Andre Amiri Week 1 - Raised by Sports

Before I even started school, I was playing sports. At the age of two I started playing tennis with my dad. I would often drag him to the public tennis courts in Niles and play with a racquetball racket. Although I was by no means concerned about my identity at age two, sports were already taking over my everyday life.

When I was three, I was obsessed with basketball, and my parents bought a plastic mini hoop I played with on the street that received constant complaints from the HOA. Basketball, for me, was a way to spend time with both my parents and my friends and strengthen relationships even at such a young age.


When I was four, my dad introduced me to the world of soccer through the 2014 World Cup, and there began my obsession with soccer. I played nonstop every day for the next five years of my life. Whether it be on a team or with my dad in our house, I couldn’t get enough. Everytime I see the bouncy blue ball I used in the house, it brings back a flood of memories like narrowly avoiding breaking vases and chasing the ball throughout the living and dining room. It was almost as if my identity was sports for my entire childhood. Not only did I watch highlights of my favorite team but I also made friends through a shared love of soccer.


After many years of devotion to soccer, I watched a couple baseball games on TV and promptly decided that I wanted to play baseball. My parents made me choose between playing my two favorite sports, and my nine year old self made a choice I regret to this day. Even though I would continue to play baseball through covid, my obsession slowly died out and I couldn’t replicate the skill I developed with soccer. I eventually switched to tennis, where the same story repeated itself. Although my world no longer completely revolves around sports, it would be no exaggeration to say that they built me into the person I am today.


Looking back, I learned the vital importance of repetition through my talent in soccer that came as a result of constant practice. My athleticism and general fitness, something that I can always take pride in, would have been no doubt significantly worse without the influence of sports in my life. Even my competitiveness, which has allowed me to grow friendships through sports and multiplayer games, was nourished by the competitive nature of sports. All this is to say that sports have had a deathgrip on me my entire life and it’s certainly true that they have nearly singlehandedly shaped my identity.
                                                                                                    Me (5) playing soccer.


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