When we think of successful people, we often have our own opinions of who it could be, whether it’s a family member or even your favorite celebrity. And a lot of the time you may ask yourself, how does one do it? How or what could I do to get to where they are? After all curiosity, it’s not a surprise that you too could be as successful as someone who’s made it to the, quote on quote impossible. Those who you wonder, how are they so successful? Are people who have taken the decision to push themselves through hard times and have the desire to get so far, because really when you want something you will do anything and everything to get there. When I think of successful people, I think of the students that are in either Cross Country and Football, who’ve made it to CIF. These students have soon become the definition of success in their acts of being a good athlete. 

One of those athletes being Eric Navarro. Eric has been in Cross Country all four years of high school and has progressed each year, with only getting better as time went by. Without a doubt he definitely faced challenges but soon overcame them and that’s because of his determination and commitment to the sport. Eric goes on to say, “I’ve learned that results can be shown from hard work and dedication, and that you are always stronger than you think you are.” Most of the time we doubt ourselves when it comes to committing to something, but Eric made it possible because he realized that when working towards something it takes one to be committed. Having confidence in yourself will only make you stronger because anyone is capable of anything if they really want to do something about it. Most of us are just too scared or don’t believe in ourselves to push through, when knowing we actually can. 

Aside from that, it may come to mind as to what helps Eric stay motivated. He says,”What has definitely helped me is my coach Ayala for pushing me and my teammates that help my motivation to keep going in cross, as well as during tough times outside of the sport.” Not only does he get encouragement from his friends and has a coach who’s willing to show tough love by pushing him, he also has help outside of the sport from friends. Which comes to show that surrounding yourself with positive, caring, true people, you are most likely to keep a positive mindset which helps so much when being a runner. Eric has been one of many great athletes to make it to the CIF playoffs. Now even though he was not able to make it to the second round, he was proud of himself for making it as far as he got. He says, “Yes, I’m proud, because my sophomore year, our varsity boys team made it to CIF for the first time in 10 years, and that is a great accomplishment. Since then we’ve made it every year and hopefully in the future, the SEMHS Cross Country team will make it even farther.” This goes to show that by even saying you were a part of going to CIF, it’s always an accomplishment because getting there takes everything you’ve got and only the strongest, most determined people can make it, just like Eric Navarro.

Alongside Eric, is his teammate Ashely Vasquez. Ashley has been another great athlete to successfully make to CIF playoffs. Although she has gone through many obstacles, she’s stayed consistent with her training as many other Cross Country athletes do. When training it’s never easy but Ashely pushed through it all and made it through. She says, “The hardest part about doing cross country is staying committed to the workouts and practice. Cross is time consuming and it requires a lot of energy.” Even though staying dedicated to this sport because of all the work it requires, she manages to work with it, as she says, “I learned to not give up and that the most important thing after finishing a race is that you’re proud of yourself and can say that you did your best.” Ashely says that it’s helped her see that being proud of yourself for finishing is most important and just knowing that you put out everything you had into something that wasn’t so easy, you were still able to finish it all the way.

But one big thing that Ashely learned from running through the pain, is that patience is key to it all. You might not get it the first time but as long as you stay committed to it, you will accomplish anything. She also learned that, “Eating healthy, staying hydrated and being consistent with the runs has helped me become a faster runner. Being surrounded by the team is also helpful since we all cheer each other on.” As she said that being healthy, staying hydrated, and being consistent, she was able to become a faster runner. Another big help would be her teammates, as they all cheer each other on. It enhances the confidence and drive to continue on your race or practice to the sport. It’s definitely not easy but Ashely has gained much knowledge and that’s helped her be successful. Lastly, she was proud of making it to CIF, she says, “Yes I am proud the team made it to CIF and I hope future generations move forward in CIF.” In the future, I’m sure it’s possible.  

On the other hand, we have Mathew Medina to recognize, as he’s one of the athletes on the Varsity Football team with the position of being a quarterback and is captain. Although Football is nothing like Cross Country, in both sports you experience the same things when it comes to being committed and having the drive to push yourself further. Mathew went through ups and downs when training for the season but throughout it all he found ways to help himself and achieve his goals. During his training he learned great lessons, he goes on to say, “Throughout football I’ve learned that even when you think something is impossible, it’s not. With hard work, dedication, and trusting the people around you, anything is possible.” This shows us that he found a way of thinking; that if you think doing something seems impossible it really isn’t because if you put in the work, it all pays off in the end. It’s all about having that confidence and assurance that you too can be the, quote on quote, impossible.

Something else he learned was to not think from past experiences but to look at it from a different perspective, that you can always have better opportunities. He goes on to say, “During football I’ve learned you can’t really dwell on past plays or past events. I have also learned from Coach Kevin that the most important play is the next play and to me this means no matter what happens keep pushing because there’s always another opportunity.” This example shows how important it is to never look back on the past and use that to overthink things, but to keep moving forward because you can always do better than before. 

When it came to who kept Mathew on his game, he says, “My mom and grandma have helped me through the tough times because they always help me keep my head up and make me understand it’s not the end of the world.”  With the tough times that he experienced, he always had his mom and grandma to be there by his side to tell him not to give up and keep pushing. So having family or friends who believe in you and push you to strive for better, helps out so much. In the end of it all, football helped Mathew become a better version of himself. He says, “ Yes I would say football has helped me become who I am today because it’s showed me valuable life lessons and has helped me learn real world skills.” This goes to show that playing football has helped him with important lessons in life and skills that will soon help him in the future. 

One last athlete to shine a light on is Michael Valencia, he as well is on the Varsity Football team with the position of being a slot back and is captain alongside with his teammate Mathew Medina. Like all athletes on the Football team, it requires so much work and dedication. You have to take initiative and believe that you’re capable of making it big, if that’s what you’re striving for. Michael was definitely one of the athletes to want to make it far, take the time to show his hard work, and do everything he could. He says, “I think the hardest part of football is probably being injured. I haven’t had a full varsity season due to injuries.” Even though injuries are no joke, he still made it possible to push through it all. But he says, “I learned that I’m a team player. I also learned that I’m mentally tough, always trying to push myself more and more every chance I get.” Having a positive attitude and mindset has helped Michael pull through his Football season. Everything has to be done in a positive way, with everything you’ve got. When you say you’re gonna do something, do it as best as you can. 

When it came to what helped Michael through difficult times, he says, “What helped me is looking back to the past seasons and remembering what it felt like to have losing seasons. I didn’t want to feel that anymore, so I made sure to try my best to help the team succeed and have a good season.” This shows us that Michael used his past experiences to see what he could improve and work on to get better. He saw that when losing, he did not like the feeling, which persuaded him to put in the work it took to win. The thought of him knowing his team needed him, that helped him even more so that him and his team could succeed. 

In conclusion, with the success of each and every unique athlete, they all had very similar but different ways of what has helped them throughout their sport. It took their commitment and discipline within themselves to keep working, even once it got hard. Not everyone is capable of being strong minded and believing in themselves that they really can be great. But it takes one to say something and actually do it. These very few athletes are ones who put their all into something they wholeheartedly took the effort to work on because they had the drive to do so. You can too, if you believe that even when something isn’t easy, just know in the end, what doesn’t kill you, will only make you stronger.