Shane Hennen
Paper #2
Ross Fugslang
October 11th 2012
The Value in Sports
Trent Miller has accomplished many things on the basketball court, but the most important accomplishment seems to be the man he has turned into off the court.
Depending on where you first meet Morningside’s Mr. Basketball, you will see both sides of his personality. Off the court you will be introduced to a well-spoken, generous man who seems to put peoples needs before his own. On the court, Miller quickly turns into a focused, intimidating leader.
With Miller being an excellent student, that has some non-basketball related plans after his final year, and an advanced basketball player on the court, he is a good person to give an opinion on how sports could help in the real world.
“When I see people just hanging out after classes, it makes me feel like I want to be a regular kid but then I think about it more and I wouldn’t change what I have for anything. The time and effort one has to put into playing sports can become overwhelming at times, but the benefits may out weigh the struggles.” Miller said.
Miller is now a senior at Morningside and has been a captain on the basketball team since he was a sophomore. He has put himself in the record books at Morningside in steals and assists. Trent doesn’t plan on playing professionally after his final year at Morningside, but he does plan getting a Master’s Degree in education. Why not just focus on school if basketball seems to be done after college? Trent has found his reason why.
Miller knows exactly why he decided to play for four years here. It seems the love of the game and the traits he picked up on the way can help in the real world. “In sports you face adversity and you are tested mentally and physically, and how you handle adversity in sports is how you handle things in the real world.”
Learning to have discipline, to work hard, and to be mentally tough are common values of successful people in this world. Another member of the Morningside Basketball team, Kyle Nikkel, said, “I know if I can become a hard worker in basketball, I can be a hard worker at anything else I do, because hard work rubs off onto other aspects of life.” Being apart of a team gives you an opportunity to learn how to work with others and be responsible for you own actions and learning how to be a good teammate is usually never a bad thing off the court.
According to interships.about.com, the top qualities employers are looking for is a strong work ethic, responsibility, positive attitude, adaptability, integrity, self-motivation, ability to grow and learn, confidence, professionalism, and loyalty. This whole list of qualities easy to attain after some years playing on organized sports team.
Morningside’s Mr. Basketball is glad with his choice to play a sport his whole life because of what the game has done for him. Tanner Miller, a member of the basketball team and Trent’s brother, said, “Trent has always been a very responsible leader and this has influenced me to do the same.” Players can give a lot to become a good athlete but the game seems to be giving players a lot more back in return.
