According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), roughly 55% of high schoolers participate in athletics. That means that a little over half of the people watching this, have or will participate in an athletic event in high school. Now, I am not here as an advertisement for doing athletics in high school, even though I have been an athlete for eight years. I am here purely to share the impact that they have had on me throughout my high school career. Not only have athletics changed my physical shape, they have also impacted my character, the lessons I have learned, and how being active has impacted me both physically and mentally. Now to expand on that, athletics have had a huge impact on my character as a whole. Specifically, learning to work with a diverse group of people has made me a better teammate and has prepared me for everyday life. In order to be a better teammate, I have had practice empathy and patience in order to fully commit to being a good teammate. You can’t have a successful team experience if you are not willing to put yourself into your teammates shoes. Along with learning to be empathetic, I have also learned how to be a strong leader. It made it easier …show more content…
Through sports, I learned that my body does not have to look a certain way for it function at a high level. Slowly, I was able to recognize that everyone has physical strengths and weaknesses. This was important for me to learn as I started high school athletics because once I understood my body better, it gave me a newfound sense of confidence. I suppose that once I understood myself better, that made it easier for me to love every aspect of me. In addition, once I was able to see my athletic abilities for what they were, it made me more open to coaching because I was hungry to get better. You can’t improve if you don't believe that there is anything that you need to work