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As another school year comes to a close, so does the athletics that take place in the Spring with only a handful of athletes still competing at the state track and field competition this week.

The one thing that has really stood out to me from a distance has been the impressive number of student athletes that have excelled in their sports and for that have been extended scholarships to schools for their post secondary education.

There have been football players like Elizabethton’s Jake Roberts and Bryson Rollins who have received scholarships to ETSU and Maryville College respectively.

Softball players Madisun Pritchard and Sadie Shoun have signed to continue slinging the softball at Johnson University and Milligan College. Maddie Lingerfelt has also signed to play for Southwest Virginia Community College.

King has about filled their roster with cheerleaders from all the county schools as Carter County ladies continue to show their best stuff in earning these opportunities.

Hampton’s Chloe Bradley has become the first cheerleader in over 17 years to make the ETSU cheering squad.

Reaghan Curde will be running cross country at LMU while Conner Johnson will be a part of the University of Tennessee track and field team throwing the shot put.

Elizabethton’s three senior baseball players have landed new homes for their college career as Zac Workman, Ethan Meier, and Gage Treadway have inked to play next season.

Also, Cyclone fisherman Zeb Roberts landed a scholarship to continue to chase down the big bass with Catawba County Community College.

I just wanted to briefly touch on these athletes as there are also others that have signed or waiting to sign to continue their athletic careers as they have just walked across the stage as graduates at their respective school.

What does this mean? It means that Carter County athletes are hard working kids who had goals at a very young age to follow their dreams to turn their favorite sport into an opportunity to expand their education.

Why should this matter? Because there are other youngsters out there that are hitting the T-ball fields, soccer fields, and even the water to start growing those lofty dreams and goals just like these afore mentioned athletes have.

They had to work hard to achieve these dreams and they had friends and families to stand by their side to encourage them at each stage of the way. They now have these athletes to look up to as role models to follow in their footsteps and to achieve even more.

What’s next? Don’t ever tell anyone that they cannot achieve their goals especially those young tots that might not have the skills right now to become a collegiate athlete but with the right support, encouragement, and finding the right role model for them, they too can reach to the stars.

And if you don’t believe that, just step back and think about the winner of the Kentucky Derby who entered as the #21 horse at 80 to 1 odds who no else but its owner had even given that horse the faintest chance of winning the biggest horse race in the world, but he did.

Never tell someone they cannot achieve anything they set their mind to. Just trust the process and pray daily those dreams will be realized.