Dear Shorewood athletes, as my time as a Shorewood athlete has come to an end, along the way I have learned a few things.
Going into high school I wasn’t sure what sports to play. At that time many of my sports were all in the same season, however I made the decision to play volleyball for Shorewood. There I found a community that I could thrive in. This brings me to my first couple pieces of advice. The most important one for me was to make connections with not only your coaches but also others in the program. By making connections with your coaches they are able to help you and be there for you in ways that would be difficult if you didn’t have a connection with them. Along with building a relationship with your coach, interacting and building a relationship with others in the program or on your team can be very beneficial for creating a tight bond and community within your sport. Your teammates are the ones who will help you the most so having those connections will help greatly. Having team lunches or dinners, playing games at practice, or even hanging out with those outside of practice can help create those bonds.
With playing a sport comes injuries, and while you may want to push through that injury to continue to do what you love, listening to your body is just as important. While it’s easy to get wrapped up in playing your sport to your full potential, in order to be able to perform at your best your body must feel the best. It’s difficult to do that when your body is hurting. Taking time to make sure that your body is feeling healthy and ready to compete is very important in preventing injuries that could put you out of the game for longer.
Helping minimize and prevent injuries begins with fueling your body. What you put in can greatly affect your performance. Choosing healthier food options throughout the season can help with recovery and replenish the muscles primarily being used. Another very important aspect is the work that you also have to put in with recovery, this can be achieved through stretching and icing.
The biggest challenge with high school sports for me was balancing the aspect of pushing yourself as hard as one can to be able to achieve your athletic goals and enjoying the surroundings you’re in. Though I don’t think any one person can really find the true perfect balance between the two I feel as though we must all try. In other words sports are meant to be fun and as children we all showed the ability to enjoy them when there was no pressure. So what there’s pressure on you to perform now, there is still plenty of opportunity to have fun and enjoy your time as a high school athlete.
Though you might already have the sports you think you’re going to play set in stone in your mind, there are countless other ones that you haven’t tried yet that have room for one more. Trying a new sport can give an opportunity to enjoy a new challenge with people you may have never known before stepping into that sport. While it may be daunting to try something new for the first time you never know until you try.
However, the most important piece of advice I can give is to enjoy your time as a Shorewood athlete. Four years flies by, so make the most of your time!
Sincerely,
Harper Lara-Kerr
