Lauren Sehnke

 Professional athletes set the example for other athletes who dream to be in their position. High school athletes see college and professional athletes success and use their journey as a basis for themselves. High school athletes are also role models for their peers; competition on the high school level allows all athletes to push the other to be the greatest they can be. Reagan Glanz, a catcher at Marshall University says, ¨having a good role model is super important…a lot of young people don't have great role models in their immediate family..they can always turn to a coach they look up to or even another athlete.¨ 
     Collegiate level athletes are constantly admired and told, ¨I want to be just like you,¨ according to Reagan Glanz. Reagan posts videos on her training on Instagram  and Twitter, giving younger athletes the opportunity to work with her. Since she was little, Reagan idolized Jen Schro, a former UCLA catcher, in hopes of being as great as her. 
     Professional athletes serve upcoming athletes in sports, and in everyday life. Reagan referenced Kobe Bryant, ¨young kids look at him and are so inspired and then they want to be the next greatest generation…he was doing that off and on the court. Kobe Bryant's Mamba Mentality inspired many across the globe to become the greatest possible version of themselves, rather if that's in sports or in real life. 

Athletes all around have to deal with the pressure of the fight to win in a game or match. This pressure effects athletes mental health and their love for the game. 
    Sports are so valuable because of the time and effort that is put in during practice in order to perform well in the game. Improvement is far more important than winning. Many athletes struggle to realize this and it depreciates their convidence during the game/match. 
    When I started playing High School sports at South Florence, my coaches would only play the best players they had in order to win.  This ruined my drive to get better because I never learned anything new. I always felt like I wasn't good enough. I transferred to Wilson in hopes of bettering my technique and learn to love the game. 

     No matter the level of academia or the type of sport, balance is essential. School and sports are both time consuming and require dedication to excel. It is very important for student-athletes to develop a schedule that expedites their time management between school and sports.  
    Creating a balance between athletic responsibility and academic responsibility is a huge challenge. Every student athlete has heard something along the lines of, ¨Its student athlete, not athlete student.¨ Academics are far more important that sports, so student athletes have to make sure that their work is done on time, even though they have practices or games. 
    A major challenge that student athletes face is recovery. Most student athletes have practice every day, and 1-3 games a week. This takes a toll on their bodies and makes going through the school day even harder. 

     Professional sports create new challenges for athletes. Between gender biases, unequal pay, and limited media coverage, female athletes are always handed the short end of the stick. 
    Gender biases are commonly a problem surrounding the idea that women can play ¨male" sports. Olivia Pichardo is the first  female in the MLB, and her decision is widely bashed. Critics will often say the women have more feminine sports like softball to play, but as time continues, sports can't be separated by gender.
     Unequal pay is a problem in sports, and everywhere in the world. Women are either charged more or paid less for no reason other than being a woman. In a study that compared the NBA and WNBA pay ranks, the average female basketball player would earn 75,181 USD while the average male basketball player would earn over 8 million USD (online.adelphi.edu/articles/male-female-sports-salary/).  
    Female athletes dont receive as much recognition as male athletes. USC News said, ¨ researchers found that 95% of total television coverage as well as the ESPN highlights show SportsCenter focused on men’s sports in 2019.¨ Females are held to a higher expectation in order to stand out. This affects their income, since they arent on the majority of live broadcast. 
    Male athletes have more room to slack off than women do. Professional female athletes dont only have to train hard for their sport, but work even harder to get appreciated for it. 

     All my life, I have been on the field, or watching my older siblings play. When I am on the softball field, I feel at peace. I can be myself while I am surrounded by people I love. I love to be challenged, and softball does that perfectly. Since I am a catcher, I have to be aware of every position and runner on the field. All positions in softball are aggressive and fast paced, but catching allows me to show that I am willing to work harder every play. There are some downsides to playing softball, like the heat, long games, and competing to win, but those downsides make the benefits even greater. I can be loud, energetic, dirty, and apart of a team all in one. I have spent countless night fighting for a victory, and those nights are what I treasure.  The softball field is no doubt my favorite, and most memorable place to be. 

     To be influential is to have the power to indirectly affect someone, or something, but with an importance. Many influences are unintentional, but lead to a significant outcome. People often influence others, much like how my older sister, Brittany, who has influenced me. 
     Brittany has many qualities I admire: time management skills, discipline, perseverance, and dedication. Brittany says, "I will either give my 100% into something or nothing and the second option is never an option when you care as deeply as I do." Since I obtained that mindset, hard work started paying off. Brittany's  words can be applicable in my everyday life. At every practice, scrimmage, and game, I put forth all my effort because that is what she taught me to do. In school, I take a similar approach by dedicating time for my studies and putting in the required effort to succeed.
     My life will be changed forever because of my sister. I have grown as a person, athlete, student, friend, daughter, and sister. 
"Hard work always beats talent when talent fails to work hard" -Brittany Sehnke

     Undeniably, catching in softball is my passion. Baseball was introduced into my life from a young age and I soon moved to softball. I started catching in the summer of 2019. Ever since the first game I played in gear, I never wanted to stop. My sister, Brittany, created easy steps for me to fall into. She coached me day and night and worked with me through times that no one would. Her primary position in high school softball was the catcher position, so when I picked it up, she helped me with every question I had. 
     Every position on the softball field requires hard work to arrive at consistent success. ¨ Hard work ¨ in my eyes is applied on and off the field. Commonly, I am researching techniques and fundamental aspects of catching. I am so dedicated to this position, it drives me crazy. That drive pushes me though, which is why I'd say it is my passion. 

     Nowadays, almost everyone is on a form of media, or more commonly, social media. Social media platforms assist athletes and the sport that they are pursuing in various ways. Sports teams can gain recognition easily by making posts about game times and major events for the team. This may look like a coach or player making a post about try-outs in order to attract new players.              Individual players also benefit from social media. Highlights, game stats, personal information, and parent information all make the college recruiting process easier. College coaches can reach out to players and/or coaches to give information about camps or how to grab more attention. Lastly, social media never goes away. Anything that is posted will be saved as a memory to be relived on repeat. Media platforms of all kinds have become a superior way to broadcast sports.