Sports have always been a vehicle that brings out the best in human spirit. It is that experience of living to the fullest in amplified emotions, of adrenaline rush and ultimately winning that makes sports alluring and a lifetime conquest. Many aspire to be professional athletes. They start at an early age having lofty ideals to become like their idolized sports athletes. Not only they are inspired to be in the limelight of success, great wealth and prestige but also motivated with the numerous awards given for sports they choose to perfect.

For aspiring athletes the world of sports is wide open. It may take long and hard training but they know that commitment and discipline are significant factors in achieving their goals. For the professional athletes, awards are feathers in their caps, trophies and plaques are not just symbols of their success but realization of their dreams.

Of all sports, Ice Hockey has the most awards and trophies given to players and teams. The most prestigious is the Stanley Cup for professional tournaments and Allan Cup awarded to amateur men’s hockey champions of Canada for senior players. Lacrosse comes close for most awards and trophies with the Champion’s Cup given to playoff winners in the National Lacrosse League.

The game of tennis was once pastime played by both genders but has gained worldwide popularity in recent decades. Tennis players have become famous celebrities attributed to their skill, endurance and power shots as seen in world renowned tournaments such as Wimbledon, Davis Cup, Hopman and Fed Cup as well as the celebrated Australian, US and French Open championships.

Baseball being the popular American pastime has many award giving bodies recognizing athletes’ achievements. The CY Young Award trophy is given yearly to the best performance as pitcher while the Golden Glove Award honors player with superior fielding performances in both National and American League.

Most Valuable Player Award is given to single outstanding player in each league of Major League Baseball. There is also the Rookie of the Year Award given to the most exceptional first-time professional baseball player of the season. The Rookie and Cy Young awardees are voted by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America while Golden Glove recipient is voted by league managers and coaches. The ultimate championship game which is the World Series or sometimes called October Classic is the zenith of professional baseball.

Aside from Olympic medals and awards, boxing has National Golden Gloves given to non-professional boxers 16 and over in the US annual competitions. Most of US states have its’ own Golden Gloves awarded to amateur boxers. Other prominent sport like basketball has a number of NBA championship and individual awards. Famous personalities that won NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award and inducted to Basketball Hall of Fame such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan gross millions more as product endorsers even long after their retirement.

While most popular sports have various award giving-bodies, there are many other sporting events that have huge followers. Sports competitions such as volleyball, football, bowling, cycling and swimming are favorites in the Olympic Games. Awards or medals garnered by the athletes in these events are not only personal achievements but bring honor to the country they represent.