Alief ISD Winter 2024-25

PREGAME Never Saw Yourself as an Athlete or a Band Member? Not every person who excels at sports or playing an instrument has prior experience playing that sport or that instrument. In fact, many participants in every sport never saw themselves as a player of a particular sport or even dreamed they would ever learn to play music. Sometimes you just have to look at extracurricular activities as an organized way to learn something new, have fun participating, and sharpen your overall well rounded experiences through life. Talent is defined as a natural aptitude or skill. Your talent might be doing lots of things ‘ok’. Meaning, if you try different sports along the way, you may find that you excel at some and just are not thrilled with playing other our sports. One talent might be that you have a special aptitude of playing on teams and excel at the teamwork part of sports. Or, you might be a solo artist with music and not excel at playing in harmony or synchronously with others but you soar when playing solo. No matter what sports or skills you try and find rewarding, the great thing about

going to school is that you do get a new start each year to try something new. You don’t have to go into any sport thinking – hey, I am a soccer player, not a pole vaulter, or, I’m a drummer, not a horn player. You can work with your coaches and fine arts teachers and sharpen one skill while attempting a totally new one! Sports and fine arts are a blessing to have access to while in school because they also give you another outlet to make friends and have lasting memories about your shared experiences that you will remember the rest of your life. Try new things and challenge yourself to learn new things – maybe playing sports while being in the band or orchestra is your balance! Not everybody great athlete or artist saw themselves as that person in the start of their experiences, but as time progressed, they began to see themselves excel.

Thank you for being Alief Proud! Charles Woods Alief ISD Deputy Supt of Business Services