Sports are a big part of senior Nyah Straley’s life, as she competes in indoor and outdoor track, field hockey, cross country and soccer. Nyah is also focused on her academics, taking part in Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment classes. We (Emma Ryan and Kara Kotowski) have been friends with Nyah for many years and have seen her work hard both in school and in sports. We admire her because of her dedication, commitment, and persistence.
Nyah has been an inspiration to me (Emma) as a student-athlete and as a person. Even though I only compete in one sport with her, track, I’ve had such an incredible experience being on a team with her. Juggling both school and sports comes with challenges. Others may be overwhelmed with the load that comes with being a student-athlete, but Nyah had her own reasons for participating in athletics.
“I do sports because it helps me stay in shape and not miss out on any opportunities to be with friends,” Nyah said. “I’ve played sports for over 10 years. It’s made me a better person and given me different friendships and stability in my life.”
Multiple people look up to Nyah at any given moment, like junior Brooklyn Nemec, who is both a cross-country and track teammate. They are warm-up buddies, and Nyah works with Brooklyn on relay teams and improving distance run times.
“Nyah inspires me to be better because she balances so many sports, and she has so much on her plate,” Brooklyn said. “She excels at everything and balances good grades and school, too. It helps me strive to be able to excel at that like she does.”
Influencing many around her, Nyah pushes her friends to be the best they can be. As a senior, she has many underclassmen looking up to her, including her eighth-grade sister, Jessa Straley.
“She inspires me to work harder in practice and run faster because I want to beat her,” Jessa said.
That sisterhood that she has with Jessa, I (Kara) feel as though it bleeds into the friendships she has. It’s easy to look and find multiple instances when Nyah does her best to help those she is close with and uplift them.
It’s important to have a support system when keeping oneself busy with multiple activities. Whether the supporter helps motivate the person, is there to “catch” them, or just sticks around to be there, Nyah has shown and demonstrated her ways of assisting her teammates.
“If I start having a breathing attack when I’m running, she always helps calm me down and make me laugh,” Brooklyn said. “She stays with me until I get better and get my mind off it. Nyah helps me stay in a positive mindset for practice.”
Having a support system goes both ways. We believe that it’s important for us to be there for Nyah, as well as each other. Since Nyah is always there for others, we try our best to match that with the support we give her.
Nyah’s passion for her activities is shown through her enthusiasm and energy, and it’s a quality of hers that I (Emma) admire. Every athlete has obligations when competing in sports, and Nyah is not an exception. Some students may feel burdened with the pressure to perform well in their sport and lose motivation to keep up. Balancing one sport can be difficult, let alone two in a single season.
“I’ve really seen Nyah take on more responsibilities, with her doing multiple sports at once, and she has been able to stay committed to both,” senior cross country and track teammate Gavin Myers said. “She goes to soccer practice every day, and then several days a week, she goes to the track after soccer. Nyah shows up to every track meet, even if she has two soccer games that week.”
Since Nyah has participated in sports throughout high school and in all seasons, she’s connected and bonded with teammates. These friendships have made an impact on Nyah’s life.
“Gavin has been my biggest supporter because he listens to me when things aren’t going well, and Brianna Mitchell has been my day one since I’ve done sports with her for so many years,” Nyah said.
We are so proud of Nyah and her accomplishments and look forward to what she is going to do in the future.
