"Somewhere behind the athlete you've become, the hours of practice, and the coaches that have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back. Play for her." — Mia Hamm

To the Frustrated High School Athlete,

I know exactly what you're thinking, and I know exactly how burnt out and tired you are. Your life most likely revolves around a sport that you play. You probably spend less energy focused on homework than you do on that specific sport. Maybe you’re in season right now. Maybe your body is aching up because of the conditioning that you’re going through. You could be one of those athletes that’s working towards getting that championship win, or maybe you just came off of a championship win. You might be one of those athletes that is looking forward to a night of team bonding with the teammates that you feel close enough with to call your family. Maybe right now you hate your coach, maybe you just aren’t getting enough playing time. Maybe you made JV or freshman when you feel like you should’ve made varsity. You might be one of those athletes that would do absolutely anything to get on the court/field or you might be the star on your team. The one who everyone depends on to have a good game. You may be one of those athletes who just lost to their rival school in a very important game. Or you might have won and you may be celebrating. You might be one of those athletes who cannot imagine life without the sport that you play or you may be one of those athletes who feels burnt out and just doesn’t know what to do anymore, but no matter which one of these athletes you are, do not quit.

I was a three-sport athlete freshman year who loved every second of the sports that I played. I went into high school not even imagining that in four years I would never be playing again. It was something that I grew up doing. It was literally a part of my life. In fact, looking back on my childhood the only thing that I remember is driving around to soccer tournaments or driving back and forth between soccer, softball, volleyball, and basketball. I remember the hundreds of games that I played in over the years. Some of those were wins, and some were very tough losses, but even after those losses I still loved the game. I was one of those athletes who would make fun of people for quitting their college sport. I used to think that they were stupid and that there was absolutely no reason for them to quit the sport that they love, but then I did it.

I was supposed to go and play soccer at a very small school. I was very excited to play there because it seemed like the perfect school for me. All senior year I could feel my passion for soccer fading away. I didn’t look forward to going to practices like I used to. Sometimes I didn’t even look forward to going to my games. It was almost as if I woke up one day without my love for the game anymore. I thought maybe I was just sick of it because I had been playing with the same team for ten years. I just wanted it to be over, but as soon as it ended, all I wanted was another season of soccer.

I spent my whole basketball season waiting for spring soccer to start, but once it finally got here I realized it wasn’t the same as it used to be. I am a perfectionist and I am very hard on myself when it comes to sports, but now when I messed up I didn’t really care too much. I don’t remember ever actually sprinting 100 percent to get the ball, or ever trying hard at all. That season that we played in soccer was the best season that Seckman soccer has ever had. Winning districts for the second time was amazing, but it just didn’t feel the same.

Over the summer, I started dating this boy. I knew that it wasn’t a serious relationship and that it wasn’t going anywhere. We weren’t even close to serious. When I went down to college I was terrified. I was scared of change. I just wanted to be home with my family and friends. I missed my boyfriend. We had two-a-days in soccer and I did not want to be there what so ever. We mainly just ran and scrimmaged. Normally, people would love scrimmaging, but I hated it. I actually looked forward to the running in practice compared to the scrimmaging. Then when we were running, I felt an immediate pain in my groin. That was when I knew I was done. Yes, the injury that I had was not that bad, but I didn’t want to fight through any injuries anymore. I didn’t want to be there. So I quit and went back to where I felt comfortable, home.

Looking back on it, it was the worst decision of my life. I got home and I was happy. I got to see my family and friends and my boyfriend. I felt as if I had more time to do my homework and live without having to go to practice every day, then things started changing. I went to a community college and I felt as if I was in high school again but without all of the fun parts such as homecoming, prom, spirit weeks, and sports games. I didn’t want to admit it, but I missed the practices, I missed everything about soccer. My boyfriend and I ended things. He cheated on me. He ruined my friendship between me and two of my best friends to try and hurt me. Those two friends were the people at my college that I hung out with the most. All of my other friends had gone away to college.

That is the moment that I realized that I truly missed not only soccer, but also the other three sports that I played. Basically, everyone goes through hard times in life, and everyone also uses something to take away the pain. The certain thing acts as a medicine which makes people forget what is wrong. My medicine was sports, and a lot of athletes don’t realize it until they are done playing, but sports are their medicine, too. I thought that leaving that college was something that would make me happier and more comfortable. I thought I was going home, and this might sound really cheesy, but I didn’t realize that the field or the court was my home. Most athletes spend most of their lives going to practices, games and tournaments. Your whole life revolves around it.

It took me until I quit to realize how much I truly loved the game.

It took me until I quit to realize that playing college soccer would have given me an identity at my school.

It took me until I quit to realize that the best friends that you can ever have are your teammates because no matter what they will always have your back. They will always be there for you through tough times, breakups, and drama. You can lose your boyfriend or girlfriend. You can lose your friends back at home.

It took me until I quit to realize I had the option to not lose soccer and I did.

It took me until I quit to realize that I really would never step out on a field and fly down the sidelines trying to get the ball. I would never feel that incredible feeling of scoring a goal again.

It took me until I quit to realize how I loved soccer more than anything else.

Don’t make my mistake.