Sacrificing hours of sleep to strive for success

Sacrificing+hours+of+sleep+to+strive+for+success

MANY STUDENTS at Granger High are dedicated into their training for sports. However, not many people are willing to train both in the early morning and after school. In order to be great, a player has to put in more than just the required hours of conditioning and training.  

Luis Valencia (10) has a mindset that puts himself above the rest. His will to be the best he can be is also rubbing off on his friends and teammates. One of the main reasons for his hard training is so that he will be able to play his favorite sport. “The reason why I started to train was for soccer, trying to improve myself, trying to get that varsity spot,” Valencia said.

Valencia does a variety of basic workouts to improve on his skills. “I come in at 6:30 am everyday, in between laps, I do sets of push ups and situps, I also do planks and lunges and burpees,” Valencia said. Like many goals that are set, there is something that motivates the person to keep going when they feel like stopping and giving up.

“My mom is my motivation is because she works her tail off, she makes the sacrifices, I am just trying to help her out, latinos in West Valley City are not necessarily wealthy,” Valencia said. If anyone is wondering where Luis got his harding working traits, look no further than his mother.

When trying to prepare yourself for a sport, it is more of a mental challenge than a physical one. The physical part is a lot easier than the mental aspect. Having the mental toughness is being able to push oneself as an athlete and as a person.

Having mental toughness is more important than the physical traits, and Valencia understands the importance of it. “You have to have the mindset to push yourself when you want to stop, why have a low mentality to only run one lap, when you can have the mentality to add on more laps,” Valencia said.

Valencia is coming early in the morning everyday to improve on himself, and he is trying to convince his teammates to do the same in order to have success this upcoming season. “I have tried encouraging other people to come early, I know I can’t control their mindset, it’s all whether they have the hunger to get better and see how much it’s about soccer,” Valencia said.

Valencia has strong characteristic traits, and his hard-working mentality is one of the first things his friends notice about him. “He’s really hard working, dedicated, a fun guy to be around, but when it’s time to get serious, he can do it,” Martin Cruz (10) said.

“The first thing that I think of him is that he always has a positive mindset, he is also very hardworking, he doesn’t give up on what he wants, he keeps pushing, he is also a very humble person, he isn’t selfish, he thinks about other people, he is also motivational,” Jonathan Rodriguez (9) said.

“He is very loyal, open minded, he is a hard worker,” Alyssa Martinez (10) said.

Valencia’s hard-working personality is one of the many reasons his friends admire him. This is one of the reasons his teammates look up to him and seek his motivational support. “His sign of commitment in soccer and school, he doesn’t like the feeling of bad grades, he doesn’t like to be beat in soccer, he doesn’t like to lose at all,” Cruz said

“He influences other people to work hard and not to give up on what they want,” Rodriguez said.

Since starting his early and after school training, his teammates are already starting to see improvement in his game.  “You can see signs of improvements in his skills, not just in soccer, but also academically, he’s improving in general,” Cruz said.

Many students join sports in order to improve themselves academically and physically. However, it can also be for the reason to motivate one’s self by themself.  “He’s improved a lot, he started not knowing how to touch the ball, now he has a good performance, leaves all his efforts on the field and plays with all his heart,” Rodriguez said.

With Valencia having the mental toughness and hard-working traits, he will be able to find success in anything he puts his mind to.