Personal Essay: Brittany Murphy As A Team Player

Sports has always been a huge part of my life. I would be the one team player who took the sports season a little bit too seriously. I was the number 1 doubles player on my school's JV tennis team. Unfortunately, I fractured my ankle during my junior year and wasn't able to play with my team. I was devastated, but I didn’t allow myself to become disconnected from my team. I became the team manager to allow myself to still play a role in my team, despite my injury. I would record scores to my division leaders and take pictures to post on the website I created for my team. After the season was over, my doctor told me my ankles required surgery to become fully healed. I knew that meant I couldn’t continue to play tennis, but I didn’t want to give

Author Kris Vervaecke wrote an essay titled, "A Spectator's Notebook," for Writers in Sports. She talked about sports and how they affect different generations. Vervaecke supports her claim by showing how much she loves sports and by using her children as examples throughout the essay. Her son, Ben, represents strength, determination, and talent because of how successful he was in golf, and before he leaves for college he puts in Michael Jordan’s Air Time, that united Ben and Vervaecke. On the other hand, Vervaecke’s daughter, Emily, is a bench-warmer and was told she is only smart not athletic, so she was “benched” in the classroom. She then talks about her other son, Andrew, and describes him as the true athlete of the family because of how much people liked him. Vervaecke’s purpose is to show that sports are not just about something fun to do or watch, but can have a motivational impact that can affect someone's emotions, and she does this by developing an influential tone.  Although Vervaecke mainly talks about her experiences and her childrens throughout the essay, her experiences apply to many students across the country. Many student-athletes are very successful in their futures because of what sports have taught them. Students should be involved in sports because student-athletes learn responsibility, how to manage their time, and take care of their psychological

Emily Murphy was a Canadian women’s rights activist, jurist, and author. She is best known for contributions to Canadian feminism, specifically the question of whether women were “persons” under law. She is one of the strongest women in canadian history.

She also said, “I always wanna be supporting my teammates in everything that I do. If its cheering while on the sideline or in the game when I make a big shot.”

Being on the varsity basketball, soccer, and softball team all three years has been quite a journey. Learning how to manage the little free time I have being a student-athlete is a thing that ties directly into responsibility. I believe I am an exceptionally responsible adolescent for the reason that I always am able to create time for my academics. Although it may be at 11 P.M on the bus ride home, I know that my education is my first priority. My softball coach, Shane Jordan, always re enforces the saying, “You are a student before you are an athlete.” This will stick with me throughout the rest of my high school career. Being a part of many unique teams has taught me great amounts about unity as well. Caring about and being there for my teammates on and off the court/field is something I do

As a casual reader of the sports section of this newspaper, you come across many articles depicting the triumphs of local athletes. However, very rarely do these articles describe the actual athlete behind the success. Athletes come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. They range from the incredibly talented to the horribly uncoordinated. Some are great teammates while others would rather be a one man team. Certain athletes seek out attention from the people around them while others are modest and stay in the background. The fact of the matter is that there is a wide spectrum of different types of athletes that exist in this world and no two athletes are exactly the same. However, each can be put

“She looks comfortable out there, she doesn't look like a freshman. She compliments us well, and gives us a few minutes here and there, which makes us a deeper and better team.” Varsity coach Hannah Alexander said. “She kind of a little spark for the team. She just goes out there and hustles. And she’s just very coachable, she fixes things that we need her to fix.”

Along with NHS, being actively involved in varsity sports throughout high school has made me gain a “work hard” attitude. This attitude of constantly working above and beyond will carry over to my future education and career to help me succeed. As a two-year captain of both volleyball and cheerleading, I have learned to be a team leader while also being a team player. High school sports have instilled lifelong lessons in me such as working hard, being responsible, and being a leader, that I know will aid me in by success in academics and a

Sarah Clancy is a Freshman Husky here at Chino Hills High School. She is very involved in school and extracurricular activities. Sarah is on a pitcher on the Chino Hills High Varsity Softball Team, and she says she loves playing softball because of the feeling of adrenaline and seeing her hard work pay off. She is also in the Health Science Academy, and she is also involved in Key Club. Sarah says her favorite thing about being a Chino Hills Husky is, “ the support system and friendships I’ve made this school year.”

My name is Kaitlyn Hoopingarner, and I am a senior at West High School. Sioux City, Iowa has been my home for my whole life. At West High, I am involved in multiple activities: varsity wrestling cheer, robotics, and theatre. In addition to my school activities, I also paint, crochet, and play video games. I plan to attend Iowa State University to major in Computer Science. My birthday is July 25th, and Christmas is December 25th; so, my birthday is "Christmas in

Kaitlynn Wiltraut, co-captain of the women’s lacrosse team, watched Fitzsimmons work to learn the new position throughout the course of the season. Wiltraut had this to say about her teammate. “Emily is willing to put forth a lot of effort. She’s working hard, and she’s getting a lot better,” said Wiltraut.

When people think of basketball, they think of elite male players such as Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Stephen Curry. Those people rarely think of talented female players such as Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Elena Delle Donne, and Brittney Griner. Since the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) first opened in 1996, the interest in professional sports for women has increased. The creation of the WNBA has opened up a world of opportunities for women who want to pursue their dream of playing professional basketball in the US. The WNBA has overcome impossible odds to become successful, and has empowered women to strive and turn their dreams into a reality.

Audrey is uplifting when in Cross Country, or running long distance. First of all, she tries really hard at practice, even though she certainly isn’t the best on the team, she’s always trying to get better. Not only that, but she has asthma, which acts up when we’re running, she does her best to run through the difficulty. This does nothing to smother her positive attitude, she will not talk abominably about practice, no matter what. Even though she wants to do well, she has offered to let me go ahead of her. She wants to do well too, and this compassion is genuinely inspiring.

Ella stood in the doorway of the locker room deciding if she was going to go along with the plan or if she was going to do the right thing.

By working with girls with varying levels of athleticism and knowledge, I was taught how to be a team player who builds off everyone’s skills. I also learned how to continue fighting even when you are losing the battle. I learned many lessons from games. I think the most important lesson I learned is you should never give up. Never giving up is important in sports as you can always come back and win. In light of all my reasons I chose to play a full-time summer sport, travel softball, instead of going on family vacations.