I believe athletics create a family. When you are with the same girls five days a week, going through the same hell with the same people; a bond is created. From practices at 6 A.M. to two hour lifts that you feel like falling over after. You win together, you lose together. I have been fortunate enough to find this sense of family within two of my sports teams. The team at Galway being the first. I fell in love with this sport the day I joined the Varsity Volleyball team my freshman year. I met upperclassmen that were more than willing to guide us as the younger players. The culture of the Galway team is one like any other. Possibly one of the most demanding teams a high school athlete could play on. Tournaments every Saturday, some three hours away, two games a week, practices and conditioning everyday occasionally including holidays. This culture taught me at a young age what it took to essentially make it in sports. But in doing this, I found some of the best people to be with through that experience. A team of fourteen girls giving it their all day in day out was truly inspirational. This has carried through to what now will be my senior year. Three years later and it’s still hard to accept. Coming off of a year where our team made it to the state finals, it is one hard to beat. Yet, our team is still ready to face the toughest schedule we have ever faced at Galway. Facing the top team in the state and one ranked nationally. I learned that facing adversity with girls with the same motivation, you create a family. But, this is only five months out of the year. I was blessed to find this in my club team as well. We have traveled to Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, D.C. , New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In doing this, we’ve had to prepare differently than we would have for our local tournaments, facing taller and more experienced teams. This club, Sideout Sports, is full of girls who give up four hours on their Friday night to make advances in their athletic career. This created an environment I had never experienced before. We have four nationals teams, each with 13 girls. With nationals ahead in a month, I have taken some time to reflect on this opportunity I have experienced. I realized having a bond with peers with the same goals created the idea of a family. I have been blessed with two opportunities to have a family not by relation but through athletics. It is undeniable that participating in sports allows young adults to create bonds and relationships that are able to face opposition and come out on top.