Athletics have not just impacted my life, but rather they shaped and molded me into the person I have become today. Through my participation in multiple sports growing up, I developed the core values that I try to live by each and every day which include discipline, responsibility, loyalty, teamwork, and ownership for one's own actions.

One of the most unique things that I enjoy about athletics is the extreme emotion that it promotes. There isn't anything like the exultation of winning a championship, and the joy that is experienced by everyone involved: the players, coaches, parents, and fans.

The sense of pride and accomplishment is intoxicating.

Some of my most painful memories have come from being on the losing end of those big contests, and feeling the pain of disappointment and failure. However, it was during those difficult moments that I learned the most about my personal character. It is my belief that people are not defined by who they are when things are going well, but rather who they are and how they deal with times of failure and defeat.

I believe that the "roller coaster ride," of athletics is what life is truly all about.

Athletics has taught me that "if better is possible, then good is not enough." It has enabled me to take on an approach to life, both professionally and personally, in which I am not striving to be just better than someone else, but to strive to make myself better on a daily basis.

This philosophy culminated for me by being part of a team that won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2004. I had the opportunity to be part of a unique group who constantly worked and strived for their personal best and in the end, for one moment in time, we finished as just that, the best.

My earliest childhood memories involve my participation in soccer, baseball, track, backyard football, basketball and any other game that I and my friends could make up that involved a ball of some sort. I thoroughly enjoyed playing all sports, and didn't even realize how many life lessons that I was learning through just having fun.As I grew and matured through the years, being an athlete became my identity. I took a tremendous amount of pride in my participation in sports.Athletics provided me with a solid path to success. It was because of my involvement in athletics that I was able to receive both a bachelor's and master's degree from Slippery Rock University, and eventually led to a career as a college basketball coach.I feel so blessed to be able to have a career in which I look forward to going to work every single day because it isn't work to me, just another opportunity to play and have fun as I did as a kid.

I would advise children to participate in as many sports activities as possible. Parents should encourage their children to participate in athletics as it will promote both physical and emotional health.Participation in sports allows children to have fun while learning many life lessons. Sports activities promote the use of imagination, physical and emotional fitness, and they help children to learn the importance of discipline, teamwork and responsibility.It is a proven fact that children who participate in sports develop a strong identity and sense of self that will enable them to have the courage to make decisions for themselves and to lead the type of life that they choose.

Heather Kearney, a coach at California (Pa.) University, works with players during a game in February 2002.