Athletics Snapshot

Eleven varsity letters combined in volleyball, basketball, and track & field...State champion in shot put...all-conference first team honors in volleyball two years...team MVP in volleyball three years and track & field two years.

Essay

In my time as a student-athlete at Mercer High School, I have learned many valuable lessons. Some lessons were bigger than others, but each helped make me who I am. The concepts of humility and learning to appreciate those who have been a part of my journey, allowed me to understand more clearly the purpose of high school athletics and why it is so much bigger than just playing in a game or competing in a meet. Being from a small town, your life is out there for all to see.  Whether it be on the front page of the newspaper, social media, or sometimes even the evening news, people know all about your successes and your failures. Keeping a level-head is essential when you are putting yourself out there for the world to see. Remaining humble has allowed me to savor every moment high school athletics had to offer. I did not do this by myself. None of us writing this essay have done this alone.  Without my team, I would not be the player I am.  Without my family, coaches, and teachers, I would not have had the tools to succeed. Remaining humble in success allows others to share in the celebration of all the good that happens, and gives credit to the many others that have played a part in it all. I am not a natural athlete.  I have had to work very hard to accomplish all that I have, but without those around me, I would have never become a successful student-athlete. And the reality is, after all is said and done, it doesn’t matter what I accomplished.  The mark you make on people with being the person you are, will be the only thing that is remembered. I also learned that being a small-town athlete comes with several roles.  It is more than just showing up and performing.  It is giving a high five to the 1st grader who was at the game the night before.  It is engaging in heart-felt conversations with community members who attend school events. It is making irreplaceable memories with the greatest friends anyone could ask for, on bus rides that we thought would never end. It is watching my little sister try to do things exactly like I do them. It is those tough-love, character-building talks with my parents, grandparents, teachers, and coaches. It is learning that losing does not always mean that you have lost. It is these lessons, and countless others, that I believe will carry me into my future.  The foundation that I have laid through high school athletics will allow me to transition successfully into my college academic and athletic career, and ultimately into my adult-life.  I can thank high school athletics for the memories I have, for teaching me humility and grace, and for positively influencing my future.