Do you ever wonder what happens to your community’s fine young high school athletes? Do they go on to play college? Do they play all four years? What do they end up doing after they graduate?

It’s always good to hear how kids turn out after the rocky high school years, and I’d like to focus on one young lady in my column today.

She happens to be my daughter.

Cristi started playing softball when she was 7 years old and played four years at Foothill High School. She went on to play four years of college softball at a D3 school in Illinois, enjoying a fun and fulfilling college career.

When she graduated from college in 2010, her competitive softball-playing days were over. It was a sad and sobering realization to this young lady, who’d spent 15 of her 22 years playing a sport she loved.

Today, Cristi is a kindergarten teacher with 20 active little ones to oversee each day. I talked with her recently about her sports experience and asked if she would have done it all over again.

“Yes, it taught me self-discipline, gave me a hobby, and I made lots of friends,” she said. “I had a goal to always work toward beside school, it kept me in shape, and it has become a lifelong interest.”

“Do you want your kids to play, and what advice would you give them from your own experience?

“Yeah, I want my kids to play,” she said thoughtfully. “I want it to teach them self-discipline, I want them to be challenged, I want them to make good friends and learn to work together with others. I also want them to play for the love of it.”

It was fun “interviewing” my own daughter, but I really didn’t need an interview to know that playing sports played a huge role in helping her to become the amazing woman she is today.

The persistence she learned? I saw it when she applied for teaching job after teaching job this past summer and was finally hired one week before school started.

The self-discipline? I see it when she comes home from a full day of dealing with kindergartners and sits down to do even more work for her classroom.

The hobby she acquired? My husband and I get to see that each Friday night when she plays for our church’s team in a recreational league. Hobby, yes. Still competitive? For sure!

The patience she learned? I saw that the other day when I visited her classroom and observed how she calmly interacted with her students.

The teamwork she mastered? I notice it when she works closely with six other kindergarten teachers for the benefit of their students.

Cristi’s where-are-you-now story is one of thousands in youth sports. The things your little one or your teenager is learning now in his sports experience can positively impact him for life if you remember that “Where are you now?” starts today.

Janis B. Meredith, sports mom and coach’s wife, writes a sports parenting blog called JBM Thinks. She authored the Sports Parenting Survival Guide Series and has recently launched a podcasting series for sports parents. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.