Some people know from an early age what they are passionate about. Some people mistake their passion for something else before finding it. Most people search for their passion. And a few people unknowingly stumble into it. Janiyah Cosby did exactly that. Cosby, a junior, is a student athlete.
When she was younger, she found herself interested in basketball. Growing up, Cosby observed her brothers playing. She watched her dad work with them and quickly decided she also wanted to play. “I started playing basketball because I saw them playing. They inspired me,” Cosby said.
In eighth grade, Cosby joined the Dent Middle School girls basketball team. She found that she really did not enjoy the sport at the time. She remembers the lack of fun she had while playing at Dent. But even then, she stuck with it as she went on to high school. Cosby had hope that it would get better.
At RNE the game changed for her in more ways than one. Cosby was able to find things in the realm of basketball that she had previously lacked. She now has a basketball team she loves and coaches who push her. She has progressed in a way that she could not in middle school. She has achieved a better mindset while playing and has become better at her position: shooting guard.
Cosby speaks highly of her team and especially her coaches. “I did not start enjoying it [basketball] until high school, until I came here. The coaches here… They let me experience a lot of fun. They actually help me grow,” she said.
“When you have a good relationship with your coach you are willing to go the extra mile. And the same goes for teammates,” Coach Stephanie Evans said.
Starting high school also brought on a newfound passion for Cosby: Track and field. Track was not something she expected to enjoy so much. Cosby enjoys basketball, but track is what she lives for. One of Cosby’s goals is to go to college for track. She runs in the 4×100, 4×200, 4×400, and sprints in the 400.
“I like the adrenaline rush of track. When you know you’re racing against other people, you want to win. I choose to win,” she said.
As much as she enjoys the team aspect in basketball and her team in general, Cosby enjoys the solo aspect of track even more. “I don’t really have to depend on a team to win, I can just play myself,” Cosby said.
When most people think of sports, they think only of the physical and athletic aspects of it. But being an athlete comes with more than what the eye can see. The mindset an athlete has can make or break a season. When reflecting on her own basketball season, Cosby feels confident that her team’s record could have been a lot better. “It’s a mindset thing; I don’t think it’s a skill thing,” she admitted.
Cosby, like every athlete, dealt with her own mental hurdles. “Track is a mental sport. You have to want to be out there. From freshman year to now, mentally, she has grown as far as understanding the race and being able to break it down,” Evans said.
Last year, Cosby went to the State competition for track and field. At first, she had doubts about how well she would perform at a higher level, “The people I run against… They’re fast,” she said.
But as she raced against her competitors, she was able to get out of her head. “Once I see that I can beat them or stay with them, then I can do it. I can keep going.”
Being an athlete has shaped Cosby in many ways in her life. She has gotten stronger, mentally and physically. “It gives you the mindset like you can do anything you want to do,” she said.
Being an athlete has also affected Cosby in ways most people would never think about. Cosby has never been a fan of school, but being in sports forces her to show up. “I don’t really think I would come to school if I weren’t an athlete,” Cosby admitted, “The boredom of school is worth staying after school because practice is not boring at all.”
It also impacts her academically. To continue to participate in sports, student athletes are expected to maintain certain grades. And Cosby makes sure to deliver. In middle school, before 8th grade, Cosby didn’t do well in school. Becoming an athlete changed that. Remembering that she is an athlete helps her focus in class and motivates her to keep up with assignments.
“If I wasn’t an athlete I feel like I would get into a lot of trouble,” Cosby said. Before she got into basketball, she found herself in trouble at Dent. “In sixth grade I was kind of a bad kid… It changed,” Cosby said. As an athlete, she avoids things that could get her into trouble. Socially and otherwise. “You cannot hang around people that are going to get you in trouble. You have to remove yourself from all of those situations,” Cosby said. She has learned from her coaches that she has to do the right things at all times. Otherwise, it could impact whether she is able to play in games or run at meets.
Cosby describes herself as anything but a people person; however, being an athlete has given her the opportunity to come out of her shell. Cosby has found close friends in her basketball teammates and enjoys meeting people at her track meets.
Without sports, Cosby does not know where she would be, “I don’t think I would be as successful,” she said. She admits that she would probably be bored at home if she were not an athlete.
“If I remember that I’m an athlete, I remember that I have to get good grades, I have to come to school, I have to do good in life, basically,” Cosby said.
