Growing up playing sports in Portage was a great experience for me. I played every sport from soccer, to basketball, to baseball, to track, to wrestling, and cross country. While each sport is different from the next, every sport was played for one reason: to represent what Portage was. Every sport aimed to represent what having pride in a city meant.
Portage Little League and Portage Youth Basketball were what really started my sports career.
Playing baseball at the little league fields in Portage really made me realize the value that friendship holds. A lot of the kids I played little league with are still some of my closest friends. While we were rivals on the field, we were best friends off the field. After playing against each other for the whole season, we all played on the All-Star team together, which led to our rivalries with Valparaiso and Chesterton.
Basketball was also pretty much the same. Every kid in Portage played every sport because that is what kids do. Portage was a very sport-centered town, so a lot of the kids growing up played every sport they could. Portage Youth Basketball at Fegely Middle School led to my opponents becoming my teammates in middle school and high school.
While I did play just about every sport growing up, cross country and track & field were the sports that really allowed me to represent Portage well. There was no youth cross country and track & field in Portage, but my elementary school, Jones, had a “mileage club,” which I still credit with initiating my passion for running. Beginning in middle school, I still played basketball and baseball but had just begun running and I figured out that I was pretty good at it. After playing several sports in middle school, I decided to focus on cross country and track & field once I began high school.
Portage sports led me to where I am today. A Division I cross country and track & field athlete at DePaul University. Playing every sport available in Portage taught me what dedication was. I always stayed focused and dedicated to every sport that I played since I began. Sports really allowed me to recognize what Portage is all about: a hardworking, dedicated, focused, and determined city. Every sport I played displayed this whether it was finishing a 5k in cross country or having the last at-bat of a baseball game.
Whenever I am challenged in a difficult workout or run in college, I always remember to stay dedicated and remember what I learned playing sports in Portage. Dedication has always gone a long way for me, and for that, I have Portage to thank.