acts basically as a smaller team itself. Finally, scholarship money plays a major role in all collegiate athletics. Some track and field athletes participate in large part simply to fund their education. At the same time, they must compete with members of their own team in order to maintain or gain scholarship money. Clearly, the college track and field environment forces athletes to think about themselves more than making friendships.
While this difference in social attitudes arose out of my research, I also found that the college and high school athletes approached many aspects of the sport in a similar manner. Many of the participants described a love to compete and participate in their sport. They also described track and field as a way to either clear the mind or blow off excess energy. Most of all, both high school and college athletes exclaimed that track and field is just fun. While fun is a difficult term to describe, it is very clear that most of the athletes greatly enjoy what they do. As one participant answered, “I participate in track because it is my favorite thing to do in the entire world.”
What makes this sport so enjoyable for so many individuals? The answer, for all levels of competition, may revolve around the concept of flow. In his book, titled Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi discusses this unusual concept and how it can directly lead to enjoyment in one's life. Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as "the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it" (Csikszentmihalyi 4). Such a state quite clearly explains both the high school and college responses involving the "fun" or "love" of the sport. However, I have previously stated that high school track and field athletes tend to use the team atmosphere as a main reason to participate. Are friendships more important than flow for some people? As a matter of fact, Csikszentmihalyi argues that friendships actually are a form of flow, which would definitely explain the great deal of enjoyment high schoolers receive out of the team atmosphere. According to Csikszentmihalyi, the most rewarding relationships that lead to flow are those where each individual can "find new challenges in each other's company" (Csikszentmihalyi 188). The author claims that "there are few things as enjoyable as freely sharing one;s most secret feelings and thoughts with another person" (Csikszentmihalyi 188). Upon closer inspection, high school track and field provides the perfect opportunity for this flow experience to occur. A large group of similar individuals are grouped together with common interests and goals, and they are all challenged to reach new and higher achievements. The concept of flow according to Csikszentmihalyi makes the attraction of the team atmosphere quite understandable.
If building close relationships can make an activity extremely enjoyable, how do collegiate athletes survive without the same level of team unity as in high school? Csikszentmihalyi explains that the level of flow can increase as challenges become greater. If one masters a specific activity to the point where the mind can wander to other topics, the flow experience disappears. Therefore, one must always continue to increase the level of difficulty in a specific activity to maintain flow, and collegiate athletics provides the perfect grounds for doing so. These athletes compete on a level higher than that of high school, a level that requires extraordinary dedication and commitment. As Csikszentmihalyi metions, "One cannot enjoy doing the same thing at the same level for long. We grow either bored or frustrated; and then the desire to enjoy ourselves again pushes us to stretch our skills" (Csikszentmihalyi 75). While the opportunity to build close relationships shows a tendency to diminish at the college level of track and field, increased competition and expectations allows for new challenges that grasp the mind and take one's experience of flow to an entirely new level.
Works Cited
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow. Harper collins, New York, NY: 1990.
Papanikolaou, D. Nikolaidis, A. Patsiaouras & P. Alexopoulos. "The Freshman Experience: High Stress, Low Grades."Athletic Insight. 5.4. (2002). Web. 7 Apr. 2010.
<http://www.athleticinsight.com/Vol5Iss4/Commentary.htm>
