Best on the Playing Field

[Story by Sunny Pathangi]

It is a common interest for many students at Freedom High School to enjoy any type of athletics, whether it be playing, watching or even reporting.

Playing sports is more of a challenge according to Kenneth Christopher, director of School Counseling at Freedom.

“Out of 20 people I would say 0.01 people would choose to pursue a career in the athletics field. It is a very rare career path, with the exception of some students who have gotten into more of the marketing side of sports,” Christopher said.

This does not stop or discourage students from reaching for a spot in this career.

“I definitely want to take sports as a career, whether it could be playing/ competing professionally or just being a coach,” said Jeremiah Cherry, freshman football player and track athlete. “I love track and football and I really want to stay connected with these two sports throughout the rest of my life.”

There are many students that share the same passion but also learn different life skills from sports. Junior Emmy Anderberg, who plays shot put and discus for our track and field team, basketball, and competes in powerlifting competitions, is one of those students.

“I want to take the discipline that I’ve gotten from sports into the real world. I know that no matter how my day has gone, good or bad, I have to go to practice, and I have to do something to try and get better,” Andberg said. “Also, I hope to take whatever strength I’ve gained so that when my dogs get old I can carry them up the stairs!”

Along with the passion, students from FHS have achieved and reached great heights in their career. Kevin Parades, a Freedom alumni, is most popular at our school. He currently plays for Wolfsburg in Germany and the Bundesliga which is one of the top soccer leagues in the world. He was a Freedom student who ended up switching to homeschool with DC United and finished up his high school career through the DC United’s educational program and played professionally for the MLS for like a year and a half, maybe more.

“He switched over to the Bundesliga where he’s finding some success and had his first goal and first assist this season,” Christopher said.

It is a popular opinion in FHS that sports are good as a hobby. When talking about colleges, many say that they would major in a more reliable career.

“I was looking at data just recently, and I believe 1.3% of student athletes actually will receive a college scholarship to play in college,” Christopher said. “That’s a very small percentage. I say the same thing to our students that are pursuing careers in music and theater. Just have a plan B.”

“As much as I love sports and would love to continue with them, I don’t see myself becoming a professional athlete or anything of the sort,” Andberg said.

“I definitely have other career paths in mind because it’s always good to have more than just one,” Cherry said.

Along with ups, there are also many downs that challenge student athletes. Mental challenges not only affect athletes, but different types of students face them one way or another.

“I think the one thing that I see the most with our student athletes and across the board, sometimes the burnout starts weighing on them during junior and senior year and that’s when they really start to make decisions as to what they would like to do with their life,” Christopher said.

“I believe I will have a lot of mental challenges, staying positive during times when you just want to give up, a lot of second guessing if you are willing to put in the work, and me personally I’m all the time. You can definitely overcome a lot of obstacles just by trusting yourself, and not letting your thoughts completely control your actions,” Cherry said.

Andberg agreed,“No matter how many times I try to fix the issues in my form by thinking through my cues, it just doesn’t happen. I’ve yet to find a way to overcome those, but hopefully I’ll be able to do so soon. With self doubt, that’s more of a fleeting obstacle. It’s just hard to see yourself being successful on any level after having an off day or feeling weak during a lift, and the only way to really get around that is by thinking back to a time when things were going right and telling yourself that it’ll happen again and that every day can’t be perfect.”

Athletics is a career that requires one to be well-rounded. When it comes to mental health, physical health and effort and dedication, one must manage it all. This makes it difficult for many students due to the fact that they must study and receive good grades. The pressure is high and, in most cases, leads to burnout and many mental problems.

“Nevertheless, if sports and athletics is a passion, one should pass all obstacles. The statistics say athletics as a career is risky, but as an adolescent, I think you should pursue these risks,” Christopher said. “You try to do your best, you try to be the best at whatever you’re doing, whether that’s on stage, on the field, on the court, whatever that is, I want you to know that if passion is driving them, students can and will really pursue what they want to do.”

- Kenneth Christopher