For the Student Athletes Without Their Sport

To all the student athletes without their sport,

The world of sports has come to a halt just like so many other things we are familiar with. To have something you love so quickly disappear is never easy to deal with.

I know what it’s like to have your season come to an end. With every home opener there is a final game to be played. Having played soccer and lacrosse for four years in high school and another four years running cross country and track & field in college, I understand what you’re going through. No one imagines in the short time they have to play the game they love, that time will become even shorter.

As a student athlete the skills you learn on the field are directly related to the values and lessons applied to your life. Playing a sport teaches you to have determination, perseverance, teamwork, leadership and ultimately makes you a stronger person. Although sports are taking a break, that doesn’t mean you have to. Continue to be the strong determined person who preservers leading their peers through anything that comes their way.

Fortunately for myself I can say I’ve never had a season cut short so tragically in the way that you are experiencing. I have seen my season end before it even started in a matter of seconds. I broke my leg just three weeks before my senior year of playing soccer was supposed to start, but to my surprise I was able to recover in time to play the final three games.

In this time of need don’t forget to think of others around you and their well being, just as you would care for your teammates. A team is far more than a group of people who play a sport with one another, a family is created by an unbreakable bond.

There are many things out of your control right now and that can be frightening, there is one thing you can do. Do not let your passion for sports be taken away from you. When you are passionate about something, your heart will not take no for an answer. Coming back from an injury I had to work hard everyday to get back to my original condition. You must continue to believe you will take the pitch, the court or the field again.

So to all the high school and college seniors who are currently struggling with saying goodbye to the sport they have played since they could walk, just know this is not goodbye this is I’ll see you later.