WHO AM I?

Hey guys, my name is Alina and I am a junior in High School. I come from a very sports-oriented family so I basically grew up playing sports from a very young age. I played a couple of sports here and there until my father decided to enroll me in tennis. Tennis allowed me to unleash my competitive nature and understand the importance of perseverance. Most importantly, it taught me about mental toughness and the ability to remain calm and bounce back from obstacles and mistakes. There was one thing tennis always lacked; a team. As a result, I joined my high school's lacrosse team during my sophomore year. Although I was already on my high school's tennis team, I wanted to experience the feeling of playing on a field where it's not only me who's in charge of the game.

Due to unfortunate circumstances, we can't be on the field right now playing our designated sports. There’s no doubt that being quarantined has placed its struggles on us athletes across the nation. It honestly feels like we're benched due to an injury and can't play. From the mental health aspect of it, when you're not around the people you're used to being around it's hard. When you’re not doing what you are known for, not achieving the goals you set for yourself, you begin to question what value do you have. We're left with an empty feeling that leaves a void, that many, myself included, struggle with as we grasp for a new identity, one beyond sports.

I know we would all much rather be back with our teammates, but we should take this time to stay on track mentally and physically. So, this blog is for the student-athletes who need that extra motivation during the quarantine. I will be posting weekly blogs and advice on how to stay physically fit as well as mentally fit. I want you guys to know that you are not alone and there is an army of student-athletes behind you. I hope this will help you guys be better athletes and people through development outside of sports. Let's use what we've learned from participating in sports: determination, resistance, and selflessness, to the current challenge we are all facing today.