Sports can have ways of consuming one’s life. Whether that be focusing on becoming the best athlete that one can be or supporting a favorite team from the stands, there are many ways that sports can be influential in people’s lives. However, for some, sports can be something that used to play a colossal role in their lives, but over time, they have slowly moved on. 

With the many aspects of sports, there have been many things that people have lost without even realizing it. For instance, due to the amount of effort that is put into obtaining a certain goal, athletes tend to hyper-focus on that specific thing without looking at what is around them. Nonetheless, without these pressures, some are able to focus on other aspects of their lives that they did not know they needed to do.

“I have been able to spend more time with my friends and family,” says Alayna Gschwind, “and focus on work rather than having to navigate schedules from sports and social life and adding to working.”

However, even with everything that these past athletes have been able to gain, there are still aspects in life that they have not been able to retrieve without their sport. Due to the fact that sports tend to have this adrenaline aspect that is difficult to reciprocate in work or social life, once leaving it, it can be a difficult thing to obtain once more. 

“I miss a lot of my friends I had made during field hockey and the sport itself,” Katy Dykstra said. “Field hockey was that sport that was natural for me. I miss the energy that came with the game and the atmosphere that you built throughout.”

Even with all of the good and bad times, both in and out of the game of sports, there are still things and ideals that one can take away with them. These things can also take shape in lessons that can be used outside of sports, such as the all important trait of dedication. Sports have shown many athletes, both young and old, that there is always something that can be learned and improved upon no matter what. 

“For everyday life, I have seen that I’ve taken a bit more initiative in groups and helped organize what to what,” Alayna said. “One thing that stuck with me is my coach told me to work on my endurance which is a big sports thing but can also be translated to everyday life like continuing to work through a tough problem or a long paper.”

Although there are some aspects that athletes tend to complain about or even forget about throughout sports, there are still many things that can have meaning in one’s everyday life. It is a matter of looking at how these moments in your life can influence and allow you to grow, which can leave the biggest impacts. Whether that be leaving a sport that you have participated in for a long time or placing focus on how to be the best player on the field of competition, there are still many things that one can be learned no matter the situation you are in. Overall, it is a matter of learning how to embrace those moments and see how you can grow in order to hopefully apply them to your everyday life because sports are here to teach people how to become the best versions of themselves if done the correct way.