There’s no surprise that sports help define us, especially if we are athletes. Our daily schedules are mapped out; we know when we eat, practice, work out, do homework and sleep. Sometimes, our lives are constantly rotating back and forth between school and our sports.
The other day, when filling out a personality quiz for a class. It asked me for three skills and things I enjoy doing. I genuinely found it difficult to name something that didn’t have to do with baseball or lifting weights. It stood out. All through high school, the first word that people associated with me was “baseball”. Was the same thing happening now?
There’s no way to escape that feeling sometimes. As an athlete, you spend countless hours perfecting your craft. You want to represent your team, coaches, family and everyone else rooting for you. You feel compelled to succeed at the highest possible level. Sometimes, life gets lost in the grind of being a student-athlete. You forget to check in with your friends, you aren’t as social, or whatever it may be.
At times, it feels like the only thing that matters in life are the stats next to your name. We’ve all had a great game and felt on top of the world. We’ve also all had terrible games where we just want to be shut off from the outside world.
Everyone must give up their sport at some point. Besides the stats, what else is life about once you hang up the cleats? For some, that’s a dreadful question.
The good news is that you’re in charge. You decide what happens in your life. For me, I know baseball has played a big part in my upbringing and my identity. It taught me how to fail and how to learn from failure, how to be a team player, how to communicate, and countless other life lessons.
“(Volleyball) has taught me a lot of things but I’ve learned a lot off of the court. Whether it’s personal successes or failures, my life outside of the gym is just as valuable to me as it is when I’m in the gym,” said Sarah Elischer, ‘24.
Personally, baseball also taught me that I have a life outside the game. Having dealt with injuries, I’ve had extended periods of time where I couldn’t compete, and I was stuck having to spend my time doing other things. Because of those instances, I learned how I truly like to spend my free time, and I knew how to answer those personality quizzes for class without just sounding like a jock.
I learned how much I want to try stand-up comedy by trying to write and perform jokes. I learned how much I like to analyze movies. I learned how much I like to work on cars. Most importantly, I learned that I’m more than just an arm that can throw a baseball. There’s more to me than just being a jock.
“I know I’m more than just an athlete because I’m somebody’s daughter, sister, cousin, or trusted friend, and they’ll all value me the same no matter how I perform in a game,” said Elischer.
Sports help define us. They give us a sense of belonging and camaraderie. They are a part of our lives, but they should never be our entire life. We’re more than what numbers show up next to us in the record books at the end of each game. We have hobbies, interests, and stories that help define us that don’t have a game or match involved in them.
Sports are a part of our stories, but not the entire picture.
“Soccer boosts my public image. It connects me with others, and I’ve grown close with a ton of people. After years of close friendship, there’s more to my relationships with them than the game,” said Sid Marquardt, ’24.
Yes, I identify as a baseball player. But I’m also a son, brother, friend, broadcaster, writer, and student. The game means so much to me, but it’s not the entire story.
