Fans can see talent as soon as an athlete steps on the court.
Sometimes, supporters can even imagine the hard work a player endures.
But what people never see is the mental conditioning athletes undergo en route to success.

Blood dripped from his nose. His coach signaled for him to step off. His mom urged from the stands. But Sebastian Mack wasn’t going to budge.

There are friends, there is family, and there are friends who become family.
And the saying rings especially true in sports.
Blood, sweat and tears forge connections that stand the test of time.

Frida Esparza mostly wears black and gray.
She loves Metallica.
And when the graduate student was a sophomore, she rocked pink hair in the fall before swapping it out for a bright, pastel blue dye job in the spring.

Emily Lee’s little sister’s death drew her to health care at a young age.
The UCLA gymnastics senior’s affinity for a healing profession stems from a deeply personal experience that exposed her to the rigorous world of medicine.

This post was updated Feb. 20 at 12:06 a.m.
Mika Webster-Longin walked into coach Lisa Terry’s club gym in 2020 afraid to hang onto the uneven bars.

Mick Cronin thought Tuesday’s showdown was just going to be business as usual. Then his dad called.
His 83-year-old father let Cronin know he’d be trekking across the country for Tuesday night’s game against Minnesota.