10 RECOMMENDED SPORTS FOR THE SLAS COMMUNITY
BY ASHIM SAPKOTA
Sports are a great way to stay healthy and fit, but can
also be a serious hobby for someone. Many people
like to play sports in general, but they always have
one that they prefer to play. Sports are also a great
way to meet new people whether it’s through joining
an afterschool sports team or playing outdoors to
find someone with the same hobby. In this article, we
are going to explore the different sports played by
teachers and students of Shanghai Livingston
American School (SLAS).
Basketball
A popular sport in the SLAS community is basketball.
This is a team sport that involves shooting a ball into
a hoop, dribbling past people, passing, defending,
and stealing the ball from the other team. The team
with the most points wins the game. This is a sport
that trains the arms to have greater accuracy and
strengthens your legs to jump higher. If all of these
points interest you to join the team, you should
contact the coaches Mr. Rodney or Mr. Jamal.
Football
This sport is a combination of fast leg movement, ball
control, and powerful kicks. It trains your balance and
control of your legs. It is a sport where the players
must be quick and have the ability to control, and
score a ball with their feet. At SLAS, during lunch time
we can see many of students divide into teams to play
football on the field. If you feel the rush to join the
team, please contact the coach Mr. Brown.
Tennis
The ball ripping through the air bounces on your side
of the court once, then you rush to the ball and swing
back with a racket. Tennis a sport where the court is
your domain, and you have to strike the ball back
before it bounces twice on your side. This sport is for
people with strong stamina and good coordination.
If you are interested in this sport, contact the coach
Ms. Ann Morris in primary.
Table tennis
Table tennis is a sport that requires quick reactions,
it is a matter of how much better your hand eye
coordination is than your opponent. You want to do
the same thing as in tennis but on a smaller platform.
It is basically a mini tennis game. On the other hand,
it is a quick game with multiple sets of games. If you
are interested in this sport you should visit Mr. Brown
about further information.
Track and Field
It is a sport for runners and people who train
themselves to have a long lasting stamina. It is a great
sport to join if you are planning to have stronger leg
muscles or to just lose more weight. It is actually a
combination of different sports. These sports include
relay, long jump, shot put, and javelin throwing. This
means in order to win this game you have to gain
points for your team from each genre, so that in the
end you will have a higher score than others.
Volleyball
It is a special sport with a ball that you keep in the
air. If the ball were to fall to the ground on your side,
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you lose the point. It is a very competitive sport with
one of the most unique set of rules and positions. One
of the most unique positions in this sport is the “libero”
who is basically the person who tries to save or get to
the ball at all times. For more information, contact the
coaches Mr. McBroom or Mrs. Wootan.
American football
American football is a sport where people who crash
into each other while the quarterback finds a free man
running down the field. The runner either successfully
makes it down the field and scores six points for the
team, or he comes to a stop where the whole process
repeats. This sport builds you up until you stand like
a wall that never falls. There is a team outside of SLAS
but for more information you should look into
American football in Shanghai online.
Lacrosse
It is a sport that is a combination of several different
sports. It consists of runners like those who play
football, fast hands like those that play tennis, and
wrists that flick like those who play basketball. This
sport is interesting and very active. This means the
players need to be limber fast and strong “I used to
train a lot and played in the national team when I was
younger,” said Mrs. Vanbalveren, the chemistry
teacher at SLAS. She then said, “I like this sport because
it is a sport made from a combination of different
sports.” For more information about this sport please
contact Mrs. Vanbalveren.
Chess
Chess is usually not counted as a sport but it is
competitive. This game is a strategy based game
where each player has their own kingdom. The top
priority is to protect your king. Each player gets to
move their piece once and on piece a turn. When the
other players king is killed by you, the game ends, and
you win the game. For more information, contact Mr.
Brown.
Skate Board
Skateboarding is a sport where people do cool tricks
and show off their talent. There are many competitive
skaters around the world. They take the risk and go
beyond their limits to create new tricks or master one
that has already been done by others. In SLAS,there
are people who come from Iconic, a skateboarding
brand that comes to teach students about the sport.
For more information, contact Mr. Brown.
“I try to join a sport almost every quarter when I get
the chance to. I like to play basketball and football
because they keep me fit,” said Aidan Lupori, a 10th
grader at SLAS. He then said, “ If I wanted to tell a
friend to join a sport team, I will first see what he is
interested in make him join it. Then he would play the
sport if he likes it.”
In the end, playing any sport is good. It keeps you fit
and healthy. Joining a sports team is a great way to
socialize and make more friends. So, if you are
interested in any of these sport, you should try it out
or just join to stay fit.