Opinion: Pro sports packed with pressure

Kasey Harvey, Sports Editor

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  • After 21 years, Dallas Mavericks basketball player Dirk Nowitzki retired on April 10,2019. “He’s the kind of guy that really made us look at bigs differently,” boys’ head basketball coach Stephen Friar said. “Somebody like him that could shoot the ball from all three levels: the post, the midrange, from the three point line.”

  • Wesley Matthews practicing plays

  • The game from above

  • Dirk Nowitzki mid-game

  • Harrison Barnes and Dirk Nowitzki facing their opponents

  • Dwight Powell shooting one of his first shots of the night

  • Dwight Powell taking shots from within the paint

  • J.J. Barea taking a break from practice

  • Wesley Matthews practicing plays

  • Dwight Powell talking to a manager for the Mavericks

Under the eyes of thousands, NBA players constantly feel the pressure of their community unlike any high school game. Being down near the court for a recent Mavericks preseason game for warmups only confirmed that feeling .

Looking around all I could see was the 20,000 seats that surrounded the single court. I can’t begin to imagine the feel of playing on the court with media like The Dallas Morning News tracking your every move.

With some teammates playing as a hobby, high school sports usually aren’t as stressful. But for NBA players, basketball is a career, adding to the pressure of reaching perfection on the court. Taking chances and working on new skills are opportunities that are available and should be utilized during high school games for they are non existent in the professional league with salary and reputation on the line.

While in the NBA, nerves and insecurities must be put aside in order to focus solely on their game despite constant cameras and screaming fans as a distraction.

For athletes that want to play past high school sports, they should take advantage of the lenient environment and feel comfortable making mistakes in order to improve. Compared to the NBA, high school sports have a somewhat laid back environment.

While high school sports receive recognition from parents and students along with college scouts, high school is the time to perfect your sport. Before you can improve, you must fail and that’s a lot easier to get away with now than it is in a career.