A question athletes rarely get asked is “why do you play your sport?”.
When I was first asked this question by my coach I was very confused and answered with “I began playing because I get to spend time with my friends and have fun.” My coach’s reaction was to “Think about your why and try to deepen it.”
After having a more in depth conversation with my coach about how doing this can benefit me, I started to think more about it.
Your “Why” is the reason you play the sport.
This can change over time, it might be the same from when you first started playing or it might not be the same. The most important thing when thinking about your “why” is making sure you go deeper than the surface. Personally going deeper for me was thinking about what brought me joy when playing.
One of my favorite things about playing volleyball is the people I get to play with. So they became my why. Finding your “Why” is what can help you persevere through the sports challenges, both mentally and physically. Doing this not only benefits yourself but it benefits the people around you. For me, finding my “why” is what kept me going in my sport, it gave me a reason to come to practice everyday, to push myself, to put in the extra work, and to always touch the line. Since my “why” was my teammates they became my reason behind everything I did, I wanted to succeed for them and for us.
Not only did it give me a reason, it pushed me to understand the mental side of sports more. Becoming a mentally tough athlete is such an important thing to prioritize, especially as a high school student athlete.
Prioritizing mental health is a very hard thing to do and learning how to balance it with sports is even harder. The hardest thing is starting the process, it is a journey that is never ending and grows with you. Its more than just “being happy” when being in a sport, it is about understanding the feelings that come with playing a sport. Because all athletes know that being an athlete isn’t always easy and everyone faces their own hardships. I am not saying that finding your “why” makes you happy all the time when you are playing, I am saying it makes it easier.
As an athlete it is very easy to …
- Procrastinate
- Set incorrect goals
- Become distracted and repeat past mistakes
these things commonly happen when you don’t have a personal reason behind what you’re doing.
Once you find your why/your reasoning the path becomes more clear and it is easier to …
- Set intentional goals
- Stay focused
- Fix mistakes and get things done
Once you determine your why/your reason it must become the thing that motivates you. When you begin to question yourself and your abilities your mind must go back to your why. Think about your why and reflect on it, how can your why benefit you right now?
Finding your Why is one of many things athletes should mentally challenge themselves with, if “Finding your why” and prioritizing mental health becomes a regular thing for Roosevelt athletes the athletics at Roosevelt Highschool will thrive.
