June 11, 2022 8:00 am. Today was the day. The second I wake up, my heart is pounding harder than ever and I instantly regret getting very little sleep . In just a few hours, I would be leading my team in Carmel, Indiana for a weekend of importance. “It’s just a tournament, it’s no big deal.” No, it is a big deal. Pressure weighs down on my body as I know I have to be the leader, and I couldn’t let my team down. I stare at my uniform, taking in how important this day is. The smell of a warm breakfast lures me downstairs. But as I take a bite of my pre-game meal, all I can seem to taste is the nerves that continue to haunt me. I couldn’t let some foolish nerves tear up my stomach, so I threw it all away. And just like that, the drive to my happy, but taunting place was upon me.

     The two hour drive felt slow and painful as it gave me time to drown myself in my thoughts. Thoughts about losing the game for my team or all kinds of mistakes that could easily be made. Constant what if this or what if that thoughts bit at my confidence and tore me down. I arrive and instantly push away my doubtful thoughts and pick up my stick. The cool metal feeling of my stick pressing against my hands gives me the chills.  The sound of lacrosse balls striking the corners makes me feel ready for the competition upon us. Warmups went by quickly and before I knew it, I’m standing in the middle of the draw circle as the game began. TWEET!  The game flew by like a flash and afterwards all I could think about was how terrible I played. My teammates are probably so mad at me, I thought. All the bad decisions I made this morning are already hurting me. But all I can do about it now is push my problems away and actually play like myself in the next game.

     As the warmups for the second game began, I felt super dizzy and tired. But I had to keep going, I couldn’t let my team down once again. TWEET! Just like that the second game started. I didn’t feel well at all as I started to see black dots which blinded my vision and spontaneously everything started becoming blurry. The ball was passed to me, I missed it. “Piper are you okay,” many teammates began to ask me. “I’m fine,” I lied and continued playing. The blistering heat roasted me as I could taste the salt in the drops of sweat rolling down my face and into my mouth. This is it, something is about to go wrong. What is happening to me? Soon enough, I started losing my balance and nothing felt right. Suddenly, my legs collapsed and everything went black.

      As I began to open my eyes, I felt the scratchy turf rubbing against my back. I was now laying on the sidelines and all I could see was the bright summer sky and one pair of eyes looking down on me. The sounds of my teammates communicating on the field without me gave me angst to get up and play. But I was stopped by the voice of the trainer. “So talk to me. What have you eaten today? How much sleep did you get last night?” Her words hit me instantly with the realization that this accident was all my fault. “I have eaten nothing. I barely got any sleep,” I replied. She continued to talk about how important it is to eat and get sleep so I have enough energy to play. It felt like she went on and on about how my decisions were not good for my health, and although I didn’t want to accept it, I knew she was right.

      By the end of the game that my team was able to win without me, I had learned one of the most important things when it comes to being the athlete I am. My team advanced to the finals earlier today and I was able to play because I took this lesson into recognition. I got plenty of rest and made sure to fuel myself beforehand. With this type of energy, I could almost taste the championship win upon us. In addition to learning to help myself physically, I learned that with more confidence, there were many more sights of possibilities. TWEET! As the final whistle blew and we received our winning medals, it felt so nice to have the cool metal around my neck, pressing against my jersey. All in all, I didn’t only leave this day with a medal, but a life lesson that not just me, but every athlete should always keep in mind.