Individual Sport or Team Sport?

Training partners connected or self focused?

Do I really have the personality of a spoilt brat? Since then I have reflected on my behaviour and I realise that I don't particularly like to "go with the flow". I like targets and I make plans to achieve them. I like to stick to my plans and get upset if I can't. I have to admit that I will often just forge on ahead with them regardless of anyone elses opinion. (I even renovated our house while my partner was away for ten weeks in order to get it the way I - but not he- wanted it. It might not have been one of my better ideas and has caused a few arguments since.)

So, why am I confessing this now? Well I have been wondering if I  have been attracted to running because I am like this. If I were a better team team player, if I were more compromising, if I enjoyed working side by side with others (I do seem to have done better in jobs where I am allowed to just get on with it on my own!) then maybe I would have chosen to play netball or volleyball and been part of a team. My friend who won't go on holiday with me (!) was a hockey player and is now a volleyball player and is brilliant with people in a group situation. I would describe her as extrovert because she is outgoing and sociable but she also exhibits traits associated with introversion such as being reliable and thoughtful, cooperative with other players and very good at sharing the recognition for a win with other people.

The broadest category of personality traits involves extroversion and introversion. According to Hans Jürgen Eysenck there is an optimal level of arousal. Extroverts tend to naturally be under aroused or bored and are in need of external stimulation to bring them to the optimal level. This means that they tend to be outgoing, talkative, lively, sociable and impulsive. They love the lime-light, work well in groups, and tend to dislike being alone for long periods of time. Introverts, on the other hand, are naturally over-aroused and jittery and are therefore in need of peace and quiet to bring them up to the optimal level. This means they exhibit a tendency to be reserved, reclusive, thoughtful, calm, and rational. They are more interested in their own mental self, work better alone, and are controlled in social situations, preferring closer, more personal relationship. 

My friend seems to have traits associated with both extroversion and introversion. It would appear that I do too. I took a Global 5 survey test and saw that my extroversion results were high and, as my friend has hinted, my accommodation results were moderately low suggesting that at times, I can indeed be overly selfish, uncooperative, and difficult at the expense of the well being of others.  

There have been many studies on this subject. Some have swayed towards the team players being more extrovert and those taking part in athletics, tennis and other individual sports being more introvert. They have found that individual sports require a high level of thinking and being aware of self, which are characteristic traits of introversion. Team sports require sociability, and therefore openness, skills which are characteristic traits of extroversion. However, others have found the opposite and found participants of individual sports, where the pressure is all on the individual to perform reflected traits of extroversion such as being outgoing, energetic, spontaneous and to some extent egotistical.

It would appear that it's not easy to predict who is suited to what sport based on personality traits. There are probably many factors that contribute to the sport we are attracted to. Yesterday, in the news we saw that more people are now taking up individual sport rather than team sport. I wonder why that is? A subject for another day!