Submitted photo/Iowa State Athletics: Lehr Thorson, a 2017 Fort Dodge Senior High graduate, was a nine-time all-Big 12 performer for the Iowa State swimming program.

Reflecting on such an incredible five-year experience in college athletics is no easy task, and right now, it’s something everyone has been encouraging me to do.

“Sit down and write about your experience,” I’ve heard from my family, coaches and former teammates.

Well, how are you supposed to come up with the words perfect enough to illustrate what all has transpired within an experience? I guess I’m trying to say that I didn’t think I’d be doing my reflection in the local newspaper.

Several highs and lows came along with being a Division I collegiate student-athlete, and many of the experiences were not centered around practices, competitions, or travels. They were centered around the opportunities created to ensure that I became the best version of myself.

I focused on gaining leadership practice through our Student-Athlete Advisory Council, volunteering within the community, and building up our team culture in meetings and discussions. For me, athletics was an opportunity to learn what skills I needed to be a good person.

Ultimately, that’s why we should be participating in athletics any way, right? To have a platform to experience what it means to work hard, set goals, and be a good teammate.

Coming into college, you’re given a framework of strengths and weaknesses. You bring in elements of yourself and, at the same time, find ways to grow and develop the good traits you already have.

There is also an opportunity to pick up new traits from teammates and coaches with different backgrounds and experiences. Being coachable was part of the framework I brought into Iowa State.

What does that mean exactly? To me, it means to be a student of the sport. Look into ways to apply what skills a coach is trying to teach. Soak in every word and action that coaches and teammates have. Look for the most talented athlete on your team, analyze what they do to be successful, and look closely at their mental game. Ask questions about how successful teammates approach big competition or handle defeat.

The entire first year of college, I felt like my brain was on fire from all the information I was trying to consume, but it helped build up my qualities.

Growing up in a community like Fort Dodge, my concept of “persona” was centered around being an underdog. I was raised by Dodgers and loved by Dodgers and this concept was always the known truth to me.

From a young age, I think I understood this. Even when Dodgers are on top, the gritty attitude I admired. The people who know what I’m talking about just know.

Several people told me that I wouldn’t make it at Iowa State or that I should be looking elsewhere, but just like the others who came before me, that only fueled my fire. The character of an underdog is something that I will always appreciate about myself and try and teach others.

The positive mindset centered around being an underdog is something that the right coaches can bring out in their athletes. Ironically, most of the coaches I admired from my high school career were not those I worked directly with but those I admired from afar. We know the coaches in our community who have that “it” factor, and we respect them based on their reputation for success: not only statistically, but the individuals who come from their programs.

Most of the qualities that I brought into my practice and mindset I owe to the relationship I have with my family. I’m thankful my family encouraged me to participate in several sports and activities.

I felt a lot of pressure early on in my athletic career to specialize in a single sport, but I found my background in several sports — volleyball, basketball, track, and swimming — helped make me more athletic overall. Being an active participant in other high school activities and clubs helped me grow as an individual also, and brought into my college experience.

My advice to younger athletes is to be involved as much as possible and find ways to be the kind of person you want to be in all aspects. Being a multi-sport athlete will always be a recruitable tactic, and I’m glad I could prove the coaches who tried to get me to only specialize in swimming wrong.

Ultimately, I feel like I applied several lessons from high school that helped within my collegiate athletic career, both traditional and untraditional. I went in with a desire to represent that underdog mentality and “prove ’em wrong” attitude. This is a quality that I believe is special to Fort Dodge, and what I would encourage young athletes to tap into.

Find what fuels your fire and work every day to accomplish those goals. However, don’t lose sight along the way of what you’re doing it all for. If the answer is a time, place, or statistic, your goals aren’t big enough.

Always think big picture and with the lens of what you can do to build your legacy. The best athletes are not remembered for only their achievements, but for the character they possess and the standards they set for themselves.

Lehr Thorson, a 2017 Fort Dodge Senior High graduate and a former Dodger all-state athlete, recently completed her decorated collegiate career with the Iowa State University swim program. The nine-time all-Big 12 performer and four-time all-conference academic honoree is currently working on her Master’s degree at ISU’s Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication.