Everything I Need to Know I Learned through Sports

Rhondi Adair, Athletic Director, Annie Wright School

I’ve been involved in competitive sports since third grade. I started out playing basketball, tennis and softball at a local recreation center. In high school, I played volleyball and co-ed tennis, and after the Title IX legislation proclaiming girls were to have equal opportunities in sports, I was able to play on the high school basketball team. In college, I played basketball, volleyball and tennis, and during summer months softball at the national level.

During my early years in sports, my coaches and parents told me I was learning skills I would be able to use throughout my entire life. Later, as an athletic director, I taught young athletes the very same skills and life lessons that had been instilled in me. While I experienced many scrapes and bruises as a young athlete, little did I know how desperately I would need those valuable lessons later in life.

My world came tumbling down around me on June 14, 2009. After some earlier testing, that morning the phone rang and the voice on the other end said, “I am very sorry to tell you this, but you have breast cancer.” I was absolutely devastated. I could hardly breathe. How could this be happening to me? I am a strong woman and lead a very active life. Though retired from competitive sports, I was still in pretty good shape. Nothing like this was supposed to happen to me!

On July 24, 2009 I had a double mastectomy followed by five months chemotherapy and then radiation. My treatment finally ended March 31, 2010. I had some very dark moments during those ten months and it became very clear that I was in the biggest competition of my life. At some point it dawned on me that I really did have the life skills I needed to beat this horrible disease. Just like every season I played sports, I was surrounded by an excellent team, only this time they were doctors, friends and family.

Because I hate to lose, there was no doubt I was going to beat this. My surgeon told me from the beginning that she knew I was going to fight hard and everything was going to be okay. My oncologist told me that I was very strong and everything was going to be okay. My radiologist told me I would really have to take care of my skin, but everything was going to be okay. They were my coaches.

Those days were long and some were very painful, as they are for so many. Like my days playing sports, I tried to listen carefully to my coaches and worked as hard as I could. After every disappointment, I picked myself back up and got back in the game. I knew I had to get out of bed every day and face it all. I needed to go into this competition each day with the most positive attitude I could muster.

My family, friends and colleagues who have always been supportive of me, became even more important than before. I needed to learn to ask for help because I couldn’t do everything by myself. In fact, I was not able to most things by myself. I am very fortunate to have a partner who became my caretaker 24/7. I slept when I was supposed to sleep, took pills when I was supposed to take them, got some form of exercise every day, and little by little I got better.

Today I am cancer free. I have most of my strength back and am thankful that my “chemo brain fog” continues to diminish. I continue to get used to my new body. On my bathroom mirror I wrote, “You are a beautiful, useful and brilliant woman.” I still need that coaching every day, but I am healthy and proud that I kicked cancer’s butt.

An unexpected blessing from my cancer experience has been the opportunity to talk with young women, colleagues and friends about breast cancer. I feel this is probably one of the most important lessons I bring to my teaching today. Since my treatment, two of my friends have been diagnosed with breast cancer. I have been able to be there for them as so many people have been there for me.

Now when I tell young athletes about the life skills learned through sports, I not only believe it, I understand it in a profound new way. Nothing that I went through in the past year was easy, yet I remain convinced that the attitude, discipline, competition and leadership skills I learned in sports helped save my life.