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Dominic Dewey
Ms. Coco
English 1001
16 February 2016
Audience: My audience for this essay is targeted at student-athletes.
Preface: The cut and paste exercise changed my focus, and I have made tremendous changes to
my paper overall. First, I was constantly moving paragraphs around trying to make the flow of
the paper sound as best as it could be. I moved them around over and over again like I was
putting a puzzle together. I decided to move paragraph six from the beginning of my paper after
two to the middle to keep my focus on my idols prevalent throughout. Second, I had one of my
peers proofread it. The organization of my paper was greatly affected by moving paragraphs
around; for example I switched the paragraphs to work in chronological order. I believe this
organizational method keeps the focus strong on the way sports have influenced me in my
everyday life. I question some of my revisions because I cut a paragraph out, and I am not sure
on the length. My biggest concerns are the length of the paper, the word use and not using vivid
adjectives and verbs, and lastly the focus that it stays on point.

Athletes
1: When I was just a young child, I wanted nothing more in the world than to be a
professional athlete. All day I was outside doing some type of physical activity. I had two other
very competitive brothers, and we pushed each other every day. We played football in the fall,
basketball in the winter, and baseball in the spring. I desired to be the best at my sport. I never
wanted to settle for second place. Nobody could tell me that I would not be a professional
athlete.
2: I idolized people like Peyton Manning, quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts, and
LeBron James, one of the best basketball players of the time. With a house of all boys, sports

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were all we grew up watching. My mind was constantly focused on these athletes. Drew was the
quarterback of my favorite football team, the New Orleans Saints. I would even get to watch
Drew Brees in person at the Super Dome because my dad had season tickets to all the home
football games. These tickets have been in my family for generations. One of my favorite
childhood memories was receiving Drew Brees wristband he played with in a game against
Peyton Manning. At the end of the game he turned around and threw his wristband to the crowd,
and I captured it. These athletes were my obsession because they were the best.
3: While none of my brothers and I became professional athletes, I played sports up until
college. In high school, the competiveness only became more intense. Following my older
brother, I decided to join the wrestling team. I attended almost every one of his meets to support
him. Eventually, I began to contemplate whether wrestling might be the sport for me. I decided
wrestling was the path I wanted to take after seeing my brother win a city championship. He
described this moment as one of the happiest moments in his life, so I wanted to experience it as
well. However, this would not be an easy task to accomplish. Practice was six days a week and
sometimes seven. Wrestling is a grueling sport that requires fortitude, endurance, and mental and
physical strength. It consists of a huge commitment of time. While my friends were playing
video games, I was doing athletic activities trying to become the best wrestler I could be.
4: My idols shifted from people like Drew Brees to Jordan Burroughs, an Olympic
wrestler and gold medalist. I enjoyed his style of wrestling and repetitively tried to imitate his
moves and style. Burroughs style is focused on offensive moves. He is constantly moving
forward at his opponent, and his feet never stop moving. He is always on the attack which no
opponents of his can stop. More importantly, Jordan Burroughs mind set influenced me the most.
He knew he was the best, and in wrestling that mindset is extremely significant. His hard work

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and dedication taught me to be persistent in everything I did and give my all in anything I
attempted.
5: One of the biggest life tests of mine came about a few days before a major meet
against one of the best wrestling teams in the state. In wrestling there are fourteen weight
divisions, so a wrestler can compete against someone around their size. Unfortunately, one of our
seniors could not lose enough weight to qualify for a certain weight class, so our coach asked me
to lose the weight in just a few days. When the season started, I weighed about 135 pounds. My
coach was now asking me to wrestle at the 120 pound weight class. Losing a significant amount
of weight, 15 pounds, in a short amount of time was tremendously difficult especially for
someone like me because I am naturally skinny. I was constantly running, wrestling, and
working out in sweatpants and a sweatshirt to sweat and lose weight. I had little energy to
complete these tasks, and I could hardly eat or drink after these brutal practices. To lose this
weight, I needed to eat foods that had low fat content but would supply me with a boost of
energy. I ate fruit such as oranges and bananas in the day and lean protein at night such as
chicken breast. However, I was still not receiving the calories I needed for day to day activities,
so there were some negative side effects. I had spasms at night and was nauseous due to
dehydration. I also had major fatigue at practice and could not complete some of the drills. I did
all of this for my teammates, so the team could be successful. The hard work paid off as we were
victorious against our opponent, and I made the weight class. This taught me self-sacrifice for a
greater cause can be worthwhile in the end.
6: Brotherhood can be a very strong a powerful bond. As a team, we did everything
together which shaped this bond. We wrestled against each other every day, ate together, and
spent almost every second together. We traveled out of state and slept in the same hotel rooms as

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each other. When people on the team needed to lose weight before competition, we ran and sweat
together. During pre-season we would run long distances and have to finish in a certain amount
of time. The time did not stop until the last person crossed the finish line. If that individual was
not fast enough, the team had to run it again until completed in time. The coaches did this
because we were a team and even the worst individual was important on the team. We became
one working unit and formed relationships that will last a lifetime.
7. Along with brotherhood, perseverance is a major key in being successful in wrestling.
A wrestler must go through low moments such as losing weight and punishing practices to
achieve victory and a confident mindset. A wresters reaction during these hard times can shape
his success. My first match of my senior year I was illegally slammed and fractured my wrist. I
refused to let this stop me from wrestling. I spent hours in painful physical therapy sessions to
get my strength back. Then, I spent even more time running trying to get back in shape. I did
exercises such as wrist curls to gain the strength back in my wrist. By the middle of the season I
came back stronger because I worked hard for it even though I was hurt. Jordan Burroughs once
said, Its easy to be confident when you put the hard work in that I do. After returning from my
injury even stronger, I knew nobody could beat me.
8: I was not afraid to face new challenges in life and, in fact, encouraged and excited by
obstacles that stood in my way. I had mastered traits and skills such as brotherhood and
perseverance. I felt true brotherhood and sacrifice through wrestling and my teammates. All of
these sports activities played a huge role in the person I am today. I believe if I wouldve never
played sport, I would be a totally different person. These activities have made me mentally and
physically tough, and I apply these concepts daily to the impediments I face in life. Athletes such

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as Jordan Burroughs and Drew Brees inspired me. Since I was a child, these athletes shaped who
I am today.