Welcome to my 8th-grade project—The Olympics. Soccer is my favorite sport. When I was little, my cousin that lived with us, played soccer and he would kick the ball to my brother and me. We were two and three years old when we began to learn how to play soccer. I played for a soccer team when I was seven years old. I also played soccer for Stockton Youth Soccer Association when I was 11. I took a class to learn how to referee a soccer game. Last year I started refereeing games. I like soccer because I am running and because you can pretty much play in any open space. My love for soccer made me want to research more about soccer at the Olympics. I not only learned that soccer was the first team sport played, but it has been at the Olympics since 1896. Soccer led me to learn the history of the Olympics, how to become an Olympian, how a sport can become an Olympic sport, and how the cities are selected to host the Olympics. That is why I chose the Olympics.
Yoooo, I am Elijah Martinez, my 8th-grade project is the Olympics. But before I explain that, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I’m 14, I really love sports—-watching and playing. My favorite sport is basketball. I really just love the sport; it is the one I’ve spent more time playing and the sport I play the best. I have four siblings-three brothers and one sister. In addition, I am in the middle of all of them. I have played with my siblings through the years. To this day, I still play basketball with two of my siblings. Ever since I was little, I would watch the Super Bowl and the World Cup with my dad. I also went through a little soccer phase, playing a lot of soccer at school. I feel those experiences developed my love for sports. My love of sports led me to choose the Olympics as my topic for my eighth-grade project.
A soccer player should be on a lean protein diet. On a lean protein diet, a soccer player can eat chicken, turkey, pork, beef, fish, edamame, deli meats, hummus, peanut butter, and nuts and seeds. Those are the main courses. Rice can be added to the meals. Some foods cannot be eaten every day. Proteins need to be weighed so the soccer player does not have too much or too little protein. With a lean protein diet, a soccer player can have snacks if the player is hungry midday like peanuts, trail mix, Greek yogurt parfait, veggies and yogurt dip, tuna, hard-boiled eggs, and peanut butter on celery sticks.
You may be wondering why a soccer player has to be on a lean diet. Well, the soccer player is on a protein diet because if the player is not; the player may just eat junk food and will not be getting enough protein. If the player does not get enough protein, the player’s body will not be performing at its peak and it might even break down the muscles instead of trying to get them stronger.
How to play basketball isn’t too complicated; well, the main way of playing basketball is dribbling and shooting. There are a couple of side rules; like once you dribble the ball, you can’t stop and dribble again and keep it flowing. Once you stop dribbling, you have to either shoot or pass the ball to a teammate. Another rule is that when you shoot the basketball into the hoop and someone smacks your arm, then you get to shoot a certain number of shots into the hoop. This is called a free throw. The reason I said a certain number of shots, is because it varies depending on where you were on the court.
Do you ever wonder what muscles you use to shoot a free throw? No, huh, well LeBron James actually did ask this question. It is somewhat hard to explain. It is not just one muscle; it is multiple muscles. It takes muscles in the forearm, triceps, deltoid, and fingers. Some muscles that are in the triceps push forward and project the forearm forward to shoot the ball. In addition, some muscles in the forearm push the fingers forward to shoot the ball into the hoop.
Therefore, if you shoot a shot from behind the yellow lines then you will get three shots from the free-throw line. If you take a shot from inside of the yellow line, and end up being fouled, then you shoot two shots. I also drew blue arrows which indicates where you would shoot your free throws.
A basketball players diet is really really important, not only affecting the players stamina, but also affecting the quality of there skills.
A basketball players diet should consist of 30% protein (meat, nuts, beans)
A basketball players diet should consist of 25% fat (oils, butter)
A basketball players diet should consist of 45% carbohydrates (pasta, bread, fruits, cereal)
Make whole grains, fruits, and vegetables a large part of your diet, because these foods contain more fiber, vitamins, and minerals then other foods like chips soda and you know, junk food as your parents may call it. All of these things that i listed make you a better athlete and a healthier person.
