Why I love photographing High School Athletes!

One of the biggest reasons I love photographing High School Athletes is because I was one:). When I recall my life as a gymnast, it was lots of training, practice, and competitions for years. In fact, some of my most memorable moments were in the gym from age 8 to 22. Gymnastics was a HUGE part of my life, and I was fortunate to be able to compete as a collegiate gymnast. I will forever cherish the sport of gymnastics, the friends I made, the mentoring from my coaches, and the life lessons the sport taught me.
While I don't have many pictures of me actually doing the sport of gymnastics, I do have a few that I absolutely love because they are of me in ACTION! Movement images of athletes showcase their hard work, skill, and athleticism. It is a documentation of thier abilities and talent at any given time in their career.
Of course while we watch several collegiate and professional athletes on television, those athletes roughly make up 6-7% at the NCAA level and less than 2% at the professional level.
According to the NCAA, roughly 8 million students participate in high school athletics in the US, and approximately 480,000 compete as NCAA athletes. Only a select few from each sport compete at the professional or Olympic level.
So, how does this info translate into athlete portraits? Essentially, high school athletes are in the prime of their career when they compete for their school varsity teams. Why not capture and document this amazing athletic time in their lives!