Jobs in the Field The players line up on the court They listen to The Star-Spangled Banner The song ends and the crowd roars It’s game time What What would life be like without sports It’s hard to think of it Each day people work in gyms with goals in mind Teams meet on courts and fields Team sports will be in my life for as long as I live says Jesse Cohen of California Playing makes people stronger both in mind and body The games people play teach sportsmanship That means playing fairly It is treating others well whether as winners or losers 4
The Long Game 2000 B C The ancient Chinese build structures to hold sporting events 776 B C The ancient Greeks hold the first Olympic Games A D 1100 Native Americans play lacrosse as an organized sport 18th Century The colonists in America play organized games of cricket 5 In the Game Most people play sports to exercise The activities help grow skills like aim and balance Plus it’s fun to shoot hoops It feels good to run But sports can also be highly organized The games need planning The players need help So an interest in sports can lead to work that relates Big events bring in thousands of fans Countless jobs are tied to them
Winning Ways Surfing anyone Snowboarding People play to win in all kinds of events Race fans cheer on their favorite drivers Soccer matches bring in large crowds dressed in team colors Each sport has events and this field of careers seems to keep growing Not long ago new leagues formed for disc sports These sports have been around a while but more people want to see them played by teams on big fields So Cohen can now play Ultimate as a professional That’s a disc game with end zones I cherish the trust and responsibility required in a team sport such as Ultimate he says You Know It STEM stands for Science Technology Engineering and Math These studies are useful for a variety of jobs connected to the world of sports 6
Playing Along Pro sports are not the only games in town Plenty of work involves helping amateurs They practice in schools clubs and other places that are set up for workouts What are the biggest U S pro leagues The four biggest leagues for U S professionals are the MLB the NBA the NFL and the NHL These stand for Major League Baseball the National Basketball Association the National Football League and the National Hockey League Some of these athletes work like pros For example thousands of young people are in training for the Olympics now They want to win medals for their countries They put in long hours to try to win a spot on a team The Olympic Games take place every four years These athletes want to be ready for the next events 7
