SAC Sound-off: It’s not about Perfection
April 25, 2012
“Practice makes perfect” is just one of the many phrases that inspire one to work harder toward the goal of obtaining perfection.
Though these words may be used to inspire perfection, that is not their true purpose. Perfection doesn’t exist, but the inspiration to reach for higher goals does.
My senior year opened my eyes up to the actualization that trying to be perfect was not what sports had been teaching me all along. What I was meant to take from them were the valuable lessons of dedication, drive, teamwork, and communicating skills.
High school sports are more than a tool for athletic development. They are a medium for creating mentally-strong people who can execute in difficult situations faced later in life. Not that one may perform perfectly in these hypothetical situations, but that one may be able to handle situations that require thinking outside of the box.
How great it would be for all student-athletes to know and realize these secrets – because for the ones that feel the pressure to be perfect, it may be a much-needed relief.
I have strived to be the best I can be, and I have achieved success by doing so. However, with that success came pressure to be perfect in an athletic sense.
My junior year I was named all-state in basketball and I won the MHSAA Division 4 discus championship. Negative comments from others during my senior year about my basketball games or field events in track used to make me feel insignificant and insecure. That was before I realized I have achieved great heights and I will continue to raise my pinnacle as long as I stay positive.
I will never be absolutely perfect; I’m only human, and the best anyone can do is try his or her hardest to never back down from a task at hand.
High school athletics have molded me from a perfection-seeking mess to a confident, realistic, and optimistic person that finally realizes nothing I do in life is about perfection – it is about the climb of simply becoming a stronger person.
What I can strive for in the realm of perfection is a perfect attitude. The contagiousness of a good attitude will not only keep me optimistic, but it can influence others around me to pursue that positive mental toughness that is so often tested in sports.
Lena Madison, New Buffalo, senior
- Sports: Volleyball, basketball, track and field
- Non-sports activities: Student Government, Spanish Honors Society, National Honors Society, Special Olympics and Senior Olympics volunteer
- Must-see TV: "Lost"
- One shining moment: Winning the MHSAA Division 4 championship in discus last spring.
- What's next: My plan for next year is to attend Notre Dame. I will major in pre-medicine and be on the track team.
- My favorite part of game day is: ... right before every game, my team has a dance party. We get our nerves out of our systems by dancing them away!
PHOTO: Madison accepts her first-place medal at last season's Division 4 Track and Field Final. (Photo courtesy of Lena Madison.)
Performance of the Week: Richland Gull Lake's Lilah Smith
May 2, 2024
Lilah Smith ♦ Richland Gull Lake
Junior ♦ Soccer
Smith scored both goals as Gull Lake defeated Portage Central 2-1 on April 24. Gull Lake was ranked No. 2 in Division 2 at the time (now No. 3), and Portage Central remains No. 3 in Division 1 after suffering its lone loss this season to the Blue Devils, who have since improved to 8-1-2 overall this spring.
After earning all-state honorable mention as a freshman and making the second team as a sophomore, Smith moved from center back to midfield this season, first in more of an attacking role and now as a defensive mid. Standing 6 feet tall, her first goal against Central was a header off a corner kick, and the game-winner came on a second-half penalty shot. She plays basketball as well and is committed to continue playing soccer collegiately at Toledo.
@mhsaasports ⚽️POW: Lilah Smith #soccer #gulllake #letsgo #goal #part1 #highschoolsports #tiktalk #interview #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
@mhsaasports ⚽️POW: Lilah Smith #tiktalk #questiontime #part2 #parenttrap #drake #fire #pineapple #greysanatomy #performanceoftheweek #mistudentaid #fyp #MHSAA ♬ original sound - MHSAA
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Past 2023-24 Honorees
April 25: Mason Mayne, Lawton track & field - Report
April 18: Alli Wright, Jenison softball - Report
April 11: Chloe Wishart, Trenton soccer - Report
March 28: Jenna Maki, Ishpeming basketball - Report
March 22: Jaremiah Palmer, Niles Brandywine basketball - Report
March 15: Leah Hodge, North Farmington gymnastics - Report
March 8: Darius Marines, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling - Report
March 1: Rylee Smith, Zeeland West bowling - Report
Feb. 22: Caleb Lewandowski, Traverse City West skiing - Report
Feb. 15: Jadin Mix, Onaway basketball - Report
Feb. 8: Onalee Wallis, Cadillac skiing - Report
Feb. 1: Abbey DeGraw, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek competitive cheer - Report
Jan. 25: Ewan Todd, Riverview swimming - Report
Jan. 18: Ashley Weller, Jackson Northwest basketball - Report
Jan. 11: Michael Baldwin, Saginaw Arthur Hill wrestling - Report
Dec. 15: Jena Fijolek, Fenton bowling - Report
Dec. 8: Sophia Wagner, Escanaba gymnastics - Report
Dec. 1: Isaiah Marshall, Southfield Arts & Technology football - Report
Nov. 24: Sarah Bradley, Clarkston Everest Collegiate volleyball - Report
Nov. 17: Kalieb Osborne, Waterford Mott football - Report
Nov. 10: Tekalegn Vlasma, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian soccer - Report
Nov. 3: Colton Kinnie, Birmingham Seaholm football - Report
Oct. 27: Lauren Timpf, Macomb Lutheran North golf - Report
Oct. 20: Alena Li, Okemos golf - Report
Oct. 13: Seth Norder, Grand Haven cross country - Report
Oct. 5: Paige Anderson, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer golf - Report
Sept. 29: MacKenzie Bisballe, Lake City volleyball - Report
Sept. 22: Jhace Massey, Gladwin football - Report
Sept. 15: Kaylee Draper, Sturgis swimming - Report
Sept. 8: Owen Jackson, Traverse City St. Francis tennis - Report
Sept. 1: Rachel Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
PHOTO Gull Lake's Lilah Smith (16) rises above the defense to connect on a header against Portage Central. (Action photo by Cindy Corstange/The Open Shutter Photography; headshot by Alan Gawel/Main Street Portraits.)