Question 7

Question 7

While watching another game, Boston vs. Clippers I am once again reminded of my question from earlier and I would like to explore this question a little farther. Twords the bottom of the page that I used for my last post was a link to an article that the author of the last article used to build her argument around. This article was very long and contained alot of information to sort through to find the author's opinion. "In conclusion, exceptional athletes are built, not born. Like the great Winston Churchill said, 'Success is a journey…not a destination,' this tells us that the only way we can achieve our goals is through practice, practice, and more practice. It is impossible to be a 'born great' athlete; we become a great athlete through proper training, motivation, and through our environment. In order to reach the top, you must be dedicated and do whatever you must to reach the top" (Darell). This author makes a very good point, and further strenghens his point by including the following evidence. "Lance Armstrong is another great athlete who worked very hard to achieve success. In the book It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life (Armstrong and Jenkins 2001), Armstrong tells readers how he overcame cancer to win Le Tour De France, the most prestigious cycling event in the world. He states that while he was in the hospital, the captain of his former team went into his hospital room, and told him while he was dying that they were ending his contract. This upset Armstrong, and motivated him to get better and work harder so he could go back, and win the Le Tour De France to get back at the people at his former team for ending his contract. If great athletes are born, Lance Armstrong wasn’t one of them. He was born with harmful cells which later developed into testicular cancer that almost ended his life. If anything, his genes would impair his athletic ability, not improve it. Therefore, athletes are much more a product of nurture than nature" (Darell). This is an excelent point that the author makes, and it really makes his argument that much more effective. While I still believe that both nature and nurture have a big role, this author has effectively swayed my belief that nurture may play a greater role. However, Lance Armstong was a very good biker before being diagnosed with cancer, and theirfor the author's point may be redundent. Never the less, a good use of evidence.

Sources in order of appearance:

Darrell. "Expert Football Training Winning Mentality Born or Made? The Nature Versus Nurture Issue." Nature vs Nurture in Sports. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://expertfootball.com/training/naturevsnurture.php>.