High school student-athletes can be influenced by many different factors. Their coach and teammates can play a big role in how the athlete grows and improves. But there are other people that can impact their life as well and that is family. And for Vanessa Davis, her family has had a big influence on her life and career.

“My parents and grandparents have been my biggest role models,” she said. “They all are very hard-working people and all I have ever wanted to do is make them proud. They have taught me that hard work pays off.”

Davis is a senior at Weatherford High School. She is a member of the Lady Eagles’ softball and soccer teams. On the softball field, she played catcher, while in soccer she played midfielder for her first three years. She began playing center mid this past season but halfway through the season she switched to outside defense. She has been playing both sports for as long as she can remember. 

Becoming the athlete that she is today has required a lot from Vanessa and she says that she knows that all the work will pay off. 

“It has taken a lot of patience and hard work to get where I am,” she said. “There have been quite a few times I thought it would just be easier to quit and not go through the hard stuff., but the more I pushed myself the more my teammates would push themselves. Success doesn’t happen overnight.”

There have been some teachers at Weatherford that have played a part in Davis becoming who she is, but one teacher helped her to understand that you can have fun while learning. 

“My favorite teacher would have to be Mr. Beck,” she said. “He was my physics teacher and he taught me that it is okay to make a joke in a difficult class.”

Along with her athletics, Vanessa is also a member of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America program.