Anderson Frank, '25

Most people think that the most talented athletes are simply born gifted. That their skills, capabilities, and love for their sports are what make them stand out. But is this always the case? If you asked Anderson Frank, an athlete at the Episcopal School of Acadiana, he would tell you that he didn’t have a love or passion for running when he was younger. He said that he only joined cross-country because he had “FOMO,” the fear of missing out, from his friends. He hadn’t played many sports since middle school and wanted to be a part of a team again. Little did he know he would become the leading runner over his incredible high school career.

Anderson Frank never would have told you that he was made to be a runner. In Frank’s words, he said: “I never saw myself as a runner. I hated running when I was little. I was bad at it and it was so hard, so I just never really had the idea of running in my mind.” He didn’t think that he would ever see himself become the athlete he is today. For me, when I think of an incredible athlete, I always think of someone who began young, someone who always knew they wanted to do their sport, and believed that they could be successful. To hear these words from Frank, saying that he didn’t know he liked his sport until the very beginning of high school, made me wonder how much of being a successful athlete comes from natural talent. 

Anderson Frank joined the cross-country team when he was a freshman in high school, a bit of a late start for most successful runners. For a first-time runner, Frank was a good athlete. He did all of the average things a runner would do to do well in this sport, but he just wasn’t able to be the best yet. He was confused, thinking that he should’ve been much faster since he hadn’t been doing anything wrong. But the question he should’ve been asking himself was: had he done anything right? Had he focused on the ideals of “CHESS” and made sure that he was doing everything possible to be the best runner that he could be? 

“CHESS” stands for: consistency, hydration, eating healthy, sleep, and study. These qualities are vital for any athlete, but particularly a distance runner. For ESA runners, this sport is a 6-month long commitment of daily practices, sometimes even having to run twice a day, hard weight training after running, and weekly races. It’s a difficult sport and to succeed you have to keep your body in the absolute best shape for almost half a year. When I asked Frank when he began truly embodying this idea, he said he hadn’t truly lived by “CHESS” until he “was a junior in high school.” Throughout the summer training, he would make sure he was giving his all at practices, staying hydrated and eating healthy outside of practice, getting enough sleep throughout the week, and making sure all of his commitments were completed so he wouldn’t carry stress with him.

At first, Anderson Frank didn’t see the point. He thought doing these things wouldn’t make that much of a difference. That it was an intense lifestyle for only a little bit more reward. But, he proved himself wrong. With consistent efforts at practice and maintaining the qualities of “CHESS,” by the time Frank was a junior, he was second on the team. At the same time, he became a captain of the team and continued to be one into his senior year. He led his teammates by example, showing them that if they live their lives with a focus on maintaining their bodies, they’ll too see major success. 

I’ve run cross-country since I was in eighth grade. In my freshman year, Frank joined the team and we began running together. I have seen his talent grow in real time and it’s clear to me that Anderson Frank is the most dedicated athlete I have ever seen. We’ve run against thousands of people over the years, many better than us and more gifted than us. But it’s obvious, when Anderson runs he wants it more. He gives everything he has both in and out of practice and once he began living by the idea of “CHESS,” he was winning all of his races, with the people who used to easily pass him struggling to even follow on his tail. 

Being able to see his progress over time, it’s not only inspiring but it also provides a moment of realization. When our coach would say that talent is not the most important quality of a runner, it’s their work ethic and dedication, we just brushed it off. Of course, drinking water and eating healthy are important, that was obvious. We did our best to embody these qualities but we were also just kids. I thought that I was just too busy to get all of my work done and get eight hours of sleep a night. That I didn’t have enough time to eat healthy and drink all the water I needed to so I would just try my best to drink half the amount. This was a common idea throughout the entire team, of course, we would try to achieve “CHESS” but how is that possible? 

Frank proved everyone wrong. He was one of the busiest on the team, being in many outside-of-school activities, and difficult classes, but being able to sleep eight hours a night. Even with his tiring schedule, he still found time to get his afternoon runs in, make healthy meals, and drink enough water, while also getting all of his schoolwork done. He showed us that if he could do it, we could too. What he was achieving wasn’t impossible, he wasn’t an Avenger or a God. He was just determined to be the best runner that he could be. When I asked Frank’s classmate, Lilly Rader, what she thought Frank’s most admirable quality as an athlete was, she quickly said, “his determination.” Everyone around him can see that he truly embodies the ideals of the most successful athletes in the game and it looks like, one day, he’ll be in races right alongside them.

His determination, dedication, and self-discipline are what have made him the athlete he is today, and his stats prove it. In 2024, Frank, along with his team, won the Track and Field Team State Championship, with Frank individually placing as the runner-up in the 800 meter, 1600 meter, and 3200 meter, as well as being named as the State Outstanding Male Track Athlete for the whole meet. During his senior year, Frank placed as an individual runner-up for his division, leading his team to finish runner-up together. So, when it comes to the idea of natural talent or man-made, Anderson Frank proves that natural talent isn’t always necessary. He was always capable of being a good runner, but if he hadn’t changed his mindset and truly committed himself to running, he never would have been a great runner.