Being a Student Athlete

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The Effects of Being an Athlete In 2012, Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh won a gold medal in the Olympic Games in London. However, they did not get there by deciding to play pick up matches on the beach the year before. Misty, now age 36, began as a little girl, playing in her first tournament at the age of eight. Later, she went on to compete on her high school’s indoor volleyball team and track team. Every Olympian had to start somewhere, and more often than not it was in high school. Throughout high school, teenagers have the unique opportunity to shape exactly who they want to be for the rest of their lives. Some will choose to purse music or art. Some will choose to pursue academics and internships. Few will choose to pursue athletics with the ambition required to succeed in college. This choice has several effects on them, including, but not limited to, a strong work ethic, improved health and morale, and the opportunities unique to them. In order to succeed in a sport, an athlete must be willing to focus on improving every day. The world is filled with millions trying to achieve the same dream of participating in professional sports, or even Olympic Sports. From their first practice, athletes are taught that without discipline, they will not be able to make their dreams a reality. It is not possible for them to walk into the gym and decide that they are going to be perfect at everything they do. However, it is possible for them to walk into the gym and decide to train their muscles to react with the speed of a cheetah, and anticipate with the intelligence of a computer. Without the intrinsic motivation to do so, and athlete is dead in the water before they begin. Over several years, an athlete’s work ethic is finely tuned. Their capacity to set their mind on a target, and then reach it is unlike any other. Said capacity eventually becomes a natural
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