Photo by chelsea ferenando

Many characteristics seem vital in sports. Trust, passion, and discipline are the three that the Dripping Springs Tigers embody. These are extremely important but the one that stands out from the rest seems to be an athletes work ethic. Many athletes in both Dripping Springs and the word are born with insurmountable skills and often become the very faces we see on our varsity teams. Others have to develop their skill over their entire career before they can become effective. The simple question is this, is work ethic important?

Many professional athletes come out of the womb as budding stars and never have to work hard in their life to achieve their maximum potential. One college basketball player named Dante Taylor was the eleventh ranked player in the 2009 high school class and committed to Pittsburgh University. Taylor was extremely athletic but never put in the work to be great. “Taylor hasn’t developed his skills enough, particularly as an offensive player, to live up to the considerable expectations he has had on his shoulders,” DraftExpress said. Other players like Stephen Curry has made the jump from being an unranked basketball player in the 2006 high school class to a two-time Most Valuable Player Award winner and a future Hall of Famer.

How did he do this? It is simple: the will to be great. Before the 2009 NBA Draft Steph began to work with trainer Brandon Payne. Their drills were immaculate as it involved dribbling heavier balls and tossing and catching tennis balls, all while dribbling with his opposite hand. Curry also maintained a constant 193 pounds, which Payne found he was most effective at, by eating lean meats and greens for a one year span.

If you had to pick between these two players in high school, Taylor would be the obvious choice as he was 6’9” and throwing down dunks from outside the lane, and Curry, who was known as “a knockdown shooter and nothing else” would have been forgotten. Several years better Taylor no longer plays basketball and Curry is chasing his 3rd NBA Championship.

Work ethic is essential and those who say it has no impact must face the music and realize that, with work ethic, your athletic dreams can turn into realities.

Written by Rigley Willis, staff writer