Dear athletes,

If you are reading this, you are probably in that final stretch of your season. For months now you trained like no other, woke up at the crack of dawn and stayed up all hours of the night training just for this one moment right now; the championships, nationals, states, worlds, whatever it may be. There is a reason you are here, you were chosen and placed in your position for the reason being, no one does it like you do. Forget just this season or this year, your whole life you worked to get to where you are now. Through this you learned determination, hard work, teamwork, perseverance. You learned how to trust yourself and trust your teammates. So don’t give up now. Did you really work this hard to blow this moment?

Put trust in yourself and your team to do what your body has been trained to do for years. You learned to push your body to its limits. Chances are you broke a bone, pulled a muscle, tore a ligament, done something that tore your body apart. You are constantly in pain, I get it, but look at the teammate next to you, they’re in pain too, everyone is in pain. Pain is temporary, so push through it. This sport is not for everyone, but it is for you and that is why you are here. No matter how many times you get frustrated with yourself, your teammates, or your coach, no matter how many times you wanted to give up, in the end it was all worth it. Every single one of these moments made you learn and grow into the athlete you are today. If you can’t do it for yourself do it for your team; your family. Don’t let them down and don’t let yourself down. If everyone gives it their all, gives 150% there is NO doubting you, NO stopping you.

Make the other teams cringe when they see you, work so hard that your name itself scares them. Remember; mind over matter. Ever hear someone talk about how a mother can singly handed lift a car off their child who is being crushed by it. That is adrenaline. You have this adrenaline, use it to your advantage. Your heart will pump faster and harder. In that moment there is no pain, no struggle, you are invincible and can do anything. So get out of your own head, stop telling yourself you can’t do it because you can. You can do it better than anyone else. There is no reason to doubt yourself. Give yourself the credit you deserve. Be proud of every moment you’re on that field, mat, stage, etc.

Remember win or lose, as long as you did your job and you did the best that you could’ve done, you have succeeded. Success isn’t always measured by the size of your trophy. If you worked as hard as you could, put in as much effort as possible, and gave it your all; you succeeded. The final thing I have to say is, remember this moment for the rest of your life. Take in every second. One day you will be begging to go back to the time when you accomplished your biggest dreams with your second family.

Sincerely,

An athlete