Vesselina Jeliazkova - Special to The Garden Island
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“There is no such thing as I can’t, there is only I don’t want to!”

This phrase is what stuck with me from one of my first tennis coaches. Growing up, I hated that sentence! However, for over 15 coaching years of my own, it has become one of the most used phrases in my repertoire — because it’s true!

When it comes to sports “patience and perseverance!”is a trend that goes hand in hand with being an athlete and can get you really far. You have to have them in order to learn a new skill and improve with repetitions of the same thing over and over again!

Discipline is probably another one of the main qualities you build as an athlete in any sport. You work on a schedule to manage your time so you can balance athletics with school work and other parts of your life. You’re constantly analyzing your game because it lets you learn your weak points and improve them. You expect a lot from yourself, and you have to meet high expectations from coaches and teammates and it carries over to the rest of your life. I see it with my own life and experiences in and outside of the athlete’s world. In my opinion, there is a difference in thinking between people that have done a sport and people that never have.

Commitment is another characteristic that develops in those who practice a sport and/or are a part of a team! Teamwork and consideration for your own as well as your teammates’ needs could also carry over to how you treat anyone around you in your life. When a part of a unit that has a similar goal, there is bonding that occurs that is founded on respect and love for the common goal/sport.

Improved self-esteem is a key psychological benefit of regular physical activity as well.

The reason? Endorphins! During exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. One thing is known for certain about the “endogenous morphine:” their ability to make you feel oh so good. They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus (part of the brain) in vertebrates during exercise, excitement, pain, spicy food consumption, love and sexual activity. When your body is subjected to those stimuli, your hypothalamus calls for endorphins, and the cells throughout your body that contain them heed the call. When endorphins lock into special receptor cells (called opioid receptors, because opiates also fit them), they block the transmission of pain signals (act as sedatives) and also produce an euphoric feeling — exactly like opiates. In other words, endorphins are endogenous opioid peptides that function as neurotransmitters, and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a feeling of well-being.

For example, the feeling that follows a run or workout is often described as “euphoric.” That feeling, known as the “runner’s high,” can be accompanied by a positive and energizing outlook on life, similar to that of morphine.

So, is it safe to say you can get addicted to sports? If you do the research you would find different opinions. As a lifetime athlete and coach myself, I can confidently say — YES! You can get addicted to sports! No doubt in my mind for a second! And I have myself as a living example of a lifetime sports’ addict.

New beginning

After quitting my sport (tennis) two years ago because of injuries, I quit sports, period. Anything and everything that involved more than me walking to do my daily activities was avoided. I have gone through short periods of a time off, but this one was complete, cold turkey, two-year period. Several things happened to me.

First, I was in more pain than I was when I was playing. Way more pain. Excruciating, can’t sleep, can’t function pains in all my injuries. Once that passed, the depression hit. It got delayed only because I was in so much pain!

I called it withdrawal from sports and a way of life. I had to do something like back in communist Bulgaria, when the term active rest was a known term in athletics, where you took a weekend, week or sometimes a season to do a different sport than yours, so you can rest your working muscles but still be active and balance off some muscles you never or rarely use.

So, I joined a dancing team, and my life changed! I had more energy than ever, I was feeling healthy and there was no pain. Depression was a habit by then and it took longest to get rid off. But it does go away.

Now, I paddle board, roller skate, dance, hike and stretch. The will and power that comes with sports is back full power and I am not in pain. I guess the point I am trying to make is: it doesn’t really matter what kind of sport or activity one gets involved in, if it happens early in one’s life — it is there for a lifetime!

Once the addiction is born for endorphins — it’s for a life and getting addicted before the age of 18 is the prerequisite. Studies show that until that age the body is easily adapted to external stimuli such as drugs and sports.

A muscle developed under the age of 18 has the memory capacity to hold that “image” for life. With little maintenance.

Meaning, if you build your body the way you like it, hopefully with an activity you enjoy, it’s yours forever with little effort. After the age of 18 is still doable, but the efforts would be way bigger, the results much slower and the effects would last for a shorter time.

For example, if you never participated in any sport or had never been active and you are in your 30s, it will take you much longer time to build muscle, tone up or lose weight than your twin who was part of the tennis team in high-school and has not been active for over 15 years.

Besides muscle memory, the person active in their young years has much higher metabolism that also develops alongside with the muscles, stamina and all of the benefits mentioned earlier.

So, get your children active. It could be yard work, hunting, hiking, riding, biking, roller skating, skateboarding, surfing, paddle boarding, or organized team or individual sports. It doesn’t matter what it is.

I have been blessed to have parents who pushed me early into sports. I was lucky! My mom put me on skis at age 3 and my dad put a tennis racquet in my hand at around 5.

At the age of 34, I can confidently and proudly say: “Hi, my name is Vesselina, and I am a sports addict. Sport is a drug and I encourage all parents: get your kids hooked early and they will be hooked for life!

• Vesselina Jeliazkova is a former college tennis player and coach and a Kauai resident still active in athletics.