Love Of The Game

     While you watched the olympics this year, it was very easy to notice how much love and passion these athletes had for their sports. We all have those favorite athletes that we root for, and we have seen their highest and their lowest moments, like Shaun White or Nathan Chen. While you enjoy watching them on your big screen, Jenks also has students like that here, and they have their own ways of showing their love.      Every athlete has their own challenges and struggles that they face. They go through different obstacles in their life and have to find ways to get over them. Senior and member of the swim team, Mely Armstrong, has this to say about her life of swimming:     “Swimming is very challenging. You really have to work on your mental strength, because it takes a lot to get through practices. Because if you don’t have a positive attitude then you’re not going to succeed at anything in swimming. Your mind is your body. You need to train every aspect of your body.”     While on the screen, what athletes do can look easy, but in reality, they are putting so much work in. After she talked about the swim team’s Hades week of practicing twice a day over winter break, senior and swim team member DJ Smith said, “Sometimes it just feels too much. Like why am I practicing this much?”     All of these athletes, even though they have days where they want to give up, still love what they do and will do anything for it. Armstrong accomplished dropping her time down by 27 seconds in one month and three meets. All the hard work and passion that they have pays off in the long run.      “When you get to the meets, and when you put in the hard work, and your efforts start showing through, it’s kinda like a good feeling that you get when you’re like ‘I’m not wasting my time, I’m putting in the effort and it’s amounting to something,’” says Smith. “Plus, when you are in the sport for so long, you gain friends. I’ve got Mely, and our other best friend, Madison, is in there too.”