People Who Have Influenced Me

There are a lot of people I look up to and try to emulate in some way and I thought I 'd write about a few of them.  I won't include all of the student-athletes who have a had a great effect on me. I'll leave out family as well. . 

I definitely look up to Coach Auriemma.  From watching and listening to him when I reported on women's basketball at UCONN I realized the importance of being myself, to chase perfection in order to catch excellence and to figure out what I do well and push to make myself better. 

I still haven't quite figured out what I am the best at, but I do know I need to make myself better. 

Another thing that I love about Geno is his sarcasm and ability to be charismatic and interesting.  I definitely try to stir the pot sometimes and be sarcastic. 

I look up to Coach Tsantiris because of how he approaches things.  I think he's a teacher.  He wants people to learn.  He also seems to me to be a man of many interests and is someone who understands the importance of balance.  You can work hard, but it's important to take a break and relax in order to be fresh. 

The other two things I admire in him are his commitment to academics.  He puts so much emphasis on the student-athletes doing coursework.  He is genuinely proud of his teams academic achievements and I think that's important and unique.   

Lastly I love his commitment to health and fitness.  He is a healthy eater.  I could learn a thing or two about that.  He is also active and I have so much respect for the fact that he can still physically play soccer with his friends. 

I look up to Mags because of how organized, structured and efficient she is.  She is very professional and I have a thing or two to work on.  I think she said it best when she said that I am mentally organized, but not always physically organized.  The older I have gotten the more I appreciate how she gets everything done. 

I look up to Rick Brooks.  He's a family friend, but he also taught me golf and waterskiing.  This man is a jack of all trades who is full of energy.  He's a great teacher who is also always curious about how to get better.  I haven't seen him for a while, but I learned so much on how to teach from how he taught me how to play golf and waterski.  I want to have as much energy and be as enthusiastic about life and about doing things as he is.  He makes me want to relax. 

My old personal trainer, Ali, is someone I look up to.  Most people have no idea how unhealthy and out of shape I was when I was in middle school.  I weighed a lot more then, than I do now.  I was so out of shape.  Ali got me to believe in myself and he made me a much better person.  He helped me become so much healthier.  I am so thankful for that. 

There are so many other people I could talk about here.  There are so many others that I have learned a great deal from, but I think that these are the top three people I have learned a lot from and want to emulate.