Is it about attitude, strive, or commitment? Some may ask this to themselves when debating what sets someone who has recently started a sport apart from long-termed athletes. When someone mentions that they play a sport, most people’s minds immediately make the assumption that they have been playing it for years. Studies have found that nearly 64% of participants have started at less than 20 years old while only 19.9% of participants have started between the ages of 5 and 9. 

Kendall Auge, a sophomore who plays softball at Oakdale High School, shares her experience from playing over the years, and how her knowledge has benefited her. “I’ve been playing for four years,” Auge shares. “My brother played baseball so my dad said do you want to play softball and I said yes.” 

Auge continues on about how you can perform better, “I think it’s both of them combined. You have to have a good mindset, a positive attitude, and you have to focus on what you’re doing at that moment.” 

Starting a sport can be challenging and disheartening for anyone, but for some it may be even more difficult because of their age. As you get older, you become restricted with what you can do but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it, all you need is courage and practice. 

“For wrestling, losing weight and for football not gaining enough weight,” Jacob Mostowski, a 10th grade student-athlete at Oakdale, talks about challenges he has faced in sports. “It’s made me stronger in other ways” With everything that you can face while playing a sport, your skills and experience can guide you through difficult situations. 

Experience can be gained at any age, just on different levels and when you are older you should grow to see that sports don’t have a limit. After being asked to give advice to anyone who isn’t sure about starting a sport Mostowski says,  “I would say you definitely should, it creates a better character for yourself”

While having knowledge from years of practice is beneficial and important when being involved in a sport, when you’re new to a sport, you’re able to learn from every opportunity and find your own way to navigate through challenges. Overall, there is no age limit to play a sport and if you want to get involved, then try it out and if it doesn’t work then try something else, because everyone has their own strengths and talents.