By Pham Tran
The Athlete of Character award recognized by Orange County Athletic Directors Association (OCADA) honors student-athletes who demonstrate excellence in sportsmanship and leadership both on and off the field. Each year, one boy and one girl from each school in Orange County are selected for this prestigious award, typically through nominations from their coaches. This year, the Athletes of Character of Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) are seniors Chloe Im and Joshua Grack.
“I was honored, first of all, [for] my coach to nominate me for this award, but also for the other coaches to agree with my nomination. I feel like it’s a testament of character,” Grack said.
“Yeah, [I was also] very honored and very appreciative of my coaches and staff that believe in me,” Im said.
As captains for their sports (song and baseball respectively), both Im and Grack value the meaning of leadership. They always want to help connect all members of the team and make sure that everyone shares the same goal.
“I feel like one of the biggest aspects [of the award] is being a good leader in your team, in your community and just the people around you if they look up to you as a person that they see as a leader,” Grack said.
According to Im and Grack, hard work and coachability are the two most important qualities that a good athlete must possess. It’s all about how hard they’re going to work for a certain goal and also being willing to accept coaching to make changes for the better.
Im and Grack are both long-term players in their respective sports fields, but neither of them have ever pictured the day where they would receive such an award.
“When my coach told me that I would receive this award, I was shocked at first, but I was also very honored by it at the time,” Grack said.
They have gone on long journeys to become the successful athletes they are today. The meaningful lessons that they’ve picked up along the way, when about to give up, will never be forgotten.
“As an athlete, I’ve learned that it’s okay to take breaks and that recovery is just as important as growing [because] growth is not linear. It’ll be up and down every day, but as long as you’re slowly progressing towards your goal, that’s what matters,” Im said.
As graduating seniors in their teams, both Im and Grack hope their underclassmen or anyone who is deciding to become an athlete can always be themselves and do everything from the bottom of their hearts.
“Just work hard because you don’t know when your last day is going to be. You don’t know when your last day of baseball is going to be. So, cherish every moment that you have with your sport, with your friends, with your family and understand that ‘today might be my last day playing this sport,’” Grack said.
