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Wednesday, February 1, 2017
"The Athlete" by Allysia T
I picked my month for the blog entry for a specific reason, and that reason was because I made January my goal. Everyone that knows me knows that I play softball, but know one knows what goes on “behind doors”. As you get older it gets harder and harder to fully enjoy your sport or it was for me and two of my closests friends. It becomes a job. We bust our butt trying to sculpt ourselves to be the best athlete we can be in order to get a scholarship and we lose sight of having “fun”, which is the ultimate goal. My parents signed me up for softball when I was four years old and i’ve played it ever sense. When I was 12 years old, that was when I started travel ball, and that's when everything would change. I stopped going to birthday parties, concerts, beach trips, vacations to the river or to the desert and Sunday gatherings that my family and I used to have every Sunday after church. But you get used to it, you get used to the fact that friends and family stop inviting you places because you have practice or a tournament. You start to live and breathe softball. You become a robot doing the same thing almost everyday eat, sleep, school, homework, softball. But like I said before, you become accustomed to it and you enjoy all the friends you meet that become family and that feeling of making a great play or hitting a homerun, you begin to enjoy every minute of it. Until I got on a team where I could not even make friends because the girls are rude and annoying and my coaches were total jerks all the while trying to be at the top of my game not only trying to win a starting spot but also so I can be seen by colleges. Causing me to not be able to find the energy to get out of bed in the morning knowing that I have to surround myself with people that I hate and tons of stress. I began to hate everything about the sport and saw all the negatives, but then a couple months later I got back onto a team who was not as bad. At first I was a little intimidate because the last team I was on all the girls were nasty, so I dipped my toes in the water and before I knew it I was surrounded by a team who is literally my family, and we have just won the championship game to go to Nationals. This team was not all that great but we had chemistry and although that took us to nationals it did not get us through it and we were eliminated early in the tournament. However we were a young team and we were excited because we knew we would be with each other the following year. There was a turn of events just before our next season started, our coach who was like our Dad at this point had gotten fired for something foolish. At first we all stayed since we were like family, but this new coach and his daughter (also a coach) were just awful and cruel. And now we are back to where we started, hating everything about the sport that you can not even find the energy to get up in the morning. The only thing that kept me from quitting and allowing me to get up in the morning were my two best friends, Jayda and Maddie. We stuck it out but every time I was driving to practice or games I got sick to my stomach and did not want to go. All three of us left and went to another team which ended up being 20x worse. We split up and this year found teams that suit us and that we are able to enjoy. However it is hard to find enjoyment in the sport itself because all of the stress that I have endured throughout my career and I have totally lost sight on why I even play. More recently I was asked this question, knowing that I was on a team that truly cares about each other and getting far in our season and could not say what first came to my mind, which was “to earn a scholarship”. I could not say that because to them and deep down to myself meant way more than that so I said “I play because it is home. In a home there is fights, arguments, and sometimes you can’t even bare to look at the people who live with you and you just want to leave but at the end of the day it's home and you can’t wait to go back.” I am still searching to try and have fun and it is hard because it is still a job. My goal for January was to be committed to a school with a scholarship, but my goal was a month too early for me reach. At the end of this month I am going on 3 visits to colleges and hopefully I will be committed in February and I can finally focus on enjoying my sport and having fun.
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29 comments:
Thank you for telling us your story about the stress you felt through softball. I know for me I kind of went through the same thing with science and your story reminded me to keep going with my passion and to take one day at time.
I can truly relate to the amount of stress that comes with playing a sport for long periods of time. It becomes a chore and despite the fun of the game, sometimes it just gets to be too much. I am glad that you stayed committed to softball and have found your place on a good team. I like this piece because it is your truth, and demonstrates that sometimes it takes dealing with difficult situations to find where you belong and where you're happy. Great job!
You started the story off strong and was really straight forward with the meaning of it. I enjoy how you set yourself a goal and eventually achieved it. I like how you express the way you feel about softball over time and how it has become more than a game to you.
I can totally relate this piece, because Ive experienced so many similar things in baseball, terrible coaches, terrible teammates, and just the overall stress of being a student athlete. Way to stick it out though, I just committed last month , trust me it's all worth it!
Wow this piece is really deep! The whole time I was reading this, it felt like I was in your position! I really enjoyed how genuine you were about the whole situation from really loving your sport to ultimately questioning why you play. This piece relates to so many athletes or just people in general doing something that they are passionate about. I also loved how you connected playing a sport to being at home with family. Well Done!!
I truly loved this piece and how deep it is! It is hard having a team with so much negativity and the coaches are terrible. Trust me I know that was junior year of volleyball and it was terrible. But I'm glad you had the confidence talking about softball and good luck committing on a school! Also great job on this!
Thank you for sharing this piece! You have told me most of this before but I am so happy you felt comfortable sharing the whole story to everyone. I know you are under a lot of pressure but remember to have fun your senior year and do not doubt your ability! Also, I like how you created the background of your situation and then at the end your goals, it flowed really well. Well done!
This is a crazy story. I felt like I was you the whole time. This is deep, thank you for sharing your experiences with us.
This piece was so eye opening. Your story helps remind us to take things one day at a time. It's great to see someone make a commitment and stick with it regardless of the hard patches you went through. I'm glad you realized to learn to stress less and have fun your last year of high school. I feel like so many athletes can relate to you and appreciate you for actually speaking out. Congrats on reaching your goal! Great story!
This piece was very inspiring and relatable to me. I have shared so many similar experiences during my time as an athlete and completely understand how it begins to turn into a job rather than something for fun. It is incredible that you were able to stay strong throughout those obstacles, Great Story!
You illustrated that process pretty well, how a sport can take over in your life. I think it's easy for anyone to become a robot like how you describe it in your post, whether it be sports or even school and work. But I agree with the point you were making: it is essential to not loose track of the important things in life while you strive for success. Personally, I also believe it's important to focus on your passions. But you can't let life pass you by. I think there's a perfect median between work and play that you sound like you're working towards this year, and that's awesome. I'm working at it too, good luck!
I haven't really had much of a relatable experience, but ever since I started making films I originally wanted to quit after facing too much problems from other people, but so far I've braved through it mainly through the motivation that I want to make a name for myself. After reading your post I've become more motivated to keep going into my passion, sometimes it does feel like a chore but it's definitely worth it in the end when you look at your end results. Great job, and I hope you're able to continue doing what you like!
I think this story was very insightful to what you want to accomplish. Although I do not play softball, I know that it takes a lot of dedication and perseverance to get where you want to be. Thank you for sharing and great job on the description.
Thanks so much for sharing your softball journey, I can totally relate to the feeling of a once enjoyable sport becoming a job. And although my athletic journey ended in high school I am so glad to see you succeed and stick through all the hard times. Great job!
Its always sad when something you are passionate about is taken from you or is forced on you. But this story has motivated me to stick to my passions and see through the hard times and the good times will eventually return.
Thank you for sharing your journey as a softball player! As a former player of basketball, I can see the struggle we all went through a certain sport such as not being able to spend time with family and other events because of the practices after school. Furthermore, you seem to be really committed and passionate to play softball and make it a lifestyle like there were many hardships you went through but still kept on fighting for that dream. This just tells us that all hardships are gonna be worth it at the end as long as we do not give up. Stay Strong! And chase your dreams!
As an athlete I understand your struggle. Wake up, go to school, go to practice, go to sleep. The pressure of playing on varsity or fighting for a spot or the stress of having to always win at every aspect of the game makes you forget why you do it in the first place. Your story really highlights all of these things through the numerous personal references you made to your own life. Thank you for sharing your story with us.
This is a very relatable and common experience that many high schoolers have to go through. Your story reminded of how I have been going through the same things and how to persevere through them.
This was very relatable being an athlete myself. The whole idea of losing that sense of fun to focus on our sport to reach a higher level. Its a struggle to balance life and sports but as every athlete knows hard work will pay off in the end. Athletes just have to find a way to stay motivated and hopefully you can reach that sense of fun again. This was a nice blog, good job.
I can really relate to this a lot. After playing sports for such a long time you can stop having fun playing the sport that you love because of the high goal you set for yourself in order to achieve greatness. But you reminded me that its all part of the game and that all the sacrifice and hard work is going to pay off at the end. Good luck on your visits!
Wow I really like this piece Allysia i feel like every person who has played is a team can relate. I really like how you worded this piece and yes it really can become tough not only to find the right team but to even enjoy the sport after everything you go through plus all the injuries you tend to recieve. Its always important to remember to have fun playing our sport in order to achieve greatness as derek mentioned haha. This piece reminded me when i was in gymnastics and then i quit and went on to soccer. All I can say is continue to do your best and enjoy it because in the end if its something you love you can go far with it.
I also feel as if I am falling into the system of the school, becoming "a robot." However, on some days I try to find and discover why I am doing this, and for whom I am doing this for. We all have those days where we want to give up because it is easier than trying to push yourself into new boundaries. And your piece truly explains the difficulties of being committed and strong.
Any athlete can easily relate to your story. It is hard for a person to work together on a team when no one gets along with each other. The most important part of a team is team chemistry and without it neither the team or the player can reach their full potential. I can also relate to how you had to give up so much to be on your travel team. I had the same experience when I started playing on my current team 3 years ago. Ever since then I have spent dozens of weekends at tournaments and spending late nights finding time and energy to do homework. So I can easily relate to giving up being with friends and going on trips and vacations. I think you did a great job portraying what the reality of being an athlete is and that there is more to it than just going to practices and games, it's about becoming the best you can push yourself to be.
Allysia, I loved this piece! It is very much relatable because it was well-written and thought out. I understand exactly how you felt when you expressed your dislike for the sport, and your determination to find your love for it again. Your passion for the game is what's going to get you your scholarship, not the played-out routine of having to do it everyday. I'm excited to see where you're headed! Good luck and awesome story!
I am not much of a sports guy myself, so this was an interesting look into the world of a certain sports. You see on tv and in movies all the time these teams who are always having fun whether they win or lose, so it is interesting to see a more realistic view. Good work!
Your story about how your sport almost became a job basically had me relate to it to some level. I feel as if there's certain points in athletes careers when they do start to stress about college and all they think about is getting better and not the actual reason they loved the sport. Hearing about you having to switch onto different teams where there were not as great teammates that were rude was sad to hear because most of the time your team is the one that becomes almost a second family. I hope you can find that in one of the colleges that you're visiting and good luck with committing to a college.
I love the idea of not loving a sport even though you try so hard to love it. I understand that passions is the thing that drives us in our lives and this story really relates to that
I absolutely loved your piece because it showed how dedicated you are to the sport. Through all your ups and downs and all the extra stress you pushed through because you loved the sport. I think this story relates to so many things in life because often times we can't choose the situation we are put in we just have to try and make the best out of it. Your story was really great and inspiring!
The way you tied this all up was creative. I like how you compared it to your homa and family. I love how you opened up and showed what's deep inside. I would dread everyday if it meant not seeing my family and friends too. The strength you had to pull through is amazing, that's commitment right there!! This story was great!!
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