Cross Country Is Important To Me

I refused to ever let someone replace me on the track again. Not only did I earn that respect, I demanded it. My workouts were no longer a social hour, but a boot camp. I was the hardest working undersized athlete in the program. My junior track season finally arrived, yet once again I would not have the chance to compete for a junior varsity district championship. No, this year I competed for a varsity district championship. My efforts in the offseason led to a promotion on the team. The lingering emotions of anger and disappointment were replaced with gleaming pride. My previous failure had propelled me to success within a single

“In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle or last. You can say, ‘ I finished’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that” - Fred Lebow. I began cross country in eighth grade shortly after my brother joined the year before. He enjoyed it a lot, so I thought it would be fun. I’ve been on the team for two years. I would like to run for the rest of my life. Cross country changed my life positively forever. It taught me to push myself past what I thought was my limit. It revealed to me a great community of people and it taught me to leave my comfort zone.

I wasn’t always a runner. Some kids are born into the running cult, but not me. We have a treadmill in our basement that my parents occasionally use when they got on a health kick, but neither of them pushed me to be a runner. During the summer of sixth grade, my mother was talking to our neighbor in our driveway. While they were standing on the blistering pavement, the subject of Cross Country came up. My neighbor’s son was on the high school team and it was doing a

In physical education we were put to do the mile I was always second to last if not last I wasnt made fun of but I didnt really good about myself. As the years went on I was still fat couldn’t do anything until sophomore year of high school is where it all changed. I remember it quite clearly as if it was yesterday I was sitting in my math class when one of classmates had large number pinned to his bag and a uniform on that hadn’t seen before. That's when I got curious and asked what sport was all this for he then explained it was for cross country and that I should join it would be fun. It turns out that the season was about to end so it was to late to join so I had to wait for next year so I did. I went my junior in the summer since that's when they practiced and ran for the first time. After this first run I thought I was going to literally die and didn't want to this any more and to top it off all the guy runners who I thought that were slow beat one by one. This is where I decided I wasn't going to be last or lose a race to anyone. I practiced the whole year and did track top it off. Now the summer of my senior year was very motivational since I got up early ran and did this everyday till school started to be the best of my high school. Well the season would begin and I was breaking my school records and receiving medals from invitationals and

During my high school career I did not get many opportunities to further my understanding of technology as my school was focusing more sports orientated. But this did not stop me from pursuing my hobbies as I later became a part the unofficial IT administration, working with the head of technology and networking for my school. My job was more of less setup and maintaining WiFi access points in the dormitories and the school or maintaining the computers for the library. On my off time also helped a number of my classmates build their own computers and keep them up-to-date.

I have always been told that I got blessed with my genes. Everything I do athletically just comes natural to me. I have had the opportunity to play multiple sports whom of which I have had success in. In all of the sports I’ve participated in I have loved soccer the most and track is just the most natural sport for me. I’ve played soccer for over half of my young life. Soccer just makes me happy when I play. I have also been blessed by being average at soccer too. I didn’t do well my 9th grade season so coming into being a Sophomore I wanted to change that. I worked hard in the off-season and I became a varsity Captain and I finished the season 3rd in the area for assist and was a 2nd team All-District player. I was proud of myself but i knew I didn’t give it everything I had.

Last year I started a new sport, cross country. I only did it because my lacrosse coach said that it might help me get better for lacrosse. So I went to the first late summer practice last year to see what this was like, so then we did warm-ups and a lap around the track. Then it was the first time I met coach Chase, My first impression of him was going to be very strict, But soon realized that this was false because of one of the first things he said. He said “I know there are a lot of nerves here right now, but cross country isn’t about winning every race, that comes later” then continued with “Cross country is about showing what you can do to yourself.” This struck me very hard because I was not that fast and was near the back. Through that fall the team did very well, I also made some progress myself. After the season was over I made a decision.

It all started in August on my first day of 6th grade where I came out for the cross country season not knowing what I was about to get myself into. My dad said I had to either get a job or do sports in school, so I chose to do a sport because what 13 year old would want to get a job anyway? Soon after the first week of practice was over, I was running as the number two runner. Staying as the number one and two runner as the rest of my middle school years, almost breaking the school record and being named “top dog” I

I was a late-comer to athletics. So when the distance coach recruited me in tenth grade, it was a pleasant surprise to be half decent. I was deemed the most improved cross country runner in the nation, dropping six minutes for a 4K, landing me in my first state race. I have since been a contributing part of my varsity team. I have been All-Conference and All-Section for the past three years. This past year, my cross country team won state and nationals. I, myself, was runner-up in the team division at nationals. In Track and Field, I also competed at state. Running has become a huge part of my life, teaching me many lessons, especially that there is always room for

I approached that year’s conditioning with a pessimistic attitude and wondered why was I doing this when I’m not going to run in meets. Just like the year before, I assumed that conditioning and practicing would be obsolete. I braced myself for another disappointing year. Every winter day after school, I braced myself against the cold with a hope that this season would be different. I went into the first day of practice feeling in shape and optimistic. But just like freshman year, there was no preparing for the ache and suffering of the first practice. With the season approaching, our coach timed us to determine who would run in meets. Our coach divided us into groups based on how fast she thought we were. When a senior saw that I was in the first, slower group, he said that I belonged in the faster group with them. Hearing that compliment from a senior changed my outlook on the season might go. As the first track meet approached, we split off into groups so we could perfect our technique based on the event we were running. As I was jogging around the track wondering whether this year was going to be the same as last year, our coach summoned me over to perfect baton handoffs for the 4x100 meter relay. As the realization hit me that I was going to compete, I thought, “I’m not going to relinquish this spot because I labored profusely to attain

The previous track season I had one of the best mile times for 10th graders in the state and I was only improving from that point. To ensure success for the upcoming season, I started to train with a 5 time state champion in Indiana from the 1990’s. He was my Dad’s old friend from high school and I had trust in him to achieve my full potential. His methods for training were fine, but very

Throughout summer training, I put in more effort than previous seasons and finally became part of the cross-country team’s top seven group. The entire squad noticed my diligent work and voted me to be the team captain. As team captain, I always helped my team get organized and advised fellow teammates. Additionally, I found a way for the team to get Chipotle at a pre-race party and everyone was incredibly thankful for the free catering. Additionally, I ran varsity in most meets, and the intense competition made me an even better runner. I received a mark of 17:48 in a 3-mile race, which was my best time

Running was a part of my life between 2014 and 2016, when I was still a young middle school kid. I tried out for the track team, and I ran for my first time in March. Track and Field was a new experience for me, I had

Reflecting on the beginning of my football career, I remember not playing as much as I would have liked to. I was in the second grade and did not know much about the game but had fun being on the field with classmates. As I became older I was not growing as much as the other kids on the team but it did not concern me because football was just a game. However, I started taking football seriously my sophomore year in high school and turned it into a lifestyle. I stood five feet, three inches and weighed 175 pounds. I played fullback and linebacker for a high school who played against some of the best players in the nation. Most fullbacks and linebackers are one of the biggest players on the team; I was far from being the biggest player on the team. Ironically, every team I have played for including in college, I have been the smallest player. However, being small only pushed me. I always went toe to toe with whoever the coaches thought the best player was because I knew I no human can out perform me every

In September 2012 I was registered for my first swim meet. I was apprehensive and felt totally unprepared. I had learnt all the strokes, but had not gained proficiency in any of them. The meet was a complete disaster, and I ended up coming in last. The second swim meet was no better. I thought that over time my improvement would speak for itself, but I was wrong. After a few meets, I was still ranked below division C, and no where close to making it into A division. Although I trained harder and improved in each meet, it was not enough to reach my goal. After another failed meet, my father had a chat with me. In this conversation my father explained to me “Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man, but sooner or later