At TeamWILD, we often hear from people who describe their athletic lifestyle and then tell us, “but I’m not an athlete!”
We firmly believe that you are an Athlete and that if you start to consider yourself an athlete first and a person with diabetes second, your health and diabetes management will improve along with your athletic performance. We thought it might help you get to this belief in yourself to read definitions of Athlete from our coaches, staff and athletes.
An Athlete is…
I have been thinking about what makes someone an athlete for years now. I’ve struggled with calling myself an athlete, even after I’d done several difficult triathlons and many 100 mile bike rides, I wasn’t sure I was an athlete. I’m not fast, and I don’t win prizes, so, how could I be an athlete? Finally, after working with coaches and after lots of thinking about it, I decided: I am an athlete. And all of a sudden how I looked at life changed. I was empowered and excited about taking care of myself. So, then I thought, maybe I should encourage others to mentally decide they were athletes FIRST, rather than wait until some elusive athletic goal had been achieved. With that in mind, I define athlete to be someone who puts training, exercise, their sport and their body FIRST. In my world, it’s about a mental commitment to physical performance. From that commitment emerges motivation and drive to take care of ones self with exquisite care. Setting a goal to achieve also focuses athletes, so, set that goal and then make a plan to get there! All of us can be athletes! – Mari Ruddy
An athlete is someone who is always striving to be better. It’s someone who looks to push their limits and redefine them. An athlete is someone who enjoys being healthy, sharing their passion for sport with others and isn’t afraid to try new things. – Kali Abel
An athlete is someone who is willing to get out there and give their chosen sport(s) a go. To put in the time during training to prepare the body for what lies ahead. Someone who knows what they want and they are not afraid to go after it no matter what challenges may lie in front of them. An athlete pushes the boundaries, they are persistent and have a craving for being better. – Jarrod Fritsch
An athlete to me is anyone who gets up and moves around. It does not have to be formal exercise, but living an active life rather than that of a couch potato typically falls into my Athlete definition. Now if someone participates in training programs with set goals and constantly works to improve their physical well being via exercise to me that person is a “super star” athlete! – Tiffany Briggs
I don’t think I actually considered myself an athlete until I ran my first 5K, and even then I questioned how I looked as a runner compared to those who really “looked” like runners. But I realized a person who participates regularly in a sport, of their choice, and does it with conviction and enjoyment is a true athlete, no matter how fast or slow. I think there are many types of athletes. What defines the individual athlete will always differ. I also think that as long as you are putting effort into moving with purpose you are an athlete. A person who run/walks a “running” event is still an athlete. They have trained using the technique that works for them to move ahead and finish the race. – Jennifer Smith
Too many people tie too much unnecessary meaning to the word “athlete”. If you asked me how I define a runner, I’d say it’s someone who runs, simple as that. So an athlete is just someone who goes out and participates in a sport. I guess there’s a component of participating semi-regularly, but that’s it. It’s not about how fast, how far, or how many of your friends you can beat. You’re already beating all of the people who couldn’t get themselves out the door. So get out there and participate. That’s all you need to be an athlete. – Michael Kelly
An athlete is someone who uses physical components such as strength, speed, flexibility, power, and agility to perform a task. An athlete continues to strive to reach a goal – whether it may be to improve or compete in a certain task, sport, or event. – Lyndsay Riffe
Athletes set performance goals and are able to focus and train consistently to meet those goals, no matter what the goal is. – Nicole Freedman
To me, you are an athlete if physical activity is an integral part of your life. ”An integral part of your life” means you have a planned approach to working out and you (mostly) stick to the plan. You don’t have to compete to be an athlete. You don’t have to say you are an athlete. You don’t have to participate in one of the mainstream “sports.” A person who does yoga or pilates or tai kwan do or …fill in the blank… is an athlete. Athletes come in all ages, shapes, sizes and abilities. – Lynnda Best-Wiss
An athlete is anyone who participates regularly in a sport. “Athlete”
refers specifically to an individual with strong all-around athletic
ability that indicates the potential to succeed at multiple positions. – Amy McGuire
I think the word “Athlete” scares some people, maybe painting a picture of the athletes we’re seeing on TV. But for me, an athlete is anyone that moves regularly – and more importantly, someone who uses the time they’re not moving to improve on the time they are moving. – Scott K. Johnson
Anyone who makes a conscious choice to participate in a sport or physical activity and places a priority on that practice is an athlete in my book. – Heather Leide
I never considered myself an athlete until I was like 22 years old! Being an athlete, in my opinion, has nothing to do with competitions or trophies, it’s about having confidence and commitment to whatever form of sport you love the most! Even if you go running three days a week but never step foot into an official race, you are an athlete. An athlete is someone who makes exercise a priority in their life, and looks forward to challenging themselves. – Ginger Vieira
Anyone who regularly engages in a physical activity, whether that be walking, running, boxing, swimming, golf, etc. – Sarah Worah
Pushing yourself, staying healthy, feeding the body health to achieve
performance for your own personal goals. – Mara Schwartz
