1. Ben Smith
Senior Seminar p.4
December 6, 2011
Video Presentation Script
Hi, my name is Ben Smith, I am 17 and I am from the U.S. I have lived in Thailand for 6 years.
Q: What is the significant experience that you have chosen?
A: I am going to analyze a baseball tournament that I participated in last year. Here in Bangkok
during March of 2011, there was the annual South East Asia Youth Baseball & Softball
Tournament that I played in.
Q: Why was this experience significant for you?
A: Well, first of all, I love baseball, it is my favorite sport and I hope to be able to play in
college. Secondly, this year was probably the most important year for the team from Bangkok
because it was the only year for the past few in which Bangkok has actually had a shot at
winning the tournament. Which we didn’t by the way.
Q: So what exactly happened in this tournament that made it memorable for you?
A: The tournament consists of four round robin games and then the top teams go on to the semi-
finals and finals. Our team started great by winning the first two games and the fourth game. We
were in the semi-finals playing the third place team – Manila. Everything was going great in the
game and we were winning until the fifth inning. They then made a comeback which completely
demoralized our whole team and we ended up losing that game and the following game for third
place. We got fourth place in the tournament even though we had almost beaten the winning
team.
Q: Which Ways of Knowing do you think had an impact on the way that you and your team
played in this tournament?
A: I believe that both reason and emotion had an impact on my performance through this
tournament. Emotion more so than reason.
Q: Can you explain the impact that each of those Ways of Knowing had on your performance?

2. A: Certainly. Starting out with the tournament, we knew that we had as good a shot as anyone
else to win the whole thing. After the first few games though, we knew that we actually had a
very good chance to win if we continued to play how we were. However, during the first semi-
final game against Manila, we used reasoning in order to know that if we won that game, we
would be tied for second place. With that in mind, we knew that winning that game would A, put
us in a good position to win the tournament, and B, increase our emotional satisfaction with our
performance. So simply using reasoning, we could decide that our performance in the game
would need to be fantastic because winning that game was very important. But, like all things in
life, emotions were tied in. The emotional impact on performance was perhaps more important
than the reasoning impact. Knowing about the “Yerkes-Dodson” curve, which shows that
maximal performance happens between low and high arousal, we knew that if we stayed fairly
nervous and excited at the same time, we would play better. Also using the James-Lang theory,
which states that bodily changes cause emotional changes, we knew that if we kept our spirits
high, we would have a better chance of playing well and winning the game, but it wasn’t easy to
control our emotions in such an intense game. Therefore, after we lost the lead, our emotional
sadness overcame us and eventually we lost the game because our emotions led our actions and
behavior.
Q: How is this experience a good example of the person you are?
A: I believe that my involvement with baseball shows that I am a very hardworking and
dedicated person. Having baseball practice a few days a week and on top of that practicing on
my own shows how I really want to try and improve my skills and abilities. Also, baseball is a
kind of release for me. Long weeks of school make stress build up and I need some way to
relieve my stress. I think that baseball allows me to do that in a constructive and healthy way.
Q: Lastly, how will this experience change your actions in similar future events?
A: Well, after having taken Senior Seminar for a semester, I have learned quite a lot about how
humans think about the world around them and react to it. I know that if I am faced with a
similar experience in the future, I will most likely try and leave emotions out of any decisions or
only use the valuable emotions for actions that I take. For example, I wouldn’t let my feelings of
depression take over if I just let the other team take the lead, I would try and stay positive and
use reasoning to know that the game isn’t over until the last pitch.