So many teens will play a sport at some point in their high school careers, yet so few will play that sport at the next level. Why? Why would they commit to something that will end in four years? What makes them stick with it? Simply put, for the love of the game.
Three seniors, Adam Adair, Tyler Craig, and Norah Lammers all played their respective sports for most of their lives yet they represent the majority of high school athletes who won’t play a varsity sport in college.
Adair started playing baseball when he was about seven years old. His first team in some ways resembled his last, “I played for like a pretty intense travel team with some of my guys that I’m playing with now, which is kind of fun, pretty full circle,” Adair reflected.
Craig began playing football in early elementary school and got hooked when he first saw his older brother play for Pioneer’s “little brother.” “I saw my brother play when he was in high school, playing for Skyline High School,” said Craig. “When I saw the game at first I was like, wow, this might be something I want to take seriously in the future.”
Lammers started a little later than some in sixth grade when she was encouraged by her friends to start playing field hockey. “Why not give it a shot?” She asked herself. Soon after, her passion for the game really started to pick up, “I really fell in love with it right when I started actually, just because it’s so fun,” she said.
Competitive sports can be ruthless, though, as Adair learned when he got cut from that same team he started with just a couple of years later. It wasn’t all bad though as that moment sparked his love of baseball forever, “I never wanted to feel that way again. I just was completely dedicated to baseball,” said Adair. “I grew up loving it and it just feels good to love a game (like that).”
Many high school athletes would do anything to play their sport in college, even knowing that they will most likely come up short.
Lammers didn’t have high hopes for playing in college, but she continued playing field hockey because she loved it. “I knew I never was (good enough) to play at the college level, but it still made me happy to play, so I just played it for fun,” she said.
Adair came to the realization pretty quickly as well that the path to high level college ball was going to be a whole lot different compared to where he was. ”I’m not as good as some of these guys, (they’re) bigger, faster, (it’s a) whole different game,“ said Adair. “I felt like I’ve always loved baseball and obviously I’ve been a pretty good player, but there’s always another level to it that I didn’t think I had.”
The reality of not playing in college was pretty hard on Craig as football truly was his passion. “It was very rough. I’m not gonna lie. I did want to keep on playing,” he said. Craig had to weigh the pros and cons of his future if he were to continue playing, ”I had to look at my future and the people that were around me and the situation…the outcome wasn’t gonna be too pretty,” he said.
Choosing between school and athletics is a big decision to make for many young athletes, including Adair, who decided to choose education over baseball. “I was realistic with myself and understood that I probably was not going to be able to play baseball at a school in a division or conference I’d want to attend for academics,” said Adair. “I feel like academics always come first with me.”
Unlike Adair and Craig, Lammers never really had aspirations for playing at the next level. “I never wanted (to play in college) just more for fun,” she said. When she had to come to terms with the fact she wouldn’t play in college, Lammers said she was “fine with it.”
But sports aren’t always about competition, the lessons kids get while playing sports are some of the most important ones anyone can learn. Adair learned from his coach that there are always things that are bigger and more important than baseball, “(Our coach is) trying to teach us to be a better man as opposed to just the best baseball player we can be,” Adair said. “I feel like that really resonated with me. I’ve taken that to heart.”
Craig learned that everybody controls their own destiny, the only way to get better is to truly want to get better and put in the work. “Nobody can do it but you. Not your teammates, not your coaches, not your family members, not your girlfriend,” he said. “The only person that can put in the work is you. If you want to be consistent with something, you want to put your work into it, you’re gonna put your all into it.”
Lammers struggled with going to field hockey every day during her senior season, but a lesson she learned during her career gave her motivation to continue playing. “One big (lesson) is never giving up,” Lammers said. “I knew that I wasn’t playing in college and I knew (going to practice) was getting a little rough. But I still played on and I’m really glad I stuck with it because it’s just such a great environment to be a part of.”
All three still love their respective sports and would love to pursue more baseball, football, and field hockey related activities in the future, whatever it may be.
Adair still loves baseball including the people he meets playing it and wants to continue his passion for it in his near and far future. “I would want to maybe get into coaching hitting a little bit just for just for some fun on the side,” said Adair. “As well as playing club ball next year; it’d be a good, fun experience just because being on a team is fun.”
Lammers plans on continuing to play field hockey in her future, just for the fun of the game. “I might join a small low key club just because I might miss it. It might be good to get back into it,” she said. “I also might coach a little league or something. That might be fun.”
Craig has some very ambitious backup plans if his future takes a little turn, expressing the desire to play at a level past college. “I might show up and I try to show out in the XFL, USFL one time,” Craig said, adding that this is only a backup plan, “That’s only if trade school doesn’t work out,” he said. And why not? He loves the game.