Cobb Cherokee In The Game High School Sports Magazine

As a collective group, sports fans have become accustomed to the outrageous behavior of me-first athletes. On the football field, a wide receiver is assigned to run his route and catch the pigskin when it is passed in his direction. Yet when that player does what he is expected to do, he breaks into a dance that says, “Look at me.” Sports should be played with emotion and excitement, but unfortunately these antics have caused many of us to reach the conclusion that all athletes are self-centered prima donnas.

Sports enthusiasts can be encouraged that all is not lost. There are still athletes who strive to promote their team over individual accomplishments, for whom sacrifice is not just a word in the dictionary but a way of life. There are still players who are unafraid to take up the mantle of being a role model and lead by example, never asking or demanding more of anyone than they do of themselves. Morgan Lehr, a member of the Lady Spartans Swim Team at Campbell High School in Smyrna, Georgia, is one such athlete.

Jonathan Laird, the Lady Spartans swim coach, says “Lehr is the total package, an ideal student and athlete who excels both in the classroom and in the pool.” Laird commented that in the four years he had been privileged to work with Lehr, he has seen her grow and mature. She is extremely motivated and once she has set her sights on obtaining a goal, nothing stands in her way. It was evident that Lehr was a special athlete in her freshman season. Her times as an individual swimmer would not have allowed her to go to the state meet. Instead of giving up, Lehr became a member of the 200-yard freestyle relay team and successfully helped Campbell place in the event at the state meet for the first time in over a decade.

As a junior and senior, Lehr was selected team captain for the Lady Spartans. She organized offseason conditioning drills for herself and the rest of the squad. The goal of these workouts is to build team unity, teach and promote proper stroke and turn techniques. The lessons do not stop during the regular season. She regularly takes time away from her own practice to assist team members. Her objective is to do everything possible for herself and the team to shave precious seconds off the clock. After her initial taste of competition at the state level, she made a promise to herself that she would participate in the state meet every year. So far that promise has been fulfilled. Lehr has already qualified for this year’s state meet in the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle and continues to push for a spot in the relay event.

Lehr’s accomplishments are found in the classroom as well.  The Campbell senior maintains a 4.29 GPA in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program, an internationally recognized, challenging curriculum resulting in broad preparation for university studies.

Lehr’s achievements have not come without hard work and sacrifice. She spends sixteen hours each week training in the pool.  She swims for the Campbell High School Lady Spartans and the private swim club, the Stingrays Swimming.  She also plays water polo for two and a half hours every week. Her training regimen includes long distance running and biking. Recently she competed in the Acworth, Georgia, Women’s Sprint Triathlon, finishing third in her age class. Physical training is only one part of the equation. Lehr believes that nutrition is a key component to her success. Her diet consists of fresh fruits and vegetables, a mix of the correct types of protein and carbohydrates, and no carbonated beverages.

Lehr’s family is a major part of her life and helps her maintain a balance between the demands of schoolwork and competition. Her parents, Ellen Gallagher and Ronald Lehr, along with younger sister Shannon, form her support team. Lehr states “I am extremely grateful to my parents for creating an environment that allows me to thrive and continually reach my goals and objectives.”

In addition to supporting her academic and athletic pursuits, Lehr’s parents also encourage her serve others in the through active community involvement. “One should do things that make you a better person and hang around people that challenge you to improve,” she says. Lehr’s passion is teaching and she does this by tutoring other students in subjects as physics, math, Spanish and literature and teaching a class for beginning swimmers at the local pool.

As her senior year draws to a close, Lehr has already made plans for her future. She hopes to attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.  She plans to enroll in the School of Foreign Service. She hopes to walk onto Georgetown’s Hoyas swim team, possibly join one of the club teams, or perhaps go off in an entirely different direction and become a member of the triathlon squad.

Leadership is described as the ability to affect a change in people or events. Campbell High School and the Lady Spartan Swim Team will feel the effects of Lehr’s leadership for many years to come.  Look for her to be an active member of the next generation of global citizens primed to lead and equipped to make a difference in the world.