Athletes recognized as role models in our society are often seen as having many of the following qualities: 

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• Enthusiasm: The athlete welcomes the platform for promoting positive societal change—a willing crusader for good.

• Altruistic mission: The athlete uses the position to share messages of inspiration and hope—a selfless drive to benefit others.

• Commitment to high moral values: The athlete acts in ways that support personal integrity.

• Realistic and Responsible: The athlete helps fans realize that he or she isn’t perfect. After all, role models are only people with weaknesses and flaws. They’re not immaculate idols.

• Freely devotes time and energy to community activities: The athlete makes appearances at neighborhood events, serves on local boards, works with charity organizations, etc.

• Champions a mastery goal orientation: The athlete focuses on personal effort and accomplishments instead of making comparisons with others. In a sense, mastery oriented people compare themselves with themselves. They can feel success and satisfaction when they have learned something new, seen skill improvement in themselves, or given maximum effort. Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden captured the essence of a mastery orientation in his famous definition of success: “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable.” 

• Possesses a keen sense of empathy: The athlete has the capacity to share or recognize emotions experienced by others. Empathy involves putting yourself in other people’s shoes and seeing how much you can truly understand them. It includes caring for others and having a desire to help them. Empathy motivates pro-social behavior designed to aid in solving communal challenges. As emphasized by Stephen R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, “When you show empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That’s when you can get more creative in solving problems.”

• Displays a healthy balance between striving for excellence and having fun in the process: The athlete promotes the virtues of working hard to achieve goals and the importance of enjoying the journey.

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Check out the articles below to find out the impact professional athletes have on young people: