One night, I was sitting in a dorm with a group of my friends and we were just hanging out and talking about whatever. About half the girls in the room were college athletes. At one point, one of the girls asked, "Was everyone in this room a varsity athlete in high school?" Everyone answered yes. Then she asked, "Was everyone in this room a captain?" Again, everyone answered yes. I think it's kind of funny how athletes always seems to find each other. Whether you are, or were, an athlete, the love for the sport you play never really fades away and that shapes you as a person.
I was lucky enough to grow up playing three sports. I also had the privilege of growing up in a family who loves sports. To say that sports shaped my life is an understatement. Sports made me the person I am today.
Looking back on my memories of my childhood, most of them either have to do with playing a sport or me watching one of my siblings play. I owe all of my first friendships to sports, many of which continued from elementary school to high school, and now into college. Most teammates became friends, and those teammates who I didn't consider friends, I learned how to get along with and be respectful toward.
Sports taught me a lot about respect. I learned to trust and respect my teammates. If someone made a play that wasn't the best, I learned to shake it off and still be supportive of them. I learned to respect my opponents because the truth of the matter is that, at the end of the day, we're all just kids playing the game that we love. I learned to respect officials and coaches and simultaneously learned that life isn't always fair.
Every athlete I know has had some kind of referee or umpire or official make a call against them or their team that they didn't consider fair. Yeah it sucks, but because of that I always had the reminder to not take anything for granted and I faced the harsh reality that as much as I wish they would, things do not always go my way. Every athlete that I know has also had coaches they loved and coaches that they hated, either way it builds character.
I played for coaches that I loved and I played for coaches that I hated. Playing for a coach that I loved taught me to play with my heart and how great it felt to make someone proud of me. Playing for a coach that I didn't like taught me how to play for myself. When I was sat on the bench, it taught me to work harder and to fight for what I wanted and what I thought I deserved. When I started every single game of a season, it taught me to play my heart out for teammates and how to put the team above myself. I learned about the importance of teamwork and how to not be selfish, because after all, it is a game. Being a captain taught me about leadership and what it's like to have someone look up to you and depend on you.
Playing sports provided me with friends for life and a basis for many important life lessons. I would not trade any of my sports seasons, the good or the bad, for anything in the world. Playing sports helped shaped my character and I don't think I'd be the same person if I didn't play. I can only hope that every athlete, whether they're just beginning or finishing out their careers, doesn't take it for granted and learns something valuable from the game that they love.
