Growing up I played almost every sport. Sports are where I met some of my best friends and where I learned some of the most powerful lessons. Being an athlete has taught me may important qualities that I will be able to use for the rest of my life. Sports have made me who I am today by teaching me how to be a team player, how to cope with failure, and how to be self-confident.
I quickly learned that I needed to be a team player. Everyone always loathed the ball-hog in soccer and basketball. Many times defenders would pick up on it and cost us important games. Sports taught me to not be caught up in my own statistics. My travel softball team is successful because we played for the love of the game; we played selflessly. When we worked together and for each other we are more successful. Especially in softball, your attitude and actions are extremely contagious. When one person was hitting well, it spread and caused other people to hit well too. This illustrated the importance of teamwork to me. Not only have sports taught me this, but they also taught me how to cope with failure since it is part of every game.
Sports helped me learn to cope with failure because it is impossible to always win and be the best. Failing does not make you a failure. You can choose to let the failure define you, or you can choose to learn from it. Softball is a game of failure considering hitting 5/10 times is considered a great batting average. That's only half of the time, thus, it has helped me understand how to handle failing. I have learned to see failure as an opportunity to get better. This made me more resilient and a hard worker. These qualities can be used for the rest of my life because I am not always going to get the job I want and life will not always be perfect and full of success. The failures continue to help me grow and the victories continue to help me gain more self-confidence.
Eventually, I realized that I will not perform well if I don't believe in myself. In high school I would step in the batters box with a negative mentality and little faith in myself. Essentially, I was striking myself out before I even saw a pitch. I needed to believe in myself, and it is something I continue to work on. My supportive teammates and coaches have always been there to encourage me and help me be more positive. Without their support, I wouldn't be here continuing my softball career at Ohio Northern University. I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity to continue doing what I love with such a great group of talented athletes. Sports taught me how to be confident, and this is a quality that I can utilize for the rest of my life.
My experiences through sports are what made me who I am today by showing me how to work well with others, how to handle failure, and how to increase my self-confidence. The necessary qualities that sports taught me will help me become a successful person in the real world. Sports have the power to shape you and make you a stronger person if you choose to learn from the experiences.
