What sports can teach us about crochet {or any craft}
So many areas of our lives are impacted by the lessons we learn along the way. Today we’re going to talk about what sports can teach us about crochet (or any craft).
I used to play sports as a kid. I started with just horsing around with my brothers in our front yard with wiffle ball, kickball, and a make-shift basketball court.
I graduated into girls softball in my grade school years, to girls basketball in my junior high years, and to a season-to-season cycle of cross country, basketball, and track during my high school years. Some of my happiest memories are being on a basketball court or cross country route.
At the time I didn’t realize the skills and characteristics I was learning from sports. And to think those skills and characteristics would be used later in my life as I developed an affinity for crocheting and other crafts?!
Perseverance
Perseverance is a trait sports taught me that I apply to my crochet ventures. The drive to keep going and to keep pushing despite the challenge in front of you. Running sprints during basketball practice or running uphill sprints during cross country practice (can you tell I didn’t favor sprints?) pushed myself mentally (and physically).
This equated to pressing on when I would challenge myself to create a new crochet pattern. When I had plenty of reasons to give up on it, but kept pressing and kept doing some form of research or experimentation to figure it out. Or even just the mental strength it takes sometimes to finish a project you’re just bored with. This reminds me of track. I ran the 1600- and 3200-meter races. That’s 4 times or 8 times around a track. You wanna meet boring, there you have it!
Sports can teach us the characteristic of perseverance that we need in crochet.
Accomplishment
Sports gave me a sense of accomplishment. Of a job well done. Even if I didn’t place first, or we didn’t win the game, the fact that I had learned something new, or applied a new technique or strategy, or beat my personal best was part of the entire experience.
That tucking in my elbow when I shot a layup so the opponent couldn’t bump it and mess up my shot. Using visualization to envision me passing up the competitor in front of me while on a cross country route. And coming to the end of the race or the game, having known I did well.
Don’t get me wrong, I was competitive and the score was important to me. But when I look back, the scores aren’t what I remember. It was the feelings of accomplishment that I remember…new personal records.
Needless to say when finishing a crochet project there’s a sense of pride and accomplishment. Of maybe learning a new stitch or a new technique, or using a new yarn. Just the sense of completion when it’s a pattern you’ve used a million times. There’s always that sense of satisfaction and sitting back to marvel at your creation.
Sports can teach us that sense of accomplishment that we enjoy with our crochet projects.
Discipline
Sports taught me about discipline. How else do you get through daily cross country routes (some as long as 7 miles on hilly country roads) without having discipline? The discipline of showing up to practice every.single.day. Of implementing tips and tricks to prepare yourself for the miles of running after a full day of school. Drinking water, eating well, getting a good night’s sleep, and stretching well before heading out on a run.
I recall one loop we would run. There was a hill towards the end of this longer route. And this was no small hill. It was probably a mile long, windy, and UP! (It was probably only a half mile, but it felt like 5 miles, so I’m being generous in saying it was probably a mile.) The discipline it took to keep going, one foot in front of the other. How often I’d want to stop and just walk. How easy it would have been to give up.
But that’s not what the challenge of that hill was about. It was about strengthening our breathing, strengthening our leg muscles so that when race day rolled around, running a mile on a series of small, rolling “hills” was a walk in the park. Giving up wouldn’t have accomplished that. Same with crocheting.
When we challenge ourselves with complicated and challenging patterns or techniques (I’m looking at you Cosmic CAL), we commit to a discipline of moving through it. Of working ourselves through those seemingly 5 miles of crochet stitches and then bask in the loveliness of ice cold water after the race (or chocolate, whatever your go-to crochet reward is. LOL)
Sports teach us the discipline we’ll use to work through a challenging pattern or technique.
Comraderie
Sports taught me how to get along with people. Just because you had a spat with a friend who’s also on your basketball team didn’t mean you could execute a play during scrimmage and not throw her the ball. That would have been ludicrous!
Sports tied together many of the traits above into this comraderie. All of us were in this boat together. When we were “on the line” getting ready to run sprints, there was a bond that this was going to suck. But we knew what our goal was. We were improving ourselves.
And when someone was having a hard day, there was a team there to help carry them. Even though there’s something to be said for improving yourself to improve your team, there’s still a component of working well together as a team. Teammates inevitably became friends. Friends became the people we went to the movies with, to parties with. That made the wins that much sweeter.
How fun is it to crochet with a friend….provided you’re not counting stitches?! It’s great fun!
That’s one part I miss about sports, was the built-in friendships. I remember those friendships like they were yesterday. I don’t currently have that type of relationship in my life today, and I wish I did. So maybe sports also taught me about areas of my life I could improve upon…..even 30 years later. Never thought you’d use sports to teach about crochet.
Sports teach us about comraderie and having interactions with fellow crafters that brings joy to our lives.
Final Thought on What Sports Can Teach Us About Crochet
What other ways did sports impact your life? Bonus points for tying into crafting or crochet. Leave a note in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.
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