Athletics is ingrained in the human experience and is an integral part of American culture. Because of that, many of my weekends and after school hours have been dedicated to either watching a game or starting one with the kids in the neighborhood. Athletics runs deep in my family. My great uncle was a professional baseball player and my family, including my father, three brothers and a sister, are all very involved with the various team sports. It’s this immersion into various sporting activities that has led me to the understanding that engaging in athletics has a very positive impact in our lives. Additionally, sports are extremely important in building one’s character through hard work, learning to work with others on a team and by learning how to cope with the joy of winning and the inevitability of losing.…
In 2008, I was a eight year old and, regrettably, a member of the Saint Joseph Cross Country team. I consistently finished in the last five runners, and despised every moment that I spent training for the race season. Even though I began running cross country in elementary school, I was never a natural. After years, I was allowed to quit. By the time I was a freshman in high school, I had forgotten my hatred of running. After much enticement from my mother - a runner herself - I joined Bowling Green High School’s Cross Country team. Halfway through the first practice, I remembered every reason why I had quit the sport years earlier. Regardless of how much I begged my mom, she insisted that I finish the season. I was stuck with two choices:…
The energy you I feel when waiting at the start line with 20,000 people who share a common goal is unbelievable. Running through the streets of Los Angeles gives me a different perspective on the city I thought I knew. Above all, running a marathon allowed me to discover more about myself, as you are alone with your thoughts. When completely drained of all physical and mental strength, you discover the drive that motivates you to keep on moving. As a marathon finisher, this drive has led to the realization that I can do anything I set my mind…
Have you ever felt the need to improve your life? I joined the cross country team in sixth grade to do just that. Cross country requires tremendous amounts of hard work, dedication, and never giving up to succeed in.…
My freshman year, I decided to join my high school Cross Country team. When I started running, it quickly became clear that I was not a gifted athlete. I was slow and often did not enjoy the sport. When the season first started, it took me forty minutes to run a 5k. This time was appalling but oddly, it was what kept me from giving up. There were times when I wanted to quit and go back to never running but the thought of that forty-minute 5k stopped me from doing so. I stayed on the team and pushed myself harder and harder every day. When I felt like stopping, I made myself go even further. I came to practice every single day and sometimes I stayed late. On the days that we did not have practice as a team, I ran on my own. I was dedicated…
During cross country everyone become more self-disciplined by pushing themselves to do better, finish, and not give up. It also builds their responsibility because they have to be responsible enough to take care of their body. Also people have to be responsible enough to stay out of trouble and keep their grades up. People have to have drive to stay in condition.…
During my time running cross country last year, I attempted to push myself and inspire those around me. Even after the season had ended I wanted to push myself just a bit farther; I accomplished this by running a half marathon. After I had finished, my fellow teammates who did not run felt inspired by me, and they were sure that they wanted to run the same half marathon after the next season. Having inspired them, I felt as if I accomplished much more than running a half marathon. I was able to take a small part in leading them to their future…
One of my most defining experiences to date has been my involvement with the colorguard squad at my school. The colorguard squad is an auxiliary unit that is part of the marching band. We perform with the band at Friday night football games during halftime while spinning flags and rifles to the music. To me, colorguard is so much more than that. Freshman year when I went to tryouts I was terrified. I did not have any friends trying out with me; I was walking into a gym full of older girls whom I had never met. To my surprise, being on the squad for the past three years has been such a defining achievement during high school for me. Without the squad I would have had a completely different experience in school. I learned the value of hard work…
For the past six years of my life, I ran for the Eureka Springs High School cross country team. After graduation, I was given the opportunity to run for the Golden Suns cross country team at Arkansas Tech University. In a matter of six months, my cross country experiences and habits were changed. Often times, there are similarities between two subjects such as these, but in this case, only the differences are obvious. There are changes in not only the way that I run, but the team I ran with, the coach I ran under, and the person I am when I run. These changes have caused me to see what I can do as a runner and a college student.…
Cross Country runners are good teammates. We always have each other's backs and support each other in most of the things we do. We like to have fun while in school, but when it comes to education we take it very seriously. At Little Chute High School, we are academic role models and the go-to group for spirit days.…
Joining the future business leaders of America, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, becoming a youth leader at Christ Church, as well as many other volunteering activities helped me enrich my community, and make an impact in the world around me. Along with these organizations, I have played several sports in high school, in my junior and senior years I settled on my two favorite sports, track and field, and volleyball. Within these sports I have made friendships with my teammates I will never forget, and learned important lessons in humbleness when winning, and cohere with my friends when losing. By being a member of any sports teams at my high school, I regularly attended many of my school’s events, giving me the opportunity to develop relationships, and gain a tremendous sense of pride in my school. I am looking forward to bringing this same sense of pride to my college, and making many new friendships along the way. I learned over the course of my education to this point, that when I became more involved with these activities, my performance in the classroom increased alongside my…
When I decided to join cross country team my freshman year, I never envisioned myself being a part of what would become known as “the best team in Hammonton history.” Three years ago, I finished the season as one of the very worst on the team, with no expectations being placed on me for the future. Fast forward to one month ago, when I along with my fellow six varsity teammates lead Hammonton to its first Atlantic County Championship in school history. While much of my improvement can be attributed to my physical growth over the years, I would have never reached that level of success if I did not realize how important it is to maximize my effort in everything that I do. My success in Cross Country was not as much caused by my physical development, but more so by the evolution of my mentality.…
I am an energetic person who thrives to make every new day better than the last. A positive attitude is the key to doing that, and is also a major aspect of determination and consistency. A few of my interests include cheerleading, anatomy, and reading about forensic science. Throughout highschool i was apart of the Varsity Cheerleading team and I was lucky enough to serve as both co- captain, and head captain my last two years on the team. Cheerleading has taught me many things, other than how to shake a pom pom. I’ve learned what true dedication is, how to work with a team, and most importantly what great things I can accomplish when I put my mind to it. The things that I would bring to UWM are a positive attitude and unwavering dedication,…
Ten years ago, my favorite pastime, and still to this day, is to run and compete in track and cross country. Back when my grade school had recess,my classmates and i would compete by running from one side of the field to the other mainly to see who happened to be the fastest of the classes but also to show the coaches what we were capable of doing so in a near future they could assign us a spot in the elementary track team. This is where my passion for running ignited. The adrenaline that rushed through my veins when i ran had a satisfying feeling, especially when i came out in the lead by a few meters. Ten years later, after winning countless cross country and track meets,that same feeling flows like a river as if the rivers were my veins.…
Throughout high school, my life has been consumed by sports. Being a student athlete has made me become the person I am today. Ever since I was sixteen, I have also worked at a daycare in town, TASK. This has showed me how much little kids look up to student athletes. Working at TASK has also showed me how much these little kids want to grow up and be like us student athletes. Without sports and working at the daycare, I would not be the role model I am today. Since working at the daycare, I have realized I want to be the person little girls are talking about when they say, “I want to grow up and be just like her.” Being chosen team captain has made me into the leader I am. I have learned how to push my teammates…