I have attended four different high schools in four years. I have always participated in sports throughout high school. Although after school activities have made a huge impact on my high school career, none have been more of an influence than football. I played football alongside numerous teammates and coaches, and was taught valuable life lessons for use on and off of the field.
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." -Pre. Cross Country is a sport that requires pushing oneself through immense pain to achieve a goal. I never wanted to go through any of those pains to achieve anything. I used to think that I was going to participate in an after school activity for fun, but then my cross country team won the state championship meet, now I know I can do anything I put my mind to.
We finished the season not to well with many losses and little wins. Then my 2nd year of varsity started in 9th grade. This had been my most successful year so far. I do not know why I did so good this however, it had been my hardest. I went from being 110 pounds to 99 pounds at the beginning of the year and it became harder and harder to maintain my weight due to the fact that I had grown about an inch in the middle of the season.
Participating in sports highlights my ability to work with teammates and focus in difficult situations. I have been captain on my volleyball team since seventh grade and captain on my club volleyball team for the last two years. Each year
The summer going into my Freshman year I knew I had to change something to make the team. I worked out 3 times a day 5 days a week. I ran every morning, did basketball drills in the afternoon, and swam laps in my pool at night. When it came time to try out for the team I felt I was ready. When tryouts came around, I actually made the team!
My friendship with my brother and dad became even stronger. I never went a day without talking to either of them. I became a stronger person and this has helped me take on other challenges in my life. Now whenever problems come my way, I am able to conquer them. Not only did I gain from this move, but my brother, sister and mom as well.
One incident I can recount when I experienced failure was when I joined Cross Country. Since, I can remember I have always excelled at everything I did, from my academics to dance class to music lessons. When I entered into my freshman year of high school, I decided I would to join an athletic team in order to keep myself occupied outside of academics. I figured joining a sport would be another good attribute to add to my resume. Initially, my mind was set to join the soccer team. However, I found out there weren’t any openings available. The only team that had an opening was The Cross Country Team. I was terrified…my parents encouraged me to join as there wasn’t an option not to.
I was not supposed to be on varsity, but since I was at every summer workout and studied the sport for the upcoming season I earned a spot. When we went to start practice I was starting on both defense and offense and I felt unstoppable. Two weeks went by and we had our first scrimmage against the hale center. I
I have participated in volleyball, basketball, track, and cheerleading. These activities have taught me teamwork, which will play an important role in the real world.
After my first season of varsity was over I felt even more motivated to get better. I started lifting weights almost every day, even if it meant I had to go to the gym at midnight and still go to school the next morning. The summer of my senior year all I did was either work or work out, I barely spent any time with my friends. But all that work paid off for me because as my senior season approached, I found myself starting on both sides of the ball and on special
Racing, Sport or History There is no better feeling than hearing that engine kick over for the first time after all the hard work put in to make it run. Hearing the pistons pump up and down, the spark plugs igniting the gas pushing out exhaust, while the engine tears through the air; feeling the engine vibrate your body. This is an experience that everyone can relate to feeling and hearing. People never realize the amount of time and effort that is put into making a car run smoothly and proficiently.
In my life I value schedules and planning. Despite this, I also love adventures and new experiences. Every day I’m surprised by what odd and unexpected things happen, I never truly know what the next moment will hold. Over the summer I made an interesting decision to embark on a three month long adventure unlike any other I had been through. I decided to join the cross country team.
Summer was at full blast, Sunday league was starting and I was playing soccer every single day. I was ready for the next season of high school soccer to come and I was training myself to the limit because I wanted to be one of the best players on the field and to possibly be captain for varsity this year. This year was also the year our new coach, coach Jay was in charge of us because Olivier had left last year to to go to Michigan with his wife. Jay had already seen how well of a player I was because I played in his soccer club and immediately placed me in the varsity roster but as a defender and not a striker. The transition was difficult but I learned fast.
I would help encourage my classmen to do the same and this pointer allowed two other freshmen make the team. My sophmore year I transferred to a different school and this caused me to start over on another basketball team. I made the varsity squad as a starter because I would help motivate and teach the other girls how to do drills and basic fundamentals. My coaches assigned me as a team
It taught me commitment, dedication, sportsmanship, and most importantly, it gave me inspiration. Cross-Country inspired me to exceed my running capabilities and see what I can actually do. With inspiration from this sport, I decided to run a marathon as part of a school project. After all, if I love the feeling from finishing a 3.1 mile race, just imagine what I could feel from a 26.2 mile race. Raising over $1,000 for the Alzheimer's foundation, I ran that marathon, and finished 5th out of nearly 200 people.