This I Believe

“High School Sports”

I believe the best way to prepare for your life ahead of you is to play a sport in high school. Whether it’s varsity, junior varsity, or just a club sport it doesn’t matter.

Sports teach you how to deal with rejection, getting cut from a team won’t kill you; it makes you want to try harder for next year. They teach you perseverance; you want to stick it out no matter how far behind or how much pain you are feeling. They teach you teamwork; having your teammates back, knowing that they have yours. Sports teach you work ethic; you want to be the best and you push yourself harder than you’ve ever pushed yourself. They teach you how to be a champion. They teach you how to lose with class. Sports bring out the best in all of us.

Now how do these traits acquired on the field, ice, or court transfer into real life. Let’s say you go to your first job interview and they reject you. You work harder on the little things; work ethic, and you find a better job doing what you love, perseverance. This is just one of the millions of scenarios out there.

Sports have so much emotion. It is in your soul, but you see that fire in the eyes. When you have that fire or that passion, you feel as though you can do anything. When you believe this, anything is possible.

I have played the game of hockey for most of my life. I was never the skilled kid or the big guy, but I had this fire inside me that made me the player I am. I’m a player that doesn’t come around often. The scorer will always be there, but the player with the intangibles is the real MVP. I’ve been pushed down, knocked down, and crushed more times than I can count, but every time I would stand up and play that much harder. Don’t get me wrong I did some crushing of my own. Every shift I went all out, 100%. I was like a crazed man every time I touched the ice. There was nothing I wouldn’t do, I took the hits, I gave the hits, I blocked shots, I put my body on the line for my team.

With this mentality I know that I am ready for the real world. It’s a big world out there and you never know what to expect. With sports you are prepared to face it head on. I believe playing a sport in high school will prepare you for the future.