From age 5 up until present time, I was an athlete. There was never a time where I wasn’t playing some sport whether it was softball, basketball, soccer or tennis. Sports offer so much to the players, on and off the field. While most people focus on what sports bring the athlete on the field or court, I think sports offer so much more beyond the actual game. Sports bring out the best and the worst in the players and can help these athletes grow and become amazing human beings. So much of me was shaped from playing sports. Thank you, sports, for teaching me these hard, valuable lessons.
Time management
As a student athlete, I needed to figure out how to manage my time. School work was the top priority, but skipping practice was never an option. Playing sports at a high level taught me how to not only manage my time but prioritize the work that needed to be done. This valuable skill not only helped me in high school, but has helped me so much in college.
Facing adversity
Almost all athletes at some point found themselves riding the bench during games instead of smashing home runs. Instead of crying about not starting or quitting, the best athletes take the anger they feel and let that fuel them to become better. Sports taught me to not give up when faced with adversity, but instead to work extra hard, and all that extra hard work makes it even more amazing when you excel and beat the adversity.
Dealing with others
No matter what team I was on, no matter what my role on the team was, there was always that one player or that one coach I hated with a passion. It never failed, but at the end of the day, that’s life. You are never going to like every person you come across. Sports have taught me that you don’t have to be friends with everyone, you just have to be a good teammate. In life, you don’t have to be best friends with everyone you encounter, but you need to be nice to everyone. We are all teammates in life.
Putting in the extra work
I was never the best player, but I was always one of the hardest working. At an early age, I figured out that I was not one of the lucky kids born with this ability to field a grounder or swish three-pointers, so I had to work extra hard to gain these skills. In the real world, most things are not going to come easy -- you are going to need to put the time and effort into studying, working and all aspects of life.
Accepting your role
Every player on a team has a very specific role and even the player who never steps on the field or checks into the game contributes to the team. If you are the best player on the team, do your job and fill your role on the team. If you are the kid who plays one inning of the game, make sure that one inning is the best inning of the game. Not every kid can be the LeBron or the Bryce Harper of the team, and that is completely fine. Accept your role and do your job. In the real world, not everyone is the boss -- at times you are the intern getting coffee or the employee shredding papers. Work hard, do your job the best you can, and accept your role whatever that may be.
Respecting authority
Playing sports, you need to respect the officials and your coaches even when they made a terrible call or made you run that extra suicide. When it would have been easy and probably felt fantastic in the moment, I was taught to never argue with an official and to always respect the coach, even when you’re positive she’s actually Satan. One of the most important things in life, whether it is in school, work or out in the real world, is to respect the authority figure. Respect your coach, teacher, boss and all people around you.
Accepting failure
I can admit it, when I was younger, I was a hothead. I cried when I struck out and was super salty whenever I missed a layup or three-pointer -- until one day I had a coach who finally got it through my thick skull that I wasn’t perfect and that failure was a part of sports and definitely a part of life. I mean, you’re a fantastic hitter if you get a hit one-third of the time in softball. Now, in my life, I celebrate my success and have learned to accept and let go of my failures since it is an inevitable part of life.
All through my childhood up through high school, I was an athlete -- that’s all I really knew. My world revolved around basketball open gyms and softball tournaments. Now, that I’m not fielding grounders and popping three’s at a high level anymore, I have taken all the knowledge and lessons sports taught me and applied them to the real world. I loved my time playing sports and even with all the ups and downs, I wouldn’t trade that time for the world. So much of who I am is because of the time and lessons I learned playing sports. While I may not play sports at the level I used to, I still cherish and hold onto all the memories and lessons I learned, so thank you, sports, you have made me the person I am today.
