"I was at the gym working out the other day, keeping to myself, doing my own thing. After the workout, I was stretching and a fellow gym goer came up to me and asked if I was an athlete. I paused before answering, asking myself the same question.... am I an athlete?" Excerpt from "Am I Still an Athlete." 

When this athlete was struggling with who she was, professional volleyball player Tyler Richardson had these thoughts to help support this athlete's confession... 

Tyler Richardson: "A person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise is the definition of what an athlete is. I am a strong believer in once an athlete always an athlete. I graduated college in 2016, and then went off to play volleyball professionally. I am currently taking a break from playing overseas, but everyday I find myself either at the gym or watching volleyball online. It's not easy being a professional athlete, or even a college athlete, it's a full on commitment. There is no way I could've pushed through all of the long hard practices, traveling back and forth without having serious love for the game of volleyball. Years later that passion and love for the game is still here. When people stop me in the gym and ask me if I'm an athlete I respond saying yes, I'm an athlete. My love for the game hasn't faded, and my passion for competing and working hard is still present."

Author: Tyler Richardson

IG: @tyrichieeeee

Email: tylerrich93@gmail.com

Tyler started her collegiate volleyball career at Middle Tennessee State, she played there for three years. At Middle Tennessee she made quite the mark being named an all American honorable mention, all conference, and all region. She transferred to Ohio State and had the opportunity to make it to the sweet sixteen, twice. After her collegiate career had come to a close she went on to play professionally in Denmark and Israel. Tyler is currently in Arizona teaching, but continues to workout everyday and train athletes. 

What's a fun fact about you?

"A fun fact about me is I don't eat the cheese on my pizza, I peel it off and put the pepperoni's back on."