By: Kieran Hogan, Journalism I student
HERSHEY- Swish; the sound all basketball players love. But this swish was extra special. It was Nikki Fisher’s sixth three pointer, a new District Ⅲ record.
This record, according to Fisher, would not have been possible without motivation from coaches. In a survey taken of 30 Hershey High School students, 19 said that they are student athletes. Out of those 19 athletes, 18 have a coach or professional athlete who inspires them. According to Fisher, motivation is what drives athletes to excel.
Nikki Fisher is a World History teacher at Hershey High School, the same high school she once attended. Fisher played basketball, field hockey, and softball for Hershey. She started basketball in seventh grade and eventually went on to play at Muhlenberg College. Fisher grew up around basketball. Her family had season tickets to watch her older cousin play ball for Maryland University from 1977 to 1981.
“I looked up to my cousin, Greg Manning, who is still listed as one of the top five shooting guards in Maryland history,” said Fisher. She played the same position as Manning, point guard and shooting guard, which is part of the reason she emulated him so much.
“He was a smart player on the court,” Fisher said, explaining why she wanted to be just like her role model, “…and that is what I wanted to be as well. I wanted to be a student of the game.”
Manning was, according to Fisher, one of the only University of Maryland basketball players to graduate with a degree.
Manning’s work ethic and academic skills were something else that could inspire and motivate Fisher to do her best on and off the court, field, or diamond.
But how does motivation impact student athletes?
According to Fisher, motivation from coaches is absolutely essential in leadership. “Without motivation, athletes would not want to perform,” said Fisher.
As a former student athlete, she knows that the absence of motivation and inspiration in a team setting can create a lack of drive to succeed for athletes.
Some students have had coaches that seem like they just don’t care or don’t even want to be there, which makes playing sports more difficult. Those students might find it frustrating if they want to improve their game, but their coach isn’t providing that extra encouragement to help them do so. Those students then might even be tempted to give up in an important moment when their unenthusiastic coach lacks the ability to fire them and their teammates up. Freshman football player, Casey Shipman, is one of those students.
Shipman has only played two full seasons of football. And yet, he loves the game. But this previous 2015 season, Shipman felt frustrated with the lack of enthusiasm and motivation from his coaches. For the most part, Shipman said while he likes his coaches, many of them lack the ability to help kids improve their playing abilities.
His first year of football, in eighth grade, was no problem for him. Before every game, coach Mark Painter would deliver a speech to inspire him and his young teammates. Then, just before the players stormed the field, a few would lead a pump-up chant to get everyone riled up.
