Personal Narrative: How High School Athletics Has Impacted My Life

Staying up late to finish up an essay, or studying late at night after a long day of a physical and mental beat down, is pushed through with determination. Sports taught me determination, and it comes with work ethic. Being a student athlete also gave me leadership qualities both in the classroom and on the field. No where in the classroom will I be put into situations where quick decisions must be made and consequences are waiting to follow. The discipline that is required to be successful at a sport has only strengthened me in every aspect of my life. The discipline through sports has taught me to respect everyone, be coachable, and not to sell myself short. Everything learned through sports gives you a big advantage in school as well. For many of us, if it wasn't for sports, we wouldn't still be in school working this hard. Being a student athlete helps prepare you to catch anything life throws at you, and to handle it very well. Gold medal olympian Bob Richards stated that "One of the great lessons I've learned in athletics is that you've got to discipline your life. No matter how good you may be, you've got to be willing to cut out of your life those things that keep you from going to the top". Sports has taken me farther in life and school than I believe I could’ve taken

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

As my Varsity baseball team suits up for practice we whip out our “Easton Mako Bats” and our “Evo-Shield arm sleeves.” Everyone prepares for the season as we break in our new 200-dollar gloves. As I Un-zip my “Demarani Bat Bag” I search for the stick of eye black that seems to add spice to my game as I smother it under my eye, to “reflect the sun” of course. Our accessories become a part of our game, and we begin to value them more than the game itself.

Our 8th grade basketball team were putting on a show! Opponents would enter bobcat territory where our team would play a hard fight to take another win. Every game spectators are left in astonishment after witnessing determination, willingness, and our spirit until the clock expires down to its last second.

From my first T-Ball team to my senior year track club, the comradery and confidence I have gained from competing on numerous sports teams has made an enormous impact on my life. Growing up, I went to a very small Catholic school. With less than 100 students in the entire school district. In third grade, our family moved to Manteno. Where each grade level had at least 120 students. Baseball and Basketball were crucial for me in my early years. It was how I became acquainted with most of my friends growing up in Manteno. If it wasn’t for competing on a team, I would have stayed timid for the rest of my life. With the confidence sports have gave me, I have been able to challenge myself to experience the world and all

Stephen is a senior transferred to WCSU from Miami University in Ohio, it is better known for the home of the famous NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. That one fact made it a little easier to bond and converse with Stephen as I am a huge football fan and he happens to coach football. It wasn’t Stephen’s idea to transfer but his parents, they decided it was too expensive for him to go to school so far from home. He therefore transfer here and now lives in his parents basement in Ridgefield CT, and he commutes to school. Stephen is majoring in media studies and he hopes to do something in the field of being a promoter or a publicist. Stephen coaches high school football mainly to freshman's and he also is part of a baseball league. Stephen also loves to sing even though he claims he isn’t so good at it.

Perhaps if it were not for my sister, I would have not been at Clayton State University as a student or an athlete, or even yet a student of sociology. The student-athlete is by no means what I expected. I actually did not know what I was expecting until the first day of practice for cross country and I truly thought I was never going to be able to handle school and running at the same time. Everything my sister had done, always seemed like it came easy to her. If it were not for her guidance and support, I probably would not be where I am today. Paige always pushed me and made me become the person I could be in this world. In addition, this is the semester I never once thought I would get to because of the many doubts I had along the way

My clinical rotation for the fall semester of my junior year is with the King’s College Men’s soccer team. As an athletic training student, I hold a lot of responsibilities regarding the prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, management, and treatment of these student athletes. Most of my daily activities can be separated into three groups, the pre-practice, pre-game, during the activity, and post- practice and post-game.

Instead of feeling pressure to conform as a student at the University of Georgia, I have found that being in college has made me value the importance of a higher education more so than I ever had before. During high school, my primary goal was to play well enough to receive a football scholarship. At that time, my focus was not on academics. However, since I've arrived at the University of Georgia, my entire concept of the value of a college degree has slowly changed. Rather than seeing just football in my future, I can now picture myself as a football player with a college degree. Consequently, instead of having a negative impact on my personal growth, college has helped me broaden as a person.

As a little girl, I was the child who would never let go of my parents. If anyone ever glanced over at me they would catch me either wrapping my whole body around my Mom's legs or begging my Dad to pick me up and hold me. Even worse, if any adults dare took the chance to come over and talk to me I would hide my face, thinking they couldn’t see me so I would never have to talk to anyone. I was shy. Simple as that, talking to people was something I feared the most.

“Are they in yet?” my mother questioned nervously. I had been waiting anxiously on my phone waiting for the results to come in. I kept refreshing the page eager to find the new 2016- 2017 Prosper High School Varsity team. “No, not yet” I replied with cheerlessness. It had already been 30 minutes past the time the results were to be posted. Those 30 minutes were the longest 30 minutes I had ever experienced. Before I was about to give up and force myself to sleep, I tried to refresh the page one more time. Repeatedly my finger hit the refresh button, and soon a list of numbers filled the screen of the girls who made the team. My eyes search immediately to number 22. Luckily, the anxiety was gone soon after I realized all the hard work I put in paid off.

There comes a time when raising a child that a parent will make the decision whether their child will participate in extracurricular activities. For many parents this decision is easy. Others will struggle with the pros and cons of their child’s participation in sports or any other outside activity. Then they must consider what the child wants to do, or if their child wants to play sports at all. After considering the possible positive and negative outcomes, my wife and I decided to place our children in competitive youth sports.

Sports have been what my life revolves around for as long as I can remember. I spent all my younger years watching my siblings play different sports in different cities. Our family vacations were wherever my brother and sisters had tournaments. It’s the bond that unites us and gives us a sense of identity. I don’t know who we would be if we weren’t supporting each other at games or having family gatherings to watch some big game.

Do you have a favorite memory that you will always cherish? Well, I do. Mine is my Senior year of basketball season. The whole season taught me so much about life on and off the court. Trust me the season had its up’s and down’s, we had some very good games and some very bad games. But we bounced back.

I first started playing volleyball at a very young age. I was in the seventh grade when my volleyball career started. My sister started playing in the seventh grade and I just wanted to follow her footsteps. My seventh grade year was ok because I had just started out and really didn’t know the game. There was A team and a B team, where A team was better than the B team. I tried my best to be on the A-team, but guess where I ended up, on the B team.