Award-winning basketball captain Nina Sorensen gives her take on representational sport at City. Not only does she talk about how rewarding taking part in a sport can be, but how she has developed certain skills from being part of a team, on and off the court.
How did you get involved in representational Sport?
The netball and basketball coaches at my secondary school encouraged me to join the after-school clubs after seeing me play in a PE class. I represented my school in five sports and very rarely had a weeknight when I wasn't on a court or pitch of some sort. This increased to six sports when I moved to another sixth form and two sports at University.
What do you enjoy about it?
What I love the most about sport, particularly competing, is the continuous learning element - you can only really get better, and at the same time you need to adapt to new players, new strategies, and learn to work in a team. I always want to be better than how I was the day before.
What do you find challenging/rewarding about being a Captain?
Being a Captain is one of the best roles you can take on at University, and in life in general, because it teaches you how to be a mentor, a team player and how to lead others and help them to improve. It is a tough role - you have to stress the needs of the team over personal preferences, balance personalities and keep people inspired in a period of poor performance. But what I loved most about being Captain this year was seeing how well others improved as a result of team work and dedication. Being able to be the person people come to when they have an idea or something they want to improve is to me, the best part of the job.
How do you think that this experience has changed you?
Even though I was not able to play this year, I feel this has made me more of a team player than I think I have ever been on court. I understand and appreciate more of the frustrations that people can feel when things aren't going well on court, and the need to be the person that keeps up team morale when this happens. It has highlighted the need to develop a team, and not individual players, and to encourage one of the best aspects of University Sport - the socials!
Why would you recommend it to others?
Being a Captain teaches you to work with people, to be a mentor and to be a voice. These are all skills, in my opinion, everyone should aim to develop and nurture, not just in sport but in their professional lives as well. If you can learn to lead a team, I think people will excel in whatever career or sport they are doing.
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