Athlete Q&A - Emma Phillips

My name is Emma Phillips, I am 16 years old and going into 11th grade. I currently run cross country and track and am on the dance team. I also do ballet on a pre-professional company outside of school.

How long have you been an athlete? How do sports impact your life?

I have played sports my entire life starting at the age of six. I have gone from soccer to gymnastics to ballet to running, having loved my journey through each one. Sports impact my life through what I do everyday and the relationships and friendships that I have. I have done sports all my life and the way that I see it is that sports gives you a sense of community and friendships with others that have the same interests with you. Between running and dance I now see how these activities and the continuation of these activities will benefit my physical and mental health.

What do you love about being an athlete?

I love being part of a sport because I love physical activity and the physical and mental benefits that it brings. I love running because I get to be around my friends and peers who enjoy what I do. I run within school but no matter how fast or slow I am I love that I am able to continue this activity for the rest of my life. Ballet is so different yet the sense of community and friendship is just as strong and supportive, which I love. Ballet is difficult but it just makes me feel calm and when I go everyday it is like a retreat where I don’t have to think about anything else. And for me, being a multi-sport athlete, I love getting the different benefits from each one.

Describe any important challenges or setbacks you have faced during your athletic career. What did those experiences teach you, and how have they influenced where you are today?

When I was younger I did competitive gymnastics and then at the age of twelve I got very sick. I had to relearn how to walk and do basic daily activities, as you can imagine this affected my athletic ability. I went back to gymnastics after my recovery and was not able to do what was very easy for me to do before. I soon realized that it was not an attainable activity for me anymore, it was also very scary when I went back. That was hard for a 12 year old to handle but now looking back on that time of my life I feel so lucky to be where I am now. I struggle within running because my right side is weakened due to my illness and with ballet I struggle due to my weakness and right hand tremor that developed. I let myself feel bad and less due to this but then I have to look back on four years ago when I was in the hospital and doing physical and occupational therapy, barely able to walk. I look back on this time and although it makes me feel angry about the things I still struggle with today, it makes me feel happy that I am able to do these activities at all.

What roles have mental and/or physical health and wellness played in your journey so far?

Mentally, exercise helps me to stay in a positive mood and attitude throughout my day and I love that it just clears my head of negativity so I can start or end my day clear of all of my negative thoughts. My mental happiness also ties into my physical happiness. Throughout the years as my physical health has improved so has my mental health. It makes me feel happy and accomplished when I achieve a new goal within my sport or when I do something that I didn’t know I was physically able to accomplish.