Youth Voice: Ziv Bisden

Sports and activity, unlike most other things that do not necessarily resonate across cultures, languages and location, is a universal language that people all around the world take part in.

I can definitely attest to this, growing up in the islands of The Bahamas, where getting outside and being active in sports and activity was quite common much like here in the United States. My Name is Ziv Basden and I am currently a student-athlete attending Daemen College in hopes of acquiring my undergrad degree in business and sports management. Quite frankly, it is virtually impossible for me to tell my story up until this point without highlighting the significance of sports, particularly youth sports in my life. It basically paved the way for me to get where I am today. Early on, as young as six or seven years old, I had always been involved in sports and fun physical activities in some way shape or form both at school as well as at home.

My personal experience playing youth sports was very beneficial in terms of my development as an individual, socially and mentally. Some of the various ways that partaking in youth sports helped mold me into the person I am today are by enabling me to build self-esteem and confidence, becoming resilient and being more selfless in a team environment. Much like many others, there were times and instances that things were not going my way and I struggled tremendously. However, it was these difficult times that required me to look deep within myself and decide who I want to be, what I want to accomplish and how hard I was willing to work to achieve it. To take it even a step further, another thing these challenges taught me is that it is also vitally important to know when to accept help from others on your team.

In addition to all these things, one thing in particular that I really attribute to my involvement in sports from a very young age are my social skills. It can be argued that one of the most crucial deciding factors in whether or not a person lives up to their own definition of success is how well they interact and relate to people. Considering this, one of the most valuable aspects that I was able to take away from the youth sports environment moving forward are the social skills it enabled me to develop through interacting with teammates and coaches alike. Altogether, youth sports and sports in general have had a tremendous impact on my life by opening doors that I thought possible and helping me develop into the person that I am today.