Every athlete remembers his or her last time on the field, the mat, the court, or the track.
Every athlete remembers the flowers, the cheers and chants from fans, and the tears that enveloped them at their senior night, whether it was just a few short months ago or years from this day. Though you know your game, your season, and your career are all over when the buzzer goes off for the last time, the reality doesn't hit you until much later.
The reality doesn't hit until you attend a game, and you aren't a part of it. For some it hits the first time they sit on the bleachers or have to pay to see the team they once wore the uniform for, play without them.For me, it hit when I saw the advertisement for tryouts in college, and I didn't plan on going, because that meant it was really over. The sport you partake in is part of your identity, and once you leave it, that part seems to be completely broken.
For me, reality means I won't ever be under those Friday night lights cheering on the football team, no matter the score, or the basketball team, no matter how much I yell at them, ever again. Reality means I don't get to take pictures with my base group in our new uniforms, and reality means I'll never take another step onto a blue mat intending to run a routine I swear I can do in my sleep for a crowd of people I would love to leave amazed.
Though this all seems completely depressing, and while some of it truly is, there is a bright side to this reality. By leaving the sport I love, I make space to love watching my sister cheer in the same spot I did just a few years ago, and to help her learn all the ins and outs like I did. I make space to cheer on those who still stand under those Friday night lights, or who perform a kick-butt halftime at the basketball games.
I make space for all the pride in the world when I watch the team full of girls I know and love hit a routine I could only dream of completing.
Your sport helps to shape you into who you become. I have nothing but endless gratefulness to have been a part of mine. Because of cheering, I have learned cooperation, resiliency, determination, courage, and compassion. I’ve learned to enjoy every second. I'm thankful for the laughs, the crazy bus rides, all of the pictures I now hang on my dorm wall, the trips to McDonald's after every football game, the sleepovers filled with copious amounts of food and love, and my wonderful coach who has become not only one to look up to for the time I was a part of the team, but one to look up to for life, and to cherish immensely. Most of all, I'm thankful for my best friends, who have seen me at my worst and who I have been truly blessed beyond words to meet.
A word of advice for those coming up on the end of their sports career, no matter how long they've been playing: enjoy. Have fun, give it your all at every practice, game, competition, meet, and be thankful for what your sport has done for you. Though your reality will hit you, learn to have fun with it. Think of all of the wonderful things that lie ahead.
The reality for me is that time is up. But I'll never stop loving the sport that gave me everything, and I know it will continue to be the beacon of light for others as it has been for me.
