Lessons Learned
When Jamie asked me to write for her blog about track and lessons learned or fun/funny stories, it was hard to narrow it down to just a few. I learned a lot from sports in North Park from perseverance to teamwork, you know the basics. With state this weekend I thought the most appropriate lesson would be ‘throw all of yourself into whatever you do.’ This lesson came to me a couple times in my career as a ‘track-lete’ before it fully sank in.
First time I was watching Mr. Landis coach pole vault. He was always right there going through the motions with us as we vaulted. I am sure he did it for the other events as well, but I never noticed he did this until I caught it on camera. He was giving us his all as he coached every way he could. (pictures)
The second time this lesson came around was while running hills in college. For most workouts my coach made us run a certain distance in a certain amount of time with a timed rest. When we ran hills, though it was untimed. Several athletes took this as a break and didn’t give it their all. I was at the top (sucking wind) when my coach said, ‘You will get out of
this workout what you put into it.’ This lesson not only helped me finish those hills and the next 3 years of college, but has also been a guiding force in everything I do to this day.
As for fun/funny stories, there are just too many! From fun nights in the hotels, to swimming at the Glenwood Hot Springs, inappropriate radio news stories, and getting pulled over in Empire. (Oh for the coaches or whoever is driving to state remember to slow down in Empire!)
Good luck to all those competing this weekend and let’s see some new PR’s and records broken! Most of all enjoy yourself and come home satisfied that you did your best.
