Journey From an Athlete To More: Part I

At a certain time, competitive sports ends for everyone. Today will be the first part in a 3 part collection of thoughts where I reflect on my personal journey from being a competitive athlete competing, to finding motivation and areas to be competitive in a life post-organized sports. The first part will focus on my journey as a young athlete. The second will focus on my college career. The third will focus on my life since competitive sports were finished in my life.

I grew up with sports as the primary focus in my life. I played football, baseball, and lacrosse through high school. When I was in middle school I routinely had schedules of sports 7 days a week and often went from lacrosse practice to a baseball game on the same night. I loved it, I loved being on teams and playing the sports I loved. Sports at this age were fun. I would change nothing about my experience with sports growing up. It is my belief sports helped shape who I am today. Everyone should have the opportunity to experience the challenges of athletic competition while receiving the benefits of the life lessons taught by sporting competitions.

Moving to high school, there was a greater sense of competition but sports were still very much the same level of fun. Going to school all day with your friends and then playing on teams with them is an experience not really created anywhere else. A majority of my lifelong friends and some of my best memories come from high school sports and the teams I played on. I can confidently say the most fun I had playing sports was in high school.

For many, sports at a competitive level end after high school. Many people realize this and the reason they play is to experience these last years of joy and competition. I remember speaking to one of my roommates about why he endured 2-a-day football practices every summer in high school when he knew he was a better baseball player. He knew I did it because I had the goal of being a college athlete. We knew that for the majority of high school athletes, this opportunity is not realized. In our conversation, we realized the answer for him was simply a part of the culture. Playing football (or other sports) was just what we did, we wanted to play with our friends and have fun. During the conversation we reflected on the fact that football workouts were anything besides “fun” but having the ability to look back on these memories and have shared experiences made it all worth it. High school sports for many are simply that, a means to spend more time with your friends in a fun way that fosters life-long memories and relationships.

I always had the goal of becoming a college athlete. The practice and work I did while I was in high school was with the end goal of becoming a Division One football player. In my senior year of high school, I received a few opportunities and was excited about my future. The last play of my high school football career I dislocated my ankle and broke multiple bones in my foot. It was a routine play with a freak result. I spent the next six months recovering only to have complications and a first surgery 6 months after the initial injury. The injury also caused me to miss my senior year of lacrosse, the last chance I would have had to play on the same team with my twin brother. My high school career was abruptly over but my athletic career was not.