Many times in sports we measure success by wins and losses. It's hard not to. So many times in our lives we are classified as either winners or losers. I have had the delight to work with and watch the girls' soccer team at Streetsboro High School this year. Based on traditional logic these girls have not had a successful season, but being with them on a daily basis has truly taught me the value of high school sports no matter how "successful" a team is. These girls come out every day and continue to work and play hard. Many other teams and many other athletes would have folded or would get down after losing so many games, but these girls' determination shows the kind of heart and values that student athletes should display.
These attributes are no more evident than in two of the Rocket seniors, Jessica Grigoli and Hanna Kreierhoff. They have gone through several tough years playing soccer for Streetsboro. With the way that the team has performed during their time in high school it would have been easier for most people to just not play. However, this was never an option for these two girls. They came in and showed the younger players how to be successful student athletes even when your team's talent doesn't match up well with your opponent. Streetsboro girls' soccer team will be better in the near future because of girls like Hanna and Jess and they deserve to be recognized.
Smaller sports do not get the same attention as the bigger sports such as football and basketball, but they provide the same valuable lessons of teamwork, leadership, decision making, and how to deal with adversity as well as give youth much needed fitness training in a fun environment. So get out and support your local high school sports, get your kids involved in youth sports, and volunteer your time to youth sports and we'll see more high character student athletes like Jessica and Hanna.