Transcriber: Isabela Alves
Reviewer: Rahaf Abu Sieni I want you. All to imagine the adrenaline when
you are metres away from crossing the finish line. During a race
for Brentwood students, those at Interhouse Track last year
would remember this feeling well. That determination to cross a finish
line first for your house and your sibling house to proudly
lift up the Interhouse Trophy at the end of the year. Now look around you. Have you ever noticed the student
athletes who radiate confidence and optimism and always pull
out excellent grades? My name is Dara and today I
will be sharing with you the hidden connection between two
seemingly different worlds by diving into the question, how does athletic dedication
fuel academic success? I'm 16 years old. I haven't
been to the Olympics yet, but I have been going
to school for 11 years and during this time I have seen
so many people around me either give up their sport
to focus on academics, or give up academics to
pursue their sport. Little do they know, these two worlds
are actually interconnected. The National Federation of State High
School Associations reports that students who play a sport have higher GPAs than those who do not. In addition, over 97% of student
athletes graduate high school, which is 10% greater than those who
have never participated in sport. So how can our dedication to our athletics
fuel our academic success? Well, let me tell you my story. Since the moment I could walk. My dad shared his love for sports with me. Whether it was swimming, skiing,
volleyball or golf. Every sport I ever played was learned
with my dad by my side, as he could adapt from being
my coach to my teammate. At a young age, my dad
introduced me to his favorite sport and despite this photo, it’s golf. If you have ever golfed before, you would know that it is a sport that
demands a strong mental game as it calls for precision
and focus as you swing. Taking into consideration all the factors that could affect
your ball while it’s in the air, or calculating the slope of the green, it could be a mathematical
equation by itself. It was then that I realized
I could implement. The lessons learned to many aspects
of my academic journey. Golf taught me the value of continuous
improvement and learning. Perfecting a skill starts with
building a strong foundation. My first years of golf were all
about building good technique. And maybe for you it's the rowing stroke
penalty kicks in soccer or the perfect pitch. But whatever it may be,
the journey doesn't simply end there. The step from being a recreational
player to a professional is through
continuous improvement. Thousands of hours are
poured into refining the skills that we have built up in order
to perform at the best of our abilities. My coach Brett always says, get
better today, not tomorrow. This is the perfect example of our
familiar habit procrastination. Many of us have put off studying
until the last minute, where we then cram facts into
our brains to defeat tests, but only to forget them right after. This method may work in unit tests, but when your teacher places
a sheet of paper down on your desk titled cumulative in bold
letters, then what will you do? I learned from sports that there is no
such thing as cramming new skills the night before game day, because every single skill or trick takes
consistent practice to perfect. Taking this into my academics, I started putting forth the effort
to not simply memorize, but understand the meaning
behind the formulas. The next lesson I learned is the
importance of developing a strategy. In sports, just like in life, failure isn’t the end. It's merely an opportunity
to learn and improve. Hitting a bad shot in golf won't
stop you from shooting the lowest round of your life.
But you know what will? That crucial putt at the end of each hole. Because all the shots leading you
to the green are your journey, but putting is how you will reach
your final destination. I used to be the person who
had had straight to the driving range during practice, hitting bucket after bucket until
I was hitting perfect draws. But after I realized the
importance of putting, I started devoting more than half of
my time to practicing on the green. My friend Barney also golfs, and she has just started her freshman year
playing golf at Harvard University. Yep, you heard me right, Harvard. So I asked, Barney, how has golf
impacted your academic journey? She told me that it has enhanced her
analytical and decision making skills, which she then translates directly to
a school setting where she analyzes and makes decisions
effectively under a time crunch. Therefore, the key is to develop a sound
strategy to tackle your goals, because every setback can
transform into a great result. It's a lot like my journey with science. Back in elementary school, science
was my worst subject. I just couldn't understand it. But starting high school, I applied
the mindset I learned from golf and slowly began to love science. And the results definitely showed as
science was my best grade last year. The final lesson I would like to share
with you today is not only avoiding procrastination. But enhancing the
ability of time management. Crossing over to the reality of a student athlete's lifestyle
involves packed schedules. As we head straight to practice
after school and start on our homework late at night when we finally get back from practice. But once we conquer these challenges
and achieve the balance of both, we now have a unique advantage. The mastery of time management. This acquired skill paves
our way to success, allowing us to make use of time
efficiently in both worlds. As I was watching the 2022
Winter Olympics, I discovered my future role model Eileen
GU declared a triple threat
in the freeskiing world. Eileen is not only a triple
Olympic medalist. A model seen on the cover of Vogue, but
also a student at Stanford University. The student athlete lifestyle
keeps Eileen on her toes as she grasps every spare
second of her life. Such as doing homework on the long drives
up to the mountain on the weekends. Her secret is to focus wholeheartedly
on the task at hand. At school. All that was going through her mind
was calculus and physics, rather than how to do a double cork. My goal today on the Ted stage is to tell
you that you don't have to choose between your passions. You can draw strength from
your athletics to succeed academically. And for those of you who may not like
sports in general, give it a try. Don't be too quick to dismiss athletics
as a burden to your academics. So the next time when it comes to
should I try out for this team or will this suffer? The answer is no. Try out for that team, play that sport. Because athletics and
academics are interconnected. So whether you’re an athlete,
musician, scientist or artist. Embrace athletics and all the sweat,
tears and laughs that come with it. And apply the lessons learned
to all aspects of your life. The field is yours. The classroom is yours. In
the future is yours. Just remember that athletics indeed feel
your academic success. Thank you. (Applause)
