My Eagle Experience
I
have no intention to give advice, preach or tell anyone how to go about their
own experience. I think that would be presumptuous. I simply felt like writing
about my own experience. I might share it if I feel like it may help, motivate
or guide others, but truthfully, that is not up to me anyway. It is up to them.
Being
a college athlete in America is a unique experience - very different than in
any other country. Being an athlete at an institution like Boston College is a
privilege…an opportunity of a lifetime. Unfortunately, what I see is that not
everyone appreciates it the way they should; therefore undermining not only
their own experience but possibly that of others sharing it with them or following
their footsteps.
I
played 4 years on the women’s tennis team, graduating in 2006. During this
time, I got a world-class education – for free, met amazing friends – for a
lifetime, played the sport I loved - or at the very least, respected, and felt
like a “star”. Not the kind that gives autographs; but rather, a “lucky star”.
See,
feeling confident while being grateful is very different than feeling entitled
while being arrogant. I see too many high school athletes getting into
colleges, making it on the team in whatever sport they play, and acting like
celebrities. They walk around like they have already put something down on the
table, like they own the place, like they are better than others. And that is
one of the biggest mistake they can make.
I
am all for being proud to be a student athlete, and using past achievements as
a source of motivation and stepping stone for future success. But I don’t care
how good you are or were in high school. I don’t care how many games,
tournaments or matches you won in your career. I don’t care how many colleges fought
for you. I don’t care if your plan is to go on tour and I don’t care if you
make it there one day. If you cannot remain true to yourself, if you cannot
feel gratitude towards the sport, the fans, the institution that has given you
such an opportunity and most of all if you cannot respect your teammates and
your coach, you failed. It is that simple.
An
athlete isn’t an athlete just because she pushes her limits, challenges
herself, trains and sweats, wins or loses. An athlete is an athlete when she knows
how to win respectfully, how to lose and get back up gracefully, how to support
her team, how to be part of a team, how to respect herself and others, and how
to be grateful.
And
this is what our team knew how to do. We didn’t achieve what we achieved
because of our tennis skills. We succeeded because we were a team - including
Coach. It didn’t matter who was the best, and it didn’t matter who wasn’t. Just
like it didn’t matter whether we thought Coach was a good coach or not. What
mattered was that we were all in the same boat - together.
We
shared the same experience, showed up for the same practices, lived in the same
dorms, traveled to the same trips, competed against the same teams and we all
took responsibility for our part. Some of us were motivators, some of us took
the role of the “mother hen”, some of us were fighters, some of us were
supporters or cheerleaders, some of us were leaders, and some of us were
followers. It didn’t matter. We all took or fell into a role, and gave it our 100%.
And this is what made us winners in the sense that I want to be a winner. To
me, winning isn’t just about winning a match or being no. 1, or no. 3 or number
whatever on a team that I belong to no matter what. It is about a way of life
that is so much bigger and so much more sustainable than any single win on the
court.
So
if I can take the liberty to give any advice to any student athlete is start
thinking as “We” instead of “I and always, I mean ALWAYS, give your best
effort. No one can ask you to give more than that, but no one, especially not
you, should ever think to expect less of you than giving your best. Only you
know how to do that, and only you know when you are really giving it. It is
your basic obligation to stay true to yourself.
If
you can master these things – both on and off the court, you are golden. You
will not only be a great athlete, but also a great person, a great friend, a
great role model or inspiration, and a great protagonist of your life. Who
wouldn’t want that?
