My Role Model In My Family

Growing up in a large family and a busy lifestyle as an athlete has shaped me into who I have become today. My life has been about being the best student, athlete, teammate, brother, son, employee and husband I can possibly be. Being involved in various sports with several different teams, going away to school, getting married have all been big parts of life for me some newer than others but all big in their own way. My life has always been about fighting through adversity to achieve a common goal at no matter what the cost getting to the finish line is something that must be achieved no matter the circumstances. Growing up I was always taught to work hard to achieve your goals no matter what it takes quitting is not an option. If you get yourself in to something and commit it’s up to you to finish what you started. Growing up in a big household with four brothers and sisters there was never a dull moment as something was always happening. It was enjoyable to grow up with so many personalities in my house it taught me how to deal with different issues that others face each day, and to always take others into consideration when making decisions. Being the second youngest in the family I saw my older siblings move out and took it upon myself to be the role-model for my youngest sister and show her that if you make smart and rational decisions good things come from doing so.

Growing up with a big family, sports have been a central part of each one of our lives. All four of my older sisters were involved in high school athletics as well. This allowed us to share something in common and was a great opportunity to bond with each other. No matter what hardships we faced, sports were there to help us come together. For example, when my dad was unemployed for two years he was able to come and watch all of mine and my sisters games. It really brought us closer as a family because we were always there supporting each other. Eventually, my parents no longer were able to pay the house bill with my dad being unemployed. Our house was then foreclosed and we had no other choice but to move. We moved into the town of Capac by the high school. Times were tough and money was limited, but we still made the most of our time together. We would all go to the softball fields at the school and play softball or a big game of football. Sports gave us something to bond over our whole lives and I’ll always cherish

Sports have been a huge part of my life ever since I was about five years old. It has impacted my life so much. The biggest challenge that I faced was with my injuries during basketball and soccer season. I recently had to quit soccer and basketball, which was difficult for me.

For many children, middle childhood is their first opportunity to take part in a structured sports program. Parents can play a pivotal role in

I first became involved with the sport when I was 9-years-old and will probably continue with the sport until I graduate. Being a part of this team has shaped me into the person I am today. I have become a role model for my younger teammates. I am someone who can motivate them to work their hardest and help them achieve their goals by guiding them. I have spent many hours, whether it be during practice or after, coaching these younger teammates, or girls trying out for my team, in order to help out my coaches and show these girls that if they ever need any help I will always be available. This has taught me to step up and be a leader, which is something 9-year-old me would have never

It was just me and Mom ever since dad died, my mom, Leah Smith, has been working super hard for the last 8 years just to provide me the best life so I can continue my Dad’s legacy and do what I love the most. I took baseball more serious and always put it as my number one priory. I was sharping myself to be perfect so I can impress the scouts go to college and at least try to play in minor league baseball. It was eat, breathe, sleep and baseball repeating over and over again, it was a cycle every day. School was important as well, I always focused myself to get the grades I needed

Most of the kids stayed inside of the house and played their video games. Things for me changed and I was not as active as I was in Louisiana. This is when I noticed that everybody in the world were not as whiling as I was to play a sport or to go outside. This was a very sad moment in my life and I knew that things had to change quickly. When I got in middle school I was introduced to wrestling, I noticed right away that this was the sport for me. My parents saw that I was very passionate about wanting to be a part of the wrestling team so they decided to invest in me. I was very fortunate to have parents that could sacrifice and pay for me to do something that I really wanted to do. Some of my other teammates were not as fortunate as me, they often struggled with team dues and sometimes would even have to quit. I then realized that some people didn’t play a sport because they didn’t want to, it was that they couldn’t because they couldn’t afford it. This made me extremely thankful and appreciative of my parents and all that they do for

Growing up, my dad made sure that my brothers were involved in sports. Because he thought that football was too rough for them at a young age he signed them up for baseball. From then on out, we became a baseball family. Everything we did, all of our family friends were because of the sport. Even though, I did not play the sport, I still loved the game. It was the beginning of my seventh grade year when my dad informed me that it was mandatory that I participate in an extracurricular activity and because my dad was the authoritarian saying “no” to him was not a question. It was then that I decided to join a softball team.

Throughout high school, I’ve been involved in multiple activities. As I began high school sports, I looked up to the upperclassmen and tried to be like them. As I grow older, I try to be a positive role model for the underclassmen, just as the students before me had done. I believe that being a positive influence on the ones that look up to you is a splendid aspect to have. As my senior year approached, I participated in volleyball for my fourth year. Throughout practice, I was sure to reach

Alexander's parents planned their lives around his activities, which is what my parents did. When my sister and I were both in soccer, my parents did nothing but drive us to practices and games. No matter what we needed or where we had to go, they made sure all other events were postponed or outlined around soccer. My mom was the one that instructed our schedule, just like Alexander's mom. My dad adored watching his kids play a sport they loved and succeeded at it, but did sometimes complain about the costs that came along with it.

Soccer led to days sitting in the park talking about our futures, bike rides to the beach, and nights of mischief. Around the same time I started playing and watching basketball. I remember watching Kobe Bryant play in the 2009 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics and thinking I want to try that move, hoist a trophy, have a crowd cheer for me. There has always been a sense of energy I got from playing in front of people which can be attributed to my competitiveness. Regardless, the only people that I cared about watching me were my parents. My father was always working and my mother also working among taking care of my younger sisters and I. That is until my championship game with the boys and girls club in 6th grade. I vividly remember my dad waving to me as we started the game and although we lost I was never happier. Basketball gave me a reason to smile. There were countless nights of trash talk and one on one games with people who were my rivals, rivals that are now my closest

Sports have always been a major part of my life. Since the beginning, I have always been involved in some type of sport. I am the middle child of two boys, so i wasn’t exactly “girly”, I was mainly considered a “tomboy.” I tried gymnastics, but it just wasn’t my thing, I stuck to a bat and a ball. Growing up there wasn’t a time when you wouldn’t find my brothers and I, or my dad and I outside throwing pitch. We all played baseball/softball, so it was kinda our thing just to go out and play a game of wiffle ball.

My entire family is an athletic family, everyone did or does sports. However, I never really enjoyed sports to the extent that my family did. I tried to find something I had a passion for, but didn't really find anything until I was in 5th grade. A time that I was open to growth was my entire time in Phoenix Boys Choir.

I never liked playing with dolls, painting nails, pretending I was a teacher or even acting like I was baking with fake food. All that girly stuff sounded boring to me, so the one thing that kept me busy everyday was going outside and playing whatever sport was on for that day with all my neighborhood friends. We played everything from kickball to football in the streets. Ever since I was a little child, playing sports was my passion. In my free time I played every sport you can think of, but sports that I actually was on a team for was baseball, hockey, soccer, and I ran track. Being an athlete is how people knew me, I guess you could say I was and still am a tomboy. Being involved in a sport ever since I was four years old, has really taught me a lot about not just playing the sports itself, but at life as a whole. Being apart of a team, can teach someone many skills, and life lessons. Because there are uncountable reasons why one should be involved in a sport, the main skills, and lessons include learning how to work together, and developing communication, and organizing skills. Additionally, one could develop a good work ethic, and learn how to control body language/temper.

These days, there is too much pressure on children who participate in organized sports because of the unnecessary parental involvement they experience. A growing concern amongst those involved in youth sports is that certain aspects of parental involvement become detrimental to the development and experiences of young athletes. Early emphasis on winning, making money, and the disruption of education can exceedingly affect ones desire to further participate in a sport later on in his/her life.