This project is important to me because I have surface-level knowledge on my essential question, (How can an athlete achieve and sustain peak performance?) and I want to dig deeper. My question relates to all athletes of all levels, and it pertains to me because I take my athletics seriously. All of my past experiences with being an athlete, all of the wins, losses, the training sessions at 6am and 11pm, all of the injuries. All of those moments will come into play during this process. There have been several outside sources such as coaches, athletics trainers, physical therapists, that have informed me even before this project and I hope to learn more from them. One aspect of my project that I know very little about is diet and how one’s food intake can completely change their performance on the pitch. With learning about how athletes can better perform, it will help me but it can also help future LREI/DUSC athletes and I can share my experiences through this project with them. Some other questions that will most likely come up are: what is the recovery process for athletes with short and long term injuries, such as an IT band friction syndrome or an ACL tear, etc… and how does that affect an athlete’s mental health with not being able to perform at 100% or not at all for an extended period of time.