Who Inspires You ?

Athletes gain inspiration from various sources in their lives.

Story

Sports permeate the lives of many Stanton College Preparatory School students. From afterschool athletics to professional sports, the games and the people involved can have profound effects on their audience. For student athletes, this learning environment can introduce role models into their life that influence their overall perceptions and motivations.

Professional athletes can serve as role models for many student sports players. The publicity of their adversities, successes, and commitments inspires athletes in their own experiences and provide ean example and goal to work towards. One example of this effect is the coverage of Serena Williams’ personal and professional life in the world of tennis.

“Serena Williams, through all the adversity she has faced and [by] breaking all these barriers, is the best athlete in the world,” said senior girls tennis captain Mya Griner. “She exemplifies that if she was able to do all these things, have a kid, and still be very successful, then girls anywhere, including myself, are able and capable to reach where they want to go.”

For Griner, the experiences of Serena Williams serve as a model on attaining success as a female athlete. Watching her rise above obstacles provides a template for resilience that some athletes may strive to recreate. Aside from their adversities, professional athletes can serve as role models for characteristics and attributes necessary for success.

“Sue Bird defines sportsmanship and leaving it all out on the court,” said senior varsity flag football, basketball, and golf team captain Charlee Evoniuk. “She plays in the WNBA and is also a huge advocate for equal pay in men’s and women’s

Stating that she shared the same values as Sue Bird, for Evoniuk, this player became a moral compass within her sports life. Seeing Bird use the platform of her sport to advocate against the issues and disparities she noticed serves as a model for what student athletes can do with the power given to them through their sports platform.

Although professional athletes can provide a clear source for inspiration, they are often not the only role models for student athletes. On a more direct and personal scale, coaches and parents can be tangible figures who introduce student athletes to new passions and motivate them to excel.

“My dad played [football, basketball, and golf] in high school; he taught me how to play all those sports,” said Evoniuk. “I immediately fell in love with all of them.”

Evoniuk found success in the sports she plays because of her father who introduced her to all the sports she grew to love. This guidance shows how parents can create an exploratory space for student athletes to figure out what they enjoy.

Like parents, coaches can also directly impact athletes. Working with students daily, they can develop strong bonds with their athletes and support them through their prominent role in the students’ sports lives.

“I played sports growing up and watched sports. I think it is a big part of my life and as I get older, I cannot participate as much, so I just like to coach,” said boy’s golf and girl’s lacrosse coach Andrew Christovich. “The best part for me is seeing players develop and get better when they don’t think they can do something, and then they achieve it.”

Coaching allows Mr. Christovich to stay connected with sports while showing he cares about students and their sports. Taking on these additional responsibilities of providing leadership and assistance within these students’ lives can create a supported sense of community unparalleled in academic spaces.

“I hope the kids play the sports for enjoyment, and I hope it is exercise for them physically, but then also that they are rewarded by the experience,” said Mr. Christovich. “For the most part, I just try to do my best to encourage them and let them know that there are no limits.”

In the sports world, team captains are respected student athletes who accept the responsibility of leading a team. They provide a peer-to-peer support system that can motivate team success.

“I try to lead by example by showing commitment and coming to practice, taking it seriously, but also making the team practices a place where we can bond,” said Griner. “I hope they understand the importance of trying to get better as a team because when each of us gets better, that is better for all of us.”

Griner uses her power as team captain to motivate the team to develop together. Through creating a safe space, she facilitates personal growth in addition to team growth. Stanton tennis teams use the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation for many of their activities. From matches to practices, the foundation demonstrates an instance of professional athletes using their platform for mentorship.

“When I brought the foundation programs to Jacksonville in 1997, the idea was just to introduce the sport of tennis to kids,” said MaliVai Washington. “Those character-building traits of hard work, sportsmanship, work ethic and sticking to a task and perseverance, those are things that I was able to get from the sport, and I was hoping that they would get that from the sport as well.”

Tennis had a profound effect on Mr. Washington’s character and as his influence grew, he hoped to share the lessons he learned. In addition to sharing the lessons of the sport, he hoped to share the lessons of his life.

“One way that I hope to impact the students is though my story. I have a pretty interesting past. I have been able to go through junior tennis, college tennis, professional tennis, got injured, which shortened my career, and then moved on to my foundation and real estate,” said Mr. Washington. “My hope is that my story can serve as a bit of an inspiration to kids. Hopefully something that I did, or story I can relay, or an experience that I had, can resonate with them.”

Through Mr. Washington’s unique path in life, he can provide a representation of how life goals can shift and change. This shaping of his past experiences into an example for others to learn from highlights the additional responsibilities that many professional athletes experience.

Sports can be an experimental space for many students to develop their interests and character. With examples of leadership and responsibility coming from various sources, the influence that role models have on student athletes creates an environment filled with inspiration.