“Kobe Bryant, going for the three! Wait a minute! Seems like he lost his balance! Ouch! It seems like a pretty bad injury,” the sports commentator shouted at the top of his lungs. I stood there, frozen in the midst of despair as I saw my hero in pain, his ankle badly injured. The medics immediately rushed to his rescue and quickly carried Kobe off the court. I understood the pain and suffering he was going through, having injured my ankle in basketball just a week ago. It felt like I was going through all the pain and agony right along with him. From that point on, I kept on wondering about all the factors that caused the injury. “Did the shoes he was wearing contribute to the problem? What about his jersey, or his knee sleeves?” I kept thinking of so many ideas and ways for my favorite athlete not to have experience that same painful injury again.
About two days later, a follow-up report on Kobe Bryant’s injury appeared on my recommended tab. I quickly clicked on it without even thinking. The news report unfolded, featuring an interview with a sports engineer. The sports engineer explained in detail all the factors that had resulted in Kobe’s injury and how they could have been prevented. That’s when I had my defining moment. The job I always dreamed of suddenly materialized before my eyes. I’ve always wanted to find the culprits on the court and fix them in order to improve sports as a whole. I never realized that there was a field of study especially devoted to that cause! That is when I realized my life’s goal was to become an electrical and sports engineer.
I realize that becoming a sports engineer won’t come easy. There are specific skills required to even be qualified for this special role in the world of sports. In the first place, it requires good communication skills. Fortunately as a member of a sports team, I have gained valuable experiences that helped me learn the importance of listening to others and being open-minded and respectful. Good communication skills also means cooperating with others and finding practical solutions to issues that come up. Ever since I was a little boy, I wasn’t able to rest easy if problems weren’t resolved, especially if it involved other people around me. Sports engineering also requires problem solving skills which takes curiosity and creativity in order to find innovative ways to solve problems in sports. My inquisitive nature is such that I can’t rest easy until I find a solution to a problem. Although I know the basics of using a
computer, a skill I have yet to master is computer-aided design. It’s something I want to learn as I believe this skill will help me learn to solve the problems that athletes encounter when playing sports.
Coming back to the matter at hand, my real intention to become a sports engineer is to help every athlete I can. Creating new designs and devices that are specialized to prevent injuries has been a great reason that has motivated me even when I was 10. Developing new motor training and rehabilitation programs would also be a huge achievement in my life. To be able to help protect athletes from injury by designing innovative protective gear and sportswear is a challenging task. But since this is my motivation, I would definitely do my best to learn all I can about sports engineering in order to achieve my goal.
As sports continue to increase in popularity, it is not a hidden fact that sports can affect a person’s life enormously. From physical health to boosting self-esteem, participating in sports is undeniably one of the most crucial factors for becoming a physically and mentally healthy person. So it is regrettable when injuries on the court hold back sports enthusiasts, like myself, or sports professionals, like Kobe Bryant. It all started as a flash of inspiration that lit up the landscape of my life that day when my hero was injured on the court. Everything became clear to me and the gates to my life’s goals miraculously opened for me. Being able to improve sports as an electrical and sports engineer, and preventing accidents and injuries, is now my passionate dream.