Do you love sports and want to write a sports essay for your college application? A sample essay is below.

This college application essay writer helps us learn a great deal about her tenacity and determination as she writes about her engagement in a martial arts sport called Krav Maga.

The personality traits you display in sports will help a college decide to admit you, because you are showing a college how you will achieve academically and how you will engage in college.

Three Tips with Quotes from the Sample Sports Essay

#1:  Describe Why and How You Got Into the Sport

“My training was sparked by hardships experienced during ninth grade…I was also obsessed with Annie Leonhardt…After some internet research, I discovered that her techniques incorporated elements of Krav Maga—an Israeli military-developed self-defense system reputed for its practicality and effectiveness, even at the hands of a tiny girl like me. This was it: the key to being fearless.”

Why:  This helps a college understand your story and your background. It also sets up the essay for showing how the sport has changed you for the better.

#2:  Help the Reader See You in Action in Your Sport

“My muscles are still stiff, so the first jabs merely are dull thuds. My partner smiles knowingly, and to be honest, I’m mortified. Blood flushes my cheeks and burns through my limbs. I draw my right fist back, and with a swift rotation of my shoulder and a twist of my foot, I burst into the pad. The explosion is shocking, like a firecracker exploding on a July night. My partner jerks back a little. His eyebrows raise, and the pad comes at me, stronger and faster than before. Bob and weave, hook, cross, kick, knee . . . my fists and legs blur together…”

Why:  People remember images more than words, so creating an image with your words is an important way to be remembered by a busy college admissions counselor. It also helps them understand the experience through your eyes.

#3:  Help the Reader Learn about Your Personality From the Way You Talk About and Engage in the Sport

The writer went from “I just didn’t know how to be fearless.” to…” to be honest, I’m mortified” to.. “Krav Maga has taught me confidence and strength, but never at the cost of respect. I can take on any challenge—even healing scars from the past.”

She sounds honest about her shortcomings and clear about how and why she has changed.

Why:  Colleges read your essay to help them decide to admit you. They look at which qualities you have that will help you graduate.  Your personality revealed in a sports essay can show those qualities.

Click here to read “More About How to Answer the Challenging Diversity Question,” including a sample essay

Sample Sports Essay for a College Application

Prompt: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. (250-650)

When I enter the Krav Maga dojo, the first thing that hits me is a pervasive, pungent odor noxious enough to bring tears to my eyes. It’s not surprising, considering the source of the reek: There are dozens of burly, tattoo-plastered middle-aged men and women, punching and kicking relentlessly at pads and dripping perspiration onto the floor. I, on the other hand, am a vertically-challenged, tattooless teenage girl who is “cute” and “sweet,” according to multiple sources. Yet, as I tie my belt around my waist and slap on the Velcro of my boxing gloves, I receive warm smiles from my adult classmates. After a long day at school, I’m finally home.

My training was sparked by hardships experienced during ninth grade, when I was bullied by a girl who masqueraded as my friend. She told me that I was weak, and that she could destroy me “with one punch.” I never talked back, because I believed her. I just didn’t know how to be fearless.

During that time, I was also obsessed with Annie Leonhardt, a character from the show Attack on Titan. Stoic and beautiful, she epitomized feminine poise and strength, and even though she stood at a towering five feet zero inches, Annie always intimidated opponents with her cold glares and, if necessary, her skill in martial arts. When she pinned down a boy who dwarfed her in size, she told him that she was throwing him with her superior “techniques.”

I channeled my fascination into productivity, and after some internet research, I discovered that her techniques incorporated elements of Krav Maga—an Israeli military-developed self-defense system reputed for its practicality and effectiveness, even at the hands of a tiny girl like me. This was it: the key to being fearless.

Back at the dojo, the instructor pairs me up with a man twice my height who ranks several belts above me. He’s perplexed, but his superior narrows his eyes, a silent reminder of the dojo’s principles: We’re here to build skills, confidence, and foster relationships as a community, not to determine who’s “top dog.”

We begin to drill a set—choreographed movements designed to condition endurance and reflex. My muscles are still stiff, so the first jabs merely are dull thuds. My partner smiles knowingly, and to be honest, I’m mortified. Blood flushes my cheeks and burns through my limbs. I draw my right fist back, and with a swift rotation of my shoulder and a twist of my foot, I burst into the pad. The explosion is shocking, like a firecracker exploding on a July night. My partner jerks back a little. His eyebrows raise, and the pad comes at me, stronger and faster than before. Bob and weave, hook, cross, kick, knee . . . my fists and legs blur together, and I relish the addictive rhythm of my body hitting the synthetic leather.

The instructor’s alarm jolts me out of my trance, and I have time to catch my breath—except that there’s none to catch. While the adults have waterfalls pouring off their faces, there’s barely a drop of sweat on my forehead. The instructor knows about the strength and stamina I developed from years of competitive swimming, and my partner finally understands why he was paired up with me.

Seasons pass in an indistinct blur, and somehow, it’s already September of junior year. I slouch in my seat on the first day of computer science, and a tall girl plops down next to me. It’s her.

I grip the edge of my chair, the sinews under my skin flexing luxuriously as I sit up straight. I’m way above starting a fight. Krav Maga has taught me confidence and strength, but never at the cost of respect. I can take on any challenge—even healing scars from the past.

She smiles at me, and I brag about the bald eagles I had seen in Acadia a few weeks ago.

Note from the Essay Author

I graduated from Wellesley in 2023 and am now working as a software engineer. So happy to hear that Essay Coaching is still going strong – you’ve helped many get into their dream schools and programs.