Changing hearts through sports

High school student athletes seem to have a negative stigma behind them.  They are thought to be bullies, uninterested in their education, and vain.  But there’s a side to them that most people refuse to believe and learn about.  They all came from a specific background and upbringing that carried them into athletics.  When looking at these athletes as a whole, there is something special that drives them and it is apparent in the way they carry themselves.

I had the nerve-wracking pleasure to work with high school athletes from the surrounding Portland area for the past 10 weeks.  While I was a high school athlete myself, I still had negative connotations for the typical “jock.”  Maybe it was because I’m a female and the term “jock” typically applies to boys, or maybe it is because I attended a private, Christian high school and the behaviors that “jocks” may display at public high schools were not tolerated at my high school.  Either way, when I began this assignment, I was nervous to see how these high school athletes would take to me. 

 My project I had chosen included stretching and proper weight-lifting form sessions every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from noon to 1:00pm in the physical therapy clinic I work in full time.  During this unpaid lunch hour, the student athletes from high schools such as: Centennial, Reynolds, Gresham, Barlow, and Parkrose were able to come to the clinic and attend various sessions about the most effective way to stretch and safe and proper weight-lifting form and techniques.  I decided to focus on these things because most coaches focus on the plays of the game and fail to instruct their athletes on how to stay physically healthy.  

As time went on, I was able to dig deeper into these student athletes’ lives and hearts, and figure out their true beings and potentials.  It is an amazing experience, once you break through the barrier of a tough athlete, and find out their emotional strengths and weaknesses, their background and family life, and how they want to carry their talents on after high school.  I never thought I would become so connected with these students on an emotional level after these 10 weeks were over.  My mindset coming into this assignment was to teach the basic concepts and physical health and to help them stretch and lift more effectively.  Once we were able to become comfortable with each other, I had these athletes from competing schools finding common ground and becoming friends. 

These athletes proved to me that they are so much more than their sport.  They aren’t bullies: they made friends with each other and talked about their involvements in other extra-curricular activities at school in which they were able to grow their base of differing personalities and friends.  They are very interested in their education: these athletes have a great understanding that the chances of them playing at a paid, professional level of their sport is incredibly rare, and they have solid plans to attend college and gain a high education to become successful in their adult lives.  They are not vain: as they began to open up and talk about their insecurities, weaknesses, and faults, they began to shine as their loving, caring, selfless personalities became apparent.  

These last 10 weeks, I have learned more about myself and my potential from these student athletes than I would have just by sitting in a classroom learning from lecture.  This hands-on course has led me to the true potential that our Portland high school athletes have to make the future bright and successful.

~ Kaitlyn Lane, March 2014