UNIT 7: SPORTS
My name‿ is‿ Iris. I played volleyball for ten years‿ an(d) subsequently became‿ a runner,│ and‿ I now believe the two develop characters that‿ are not merely differen(t) but complementary,│ an(d) that mos(t) people require both.
A team spor(t) teaches‿ interdependence. Your performance‿ is‿ inseparable from that‿ of‿ eight‿ others,│ so accountability is diffused‿ an(d) blame‿ is difficul(t) to attribute,│ which‿ is why a losing team so frequently destroys‿ itself from within. The tactical dimension belongs to the coach,│ an(d) the player's psychology becomes‿ a matterma-der‿ of‿ accommodating‿ another person's decisions,│ which‿ is‿ admirable preparation for‿ employment‿ and‿ a convenien(t) place to conceal oneself.
Running‿ is the inverse:│ no coach‿ upon the road,│ no colleague to carry the final five kilometres,│ an(d) nobody to blame but oneself. The autonomy is clarifying precisely│ because‿ it‿ is‿ uncomfortable,│ an(d) the resilience‿ it cultivates‿ is‿ of‿ an‿ entirely different‿ order. I now play volleyball‿ in summer‿ and‿ am considerably more competitive there than‿ I ever was‿ in solitude. My advice to a young person would be to commence with‿ a team,│ interdependence being the harder lesson,│ an(d) thereafter to discover│ who one‿ is│ when nobody is watching. The secon(d) discovery is the more valuable,│ and‿ it cannot be acquired‿ in company.