As a kid, I raced around from practice to practice, putting on softball pants and taking off shin guards in the back of my parents’ car…I loved every second of it. Growing up as a multi-sport athlete since I was five-years old, all I can remember is that I had the time of my life. From soccer to basketball to softball and track (and those few months of dance that I think everyone went through) every season I was in was my favorite. In softball season, I knew I was going to swing a bat for the rest of my life. In basketball season, shooting free throws felt so natural. In soccer season, flying down the field toward the goal was my greatest passion. I just loved flying around on every court and field.
Growing up as a multi-sport athlete was the greatest thing that could have ever happened to me. It let me grow as a player and especially as a person. It helped me to find what I loved and was going to stick with in the long run, and it happened in seventh grade, when my dad was our coach. We didn’t have anyone to go in as a goalkeeper, so even though I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere but going toward the opposing team’s goal as fast as I could…I found myself defending the goal instead. I loved the field, but this new vantage point was a place that I didn’t expect to love so much. It was here that I stayed for the next ten years of my life.
Throughout high school, where I narrowed my sport focus to soccer and softball, I stayed in between the pipes. It was an incredible four years in front of that goal. There is absolutely nothing like playing under the lights with girls who have been by your side since you were five-years old. Having coaches who are in it because they care about you and fans who will sit in the freezing cold for hours to watch you play is unforgettable, and I would not have traded those four years for anything. Being a multi-sport athlete growing up made me appreciate even more my love for the game of soccer. No matter what, I was always pulled towards this game in which nothing can happen without your team. It also helped immensely that my soccer coach supported me as a multi-sport athlete and gave me room to grow as a goalkeeper when they let me miss one of our practices to play in a game for our club team.
If you have a coach who says that you have to focus on one sport growing up, they are wrong. I had a coach like that, and it was painful to realize that people want to mold you to what they want you to be and do not care about who you are. I didn’t just want to play more than one sport…it is who I was. I needed to be everywhere and anywhere. The constant action drove me to be my best me, and I am still like that today. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without having learned all that I did throughout my athletic career of playing many sports. I learned not to give up in the face of adversity, to always be the hardest worker in the room (or on the field) and to never stop improving. Through soccer I learned the value of every member of your team. Through softball I learned patience and how momentum can change everything. Through track I learned how valuable a millisecond can be. Through basketball I learned to take the shot, even if you might miss. Even through that coach who couldn't see outside of the box he had created, I learned that not everyone is going to agree with you, and they may not agree with who you are. They are going to want what they want, and sometimes you can't change that. But you don’t need to conform to them, and you don’t need to change who you are. If you know that it’s right for you, nobody else can tell you differently.
Playing multiple sports growing up, from five-years old to my final year of college, I wouldn’t change my days of playing multiple sports for the world. They were some of the best times and memories of my life, and they helped shape me into who I am today. I can’t imagine where I would be without memories of a bat and glove, a volleyball, running shoes, a basketball, or cleats. And the good thing is, I don’t have to.
