There is a sincere passion that goes into playing any sport, a dedication unlike any other. For some students at Revere, this passion guides them into their futures.
Tess Hodgen is a junior at Revere High School who plays an active role in the school community via both her sporting career and involvement in extracurricular activities. She not only forms part of the leadership team of the Model United Nations at the school, but participates in class council, and dedicatedly plays softball and basketball in her spare time.
Hodgen’s softball career is unlike that of most students at RHS; it has taken her across many state lines, whether that be via trains, cars or planes. She has been playing the sport for nearly eleven years, discovering her love for it at the early age of five years old.
“[Softball] means everything to me; I want to play in college. I have so much passion to pitch,” Hodgen said.
Hodgen spends many hours weekly, delicately balancing her time between basketball and softball.
“[With basketball, I practice] once a week with my team, but I practice every day I can, [which is] usually on days I don’t have a basketball game. . . . [I have games] every weekend in the summer, almost every weekend in the fall, and some weekends indoors in the winter,” Hodgen said.
She has had many accomplishments as well as some struggles in regards to the sport, though that is to be expected in most, if not all aspects of one’s life. Despite Hodgen’s dedication, there are some who do not appreciate her current skills.
“I have won some tournaments and hit a new PR of 64 mph recently. . . . [But], I have had a lot of people not take me seriously, or write me off because of how I performed when I was younger,” Hodgen said.
Throughout the semesters, this passion can have some adverse effects. Learning to balance not only time spent between two sports, but learning to balance academics along with an already busy schedule, can easily become difficult.
“Academically, it is extremely stressful trying to balance everything. I love softball but I want to play softball at a relatively prestigious university, so keeping up with my grades in all honors and AP classes is important; but, it will all be worth it in the end. Socially, I have missed out on a lot during the summer,” Hodgen said.
Hodgen’s devotion to her sport has caused her to miss a lot of social events, causing her to develop what Gen-Z has denoted to be fear of missing out (FOMO). In the age of social media, it is relatively easy to be aware of how much “fun” one could be missing out on, causing them to feel excluded and somewhat unseen, though the circumstances are beyond their control.
“If you ask many of my friends how often I am [present] , they will tell you almost never. I have developed serious FOMO because of everything [that] I have missed, but again it will all be worth it in the end,” Hodgen said.
High school life becomes increasingly difficult when one feels that they are alone in their battle against time itself. For Hodgen, this is not the case. She and her family have stuck closely together and worked to find solutions to several obstacles.
“[My family] has helped tremendously with funding my passion for softball. For example, we pay $100 almost every week and make a 4 hour round trip up to Toledo so I can be trained by the best pitching coach in our area,” Hodgen said.
Hodgen’s younger brother, freshman Jake Hodgen, spoke on how he views his sister and the time and effort that she puts into her passions.
“Tess is a very inspirational person. . . . She works hard in softball and her impact in the family is that she goes and drives around to the groceries,” Jake said.
Though his remark about grocery shopping is seemingly negligible, considering Hodgen’s busy schedule, it actually speaks deeply on her devotion to her family.
Rachael Hodgen, Hodgen’s mother, speaks of some obstacles that they, as a family, have faced and the little reminder she gives Hodgen especially during difficult times.
“Some of the challenges that we, as parents have faced with Tess and her balancing her academic life, her athletic life and social life have been just trying to remind her of perspective. That one day, one failure, will not determine her future, whether that shortcoming came on the field, on the court, or in the classroom,” she said.
The flip side of these challenges, however, is what makes them worth it.
“On the other side of that coin, that success in the classroom and in athletics is a step in the right direction to achieving her goals. Failures also help, and are learning opportunities to achieve goals. But most importantly for her to just take it one day at a time, one moment at a time, and to keep moving forward. We remind her that achieving these goals is supposed to be difficult. If it wasn’t, everyone would do it,” Rachael Hodgen said.
Both Hodgen and her brother compete in high-level sports. This balancing act is more than just a skill; for the Hodgens, it is a way of life.
“With both kids being competitive at a high level in their respective sports, that is just how our family operates. We prioritize family, school and sports in that order. We take great joy in the moments that we get to travel to different games and locations. We just have made this part of our lives and we try to enjoy these moments. One day soon we won’t be rushing from one practice game to another and we try to keep that in perspective,” Rachael Hodgen said.
Though nearly every aspect of being an athlete, along with being a high school student in several AP classes is difficult, to Rachael the “payoff” is insurmountable.
“For me the payoff is that she is going to take the skills from her sport into her adult life. . . . Because she is going to know how to weather storms and celebrate the successes. . . . She knows what it takes to think long-term goals and how to achieve those goals on a daily basis, and the idea of a quick win is something that she is not going to expect. . . . That is the payoff. Whether it results in fame and her being the best pitcher in the country, I don’t know, but I know she can do whatever she puts her mind to,” Rachael Hodgen said.
Whenever the pressure becomes too great, Rachael does her best to remind Hodgen of who she is, that being an athlete is a choice, though a difficult one, and that one failure does not define who she is as a whole.
Remind her she is loved no matter her successes or failures. Her love and support at home is unconditional. Reminding her that life is bigger than the moments on the field and in the classroom. . . . That she can push forward, she can do it. And again just reminding who she is and of her strength. We are here always to offer her support whenever we can,” Rachael Hodgen said.
Rachael shares her biggest piece when it comes to being an athlete, even at a highly competitive level.
“To both my kids, my advice is to remember that this is just a game, and games are supposed to be fun and something you love. It doesn’t always mean that it’s easy; in fact, if it was easy, everybody would do it. However, they need to be able to find joy in the work. And if there isn’t joy in the work and there isn’t joy in the play, then they need to find where their joy is. I would tell anyone that that is the case. If something feels forced or an obligation, then that’s not where your passion lies,” she said
Hodgen herself shares a piece of her advice, regarding softball specifically, though this lesson is impactful in more ways than one.
“Do not fear failure, and do not put so much pressure on yourself. Fear of failure leads to less practice, which will not help you in the end. Additionally, everyone’s recruitment process is different so do not put pressure on yourself if you do not have any early offers,” Hodgen said.
Hodgen’s story is one of strength, perseverance, and the fiery passion that is her adoration for her sport; she is a reminder that, like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.