Lehigh University Athletics
From The Future: Dear First-Year Julia...
4/26/2018 2:47:00 PM | Field Hockey, Student Athlete
Dear First-Year Julia,
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You are jumping from a small pond to a big one and I know it is so scary. I know that must be incredibly challenging to arrive at preseason in mid-August, to jump immediately on that indoor track for your run test, and then feel that you have been running at breakneck speed ever since. As my senior year comes to a close, and I feel that I'm able to slow down for that last lap, I have some things to tell you. Being a college athlete comes down to choices. As athletes, we are so used to making choices that are instinctive, based on years of practice and hours of studying the game. Life doesn't lend itself to practice the way sports do, so I'm here to give you a crash course on what lies ahead.
Choose to engage. There will be times that you are sitting on the bench your freshman season, and it is so tempting to dip out, to forget the bigger picture, to tell jokes instead of watching the game as closely as you can. I promise you, if you make the choice to engage, your experience will be exponentially better. At the end of the day, you're not going to remember all of the minutes you played. What you'll remember is what you chose to do with all of the collective minutes that you had as a member of your team. Did you commit to your team? Did you make yourself better by participating in leadership programs? Did you create lasting relationships with your teammates? Every opportunity to engage further is an opportunity to make yourself and your team better. Don't waste them.
Choose to go against the grain. There will be people that complain in the locker room before practice. There will be people that criticize you for trying so hard. There will be people who tell you that the run tests don't matter, or that lifting doesn't make a difference. And they might be people that you love dearly, and who you spend a lot of time with. Don't ever allow their attitude to change you. I know it might be uncomfortable to say something, but if you don't, you'll someday become a senior who thinks that some games could have ended differently if she hadn't bitten her tongue. Sure, you're young and inexperienced, but that enthusiasm and grit that you have, it's worth speaking up for.
Choose to persist. There will be setbacks. You're going to end up in games where it feels hopeless. There will be times that the last thing you want to do is go to practice, because its freezing outside, because you know you're going to run the gauntlet again, because you have to go to bed at 9pm on a Friday night and listen to kids in your dorm go to parties. But always choose to persist. Even when your legs are burning, when others are slowing down and when it seems like your efforts are going to waste. There is no worse feeling than looking back and knowing you could have worked harder. Don't let yourself fall into that trap. Persist, persist, persist. Â
Lastly, choose to enjoy everything. Enjoy the sunrises during 6AMs on Goodman Campus. Enjoy the way the leaves change around your field. Enjoy the way that it feels after you have worked so hard that you're not sure you can make it to your car after practice. Enjoy your favorite song playing in the weight room. Enjoy the way your parents cheer for you, regardless of the score. Enjoy it all, because this experience is once in a lifetime, and it is unique to you and the choices you have and will make.Â
Lehigh Field Hockey is going to give you an experience that challenges and changes you, and while it is certainly scary and not always fun in the moment, you're building something much bigger than yourself. It doesn't seem like it now, but there will be a time in your life when you will wish for more 5:30 AM drives over the mountain. These years fly, so make the right choices, remember why you play the game and leave a legacy you'll be proud of!
Â
Good luck!!!
Â
With love,
Julia Washburn
"Lil J"
Â
You are jumping from a small pond to a big one and I know it is so scary. I know that must be incredibly challenging to arrive at preseason in mid-August, to jump immediately on that indoor track for your run test, and then feel that you have been running at breakneck speed ever since. As my senior year comes to a close, and I feel that I'm able to slow down for that last lap, I have some things to tell you. Being a college athlete comes down to choices. As athletes, we are so used to making choices that are instinctive, based on years of practice and hours of studying the game. Life doesn't lend itself to practice the way sports do, so I'm here to give you a crash course on what lies ahead.
Choose to engage. There will be times that you are sitting on the bench your freshman season, and it is so tempting to dip out, to forget the bigger picture, to tell jokes instead of watching the game as closely as you can. I promise you, if you make the choice to engage, your experience will be exponentially better. At the end of the day, you're not going to remember all of the minutes you played. What you'll remember is what you chose to do with all of the collective minutes that you had as a member of your team. Did you commit to your team? Did you make yourself better by participating in leadership programs? Did you create lasting relationships with your teammates? Every opportunity to engage further is an opportunity to make yourself and your team better. Don't waste them.
Choose to go against the grain. There will be people that complain in the locker room before practice. There will be people that criticize you for trying so hard. There will be people who tell you that the run tests don't matter, or that lifting doesn't make a difference. And they might be people that you love dearly, and who you spend a lot of time with. Don't ever allow their attitude to change you. I know it might be uncomfortable to say something, but if you don't, you'll someday become a senior who thinks that some games could have ended differently if she hadn't bitten her tongue. Sure, you're young and inexperienced, but that enthusiasm and grit that you have, it's worth speaking up for.
Choose to persist. There will be setbacks. You're going to end up in games where it feels hopeless. There will be times that the last thing you want to do is go to practice, because its freezing outside, because you know you're going to run the gauntlet again, because you have to go to bed at 9pm on a Friday night and listen to kids in your dorm go to parties. But always choose to persist. Even when your legs are burning, when others are slowing down and when it seems like your efforts are going to waste. There is no worse feeling than looking back and knowing you could have worked harder. Don't let yourself fall into that trap. Persist, persist, persist. Â
Lastly, choose to enjoy everything. Enjoy the sunrises during 6AMs on Goodman Campus. Enjoy the way the leaves change around your field. Enjoy the way that it feels after you have worked so hard that you're not sure you can make it to your car after practice. Enjoy your favorite song playing in the weight room. Enjoy the way your parents cheer for you, regardless of the score. Enjoy it all, because this experience is once in a lifetime, and it is unique to you and the choices you have and will make.Â
Lehigh Field Hockey is going to give you an experience that challenges and changes you, and while it is certainly scary and not always fun in the moment, you're building something much bigger than yourself. It doesn't seem like it now, but there will be a time in your life when you will wish for more 5:30 AM drives over the mountain. These years fly, so make the right choices, remember why you play the game and leave a legacy you'll be proud of!
Â
Good luck!!!
Â
With love,
Julia Washburn
"Lil J"
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