I was 3 months old when my dad became a counselor and the head football coach at Springboro High School so sports have always been a big part of my life, yet the impact that they’ve had on me goes far deeper than just being around them. From the time that I could walk I was on the field watching practices and games and eventually when rules allowed, I started playing sports myself - football, basketball, soccer and baseball. When I got into elementary school I became a ball boy for the high school football team. During that time I got to experience the highs and lows with my dad and his team. I was in the locker room before and after games, at team meals - I even got to go with my dad on college trips. The players knew me by name, would throw the ball with me, and even helped coach my pee wee teams. It was a great way to grow up, but I also got to see the tough things about my dad’s life. I saw the late hours he worked, the early mornings, the weekends, and the long hard summers. I witnessed the victory celebrations but also saw how hard the losses were. More impactful for me though, than the moments on the field, was seeing my dad’s heart break when his players went through difficult things. I recall visiting a player in the hospital when he’d broken his leg and needed surgery to repair it. I took part in a fundraiser for one of his players who was diagnosed with cancer. I was with my dad the night that he received a call from one of his players who’d recently gone homeless. And, I’ll never forget the pain that I saw my dad go through when one of his players was tragically killed in a car accident. There were certainly more highs than lows, but the common theme throughout all of the experiences was that my family was always in a helping role. That’s really what coaching is and getting to be a small part of that as a young person has convinced me that it’s what I want to do with my life as an adult. In my own playing career, I also learned a lot of great lessons that sports teach. I learned that to be great at something it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. It means sacrifices and at times giving up some fun things in the moment in order to get something bigger down the road. Sports have forced me to learn how to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Maybe most importantly, I’ve learned that the same principles that apply to achievement in sports apply to things in my home life and academic life. I learned how to apply the work ethic that sports taught me to my school work and the way that I complete homework, turn in assignments and prepare for tests. A final thought related to being involved with sports and lessons that can be learned comes in dealing with adversity. Many times for athletes, that adversity is in the form of injuries. As much as people like to avoid them, injuries are a real thing, and I’ve had my fair share of them over the years. Injuries are never good, but they’re still opportunities for growth. At the end of the day, injuries are a part of sports whether people like it or not, but being able to turn a bad situation into something positive is very important.

I learned a lot of great lessons that sports teach. I learned that to be great at something it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. It means sacrifices and at times giving up some fun things in the moment in order to get something bigger down the road. Sports have forced me to learn how to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Maybe most importantly, I’ve learned that the same principles that apply to achievement in sports apply to things in my home life and academic life. I learned how to apply the work ethic that sports taught me to my school work and the way that I complete homework, turn in assignments and prepare for tests. Being involved with sports and lessons that can be learned comes in dealing with adversity. Many times for athletes, that adversity is in the form of injuries. As much as people like to avoid them, injuries are a real thing, and I’ve had my fair share of them over the years. Injuries are never good, but they’re still opportunities for growth. The one that stands out to me the most in this area happened during my 7th grade basketball season. During one of the games, I broke my left wrist. While I wasn’t able to finish the basketball season and wasn’t able to start the baseball season on time, I took advantage of it. Born a left-handed person, but now having a cast on my left arm, I took the time to develop my right hand for basketball and it ended up being a blessing in disguise. I grew so much as a basketball player while my dominant hand was in a cast. In fact, I saw so much growth in my game from the off-hand work that later on, during my freshman football season, in the third game, I broke my elbow and lost the rest of my season. This time it was my right elbow and I could still shoot a basketball, but could no longer play football. Knowing that my shot in basketball needed retooled, I took that time to fix my shot with my left. It helped me so much in the long run. At the end of the day, injuries are a part of sports whether people like it or not, but being able to turn a bad situation into something positive is very important. It is something that I will be able to use later in life. Whether that’s a job, my future family, or other setbacks that are inevitably part of life, through the tough times of being an athlete, I learned that I can turn something that’s not so good into something beneficial.

The saying “taking over the family business” surely will apply to me if I ultimately become a teacher and a coach. I was 3 months old when my dad became a counselor and the head football coach at Springboro High School. From the time that I could walk I was on the field watching practices and games. When I got into elementary school I became a ball boy and I started playing pee wee football. During that time I got to experience the highs and lows with my dad and his team. I was in the locker room before and after games, at team meals - I even got to go with my dad on college trips. The players knew me by name, would throw the ball with me, and even helped coach my pee wee teams. It was a great way to grow up, but I also got to see the tough things about my dad’s life. I saw the late hours he worked, the early mornings, the weekends, and the long hard summers. I saw my dads heart break when the team would get beat, the pain he went through when one of his players was diagnosed with cancer, when a player went homeless, and when one of his players got killed in a car accident. My dad made his job of being a high school counselor and football coach a family experience. My dad didn’t just have a 9 to 5 job that he left for and came home from, we lived his career, and we still do. Once I entered high school, I became a student aid for the counseling office. During my time there I was introduced to a level of caring for others that I hadn’t seen. I got to see how adults in the building helped students in so many ways. Before I worked in the counseling offices I thought that all the teachers and school personnel just treated me well because of my dad. But what I realized quickly during my time in the counseling office was how they treated everyone there. I learned that is what good people who work in education do. It was not long after that I knew this was something that would always be a part of me. To prepare for this, I’ve tried to put myself in situations where I can be around students younger than me that might need help. As an example, I became a student coach for PlayersBox, a program at my church that helps students who are involved in arts, athletics, and academics to handle pressure and stress associated with those things. I lead a table of middle school students and teach them strategies to help cope with stress and pressures. I also helped organize a program that allows our varsity football players to adopt youth football teams. Next fall, I’ll head off to college to start trying to become a teacher and coach. I hope to start off in the classroom and then one day be in the counseling office. I’m excited to make that same impact I’ve been witness to!

The saying “taking over the family business” surely will apply to me if I ultimately become a teacher and a coach. I was 3 months old when my dad became a counselor and the head football coach at Springboro High School. From the time that I could walk I was on the field watching practices and games. When I got into elementary school I became a ball boy and I started playing pee wee football. During that time I got to experience the highs and lows with my dad and his team. I was in the locker room before and after games, at team meals - I even got to go with my dad on college trips. The players knew me by name, would throw the ball with me, and even helped coach my pee wee teams. It was a great way to grow up, but I also got to see the tough things about my dad’s life. I saw the late hours he worked, the early mornings, the weekends, and the long hard summers. I saw my dads heart break when the team would get beat, the pain he went through when one of his players was diagnosed with cancer, when a player went homeless, and when one of his players got killed in a car accident. My dad made his job of being a high school counselor and football coach a family experience. My dad didn’t just have a 9 to 5 job that he left for and came home from, we lived his career, and we still do. Once I entered high school, I became a student aid for the counseling office. During my time there I was introduced to a level of caring for others that I hadn’t seen. I got to see how adults in the building helped students in so many ways. Before I worked in the counseling offices I thought that all the teachers and school personnel just treated me well because of my dad. But what I realized quickly during my time in the counseling office was how they treated everyone there. I learned that is what good people who work in education do. It was not long after that I knew this was something that would always be a part of me. To prepare for this, I’ve tried to put myself in situations where I can be around students younger than me that might need help. As an example, I became a student coach for PlayersBox, a program at my church that helps students who are involved in arts, athletics, and academics to handle pressure and stress associated with those things. I lead a table of middle school students and teach them strategies to help cope with stress and pressures. I also helped organize a program that allows our varsity football players to adopt youth football teams. I remember Mr. Thompson when I was a student at Springboro Intermediate and he was our building principal. He used to talk to me all the time when he would see me. He even helped me figure out my locker combination - more than once! And again, I realize now, not because of who my dad was, but because who he was in the field of education! And now, that has become something that I want to do. Next fall, I’ll hopefully head off to college to start trying to become a teacher and coach. I hope to start off in the classroom and then one day be in the counseling office. I’m excited to make that same impact I’ve been witness to!