The Locker Room

“The Locker Room”

"The mind of an athlete is a powerful weapon. My weapon

begins working each time I step

into the locker room. A special room, my room, where my

pregame rituals always remain

the same. It is in this room where I first take seat

on the bench, when I mentally begin

preparing myself for the game. I begin with a thought

process which tells me there are two

kinds of athletes in this world: Athletes who set goals

and meet them. And athletes who set

goals but never act on them. Myself, I am an athlete,

born and raised. I act on the goals I

set for myself! As I begin to undress the layers of

life which matters no more, I remind myself

how lucky I really am. How lucky I am to have my health.

How lucky I am to have been

given these abilities to play this game that I love

so much. But most of all, how lucky I am to

dress myself with pride in this uniform once again.

As I lace up my shoes and look around

the room, I pray that my teammates have similar thoughts.

I pray that they understand the

significance of this room. That this is our meeting place.

The place where we have shared

so many good times, but also helped one another get through the bad.

The place where we have come together again to prepare

ourselves for another fight of our lives. I have now

fine-tuned my weapon, and I am ready to make my goals

become reality. I am ready to go out there and play

this game as if it were the last game I were ever able to play. I reflect

upon one final thought: How thankful I am for the

opportunity to once again enter and leave

"The Locker Room."