Personal Narrative: Better Way To Run

In order to improve our own practice as a teacher, lesson planner and a professional in a teaching organisation working with others, it is important that we take account of feedback from various sources and evaluate our own performance on a regular basis. As Wilson, suggests:

I went out for the track team when I was in seventh grade. I enjoyed track because I enjoy running, jumping, and spending time with my friends. The track season was amazing because I learned to do the high jump. I had to learn how to time my steps and jump backwards. Did you know that long ago they would jump forward over the bar. Then a man named Dick Fosbury tried a different way, go over backwards, now this is called the “Fosbury flop” Which I think sounds like an ice cream cone of some sort but. I also had to learn the lingo. “Up” means it’s your turn to jump. “On deck” means you are next in line. “In the hole” means you are third to jump. It is important to stay in order, once at the Metamora track meet I thought they had called my name, I jumped and made it over the bar. but It was not actually my turn so I had to jump again, I wanted to give him a Well-that-was-your-fault-not-mine kind of look. Luckily, I made it over the second time also. Another meet I remember was when I jumped 4 feet 11in. I had no idea I was going to jump that high that day because it was cold and rainy. I was very surprised and I ended up winning that event that day. Since Micah was hurt and he normally beats me, I got first so I was happy. I participated in sectionals. I had to jump 5ft

I started drawing when I was 16. I was cursing 10th grade, or how is called in my country, Dominican Republic “Segundo de Bachillerato”. It was recess. I was alone in my classroom that day, besides two or three people who were just killing time there, and I didn’t had much to do with my time. I was at the last book of a series of books which names I can’t remember and If I recall correctly the last book was very boring for some reason so I didn’t wanted to read it anymore. So, looking for something to do, I stood from my seat and walked boringly down the aisle of chairs and that was, not my first interaction with art, but the first time I remember i liked art or paid attention to it. Yerkis, a guy of my class: short, chubby and well mannered

He ran in the marathon ,for he wanted to support his mother who suffered from a cancer relapse

Growing up with a father in the military, you move around a lot more than you would like to. I was born just east of St. Louis in a city called Shiloh in Illinois. When I was two years old my dad got the assignment to move to Hawaii. We spent seven great years in Hawaii, we had one of the greatest churches I have ever been to name New Hope. New Hope was a lot like Olivet's atmosphere, the people were always friendly and there always something to keep someone busy. I used to dance at church, I did hip-hop and interpretive dance, but you could never tell that from the way I look now.

Over my years of school, one big influence on me has always been sports. Ever since a young age, I have always enjoyed playing and watching sports. In my four years in high school, I have fell in love with the sport of lacrosse.

I feel our performance relates very well with the information we have learned in class. Our original Idea was to use a few moves from all the

It was August 28th 2013 , I knew the next day would be the biggest day of my life. All throughout the week, all I had on my mind was the big game. When I woke up on that Friday morning chills would run through my body a bolt of electricity. Knowing I’m one day away from one of the biggest games of my life. The winner has a spot in the playoffs. I was so excited and anxious that I went for a run around my neighborhood because I was filled with so much energy. When I got back from my run I had a creamy peanut butter and nutella sandwich. The best sandwich I’ve ever conceived to this day. Next thing I had to do was take my shower and get all my stuff prepared for the big game.

When I was only eight years old my mom and dad made me join a track team called Lighting Links. I was furious because I hated running, I was scared I wouldn't make any friends, and I really really hated running. For me, running was like throwing away your favorite candy for no reason. I would just use up all of my energy and get no benefits from it, well at least that is what I thought.

I remember when I turned five, something in my mother’s head clicked. She wanted me to join track. I did not understand the point of running just to reach the finish line. Other sports like football, soccer, etc. have something to run for, but what does track have to run for? Yes, it’s to reach that finish line, but what is that going to do for me? That was the first thought that came to my seven-year-old self. Let’s just say for the first couple years my thoughts about running were far from being changed.

As the sun’s nutritious rays fuel my body; sweat races down my back and accumulates into the threads of my cotton t-shirt. I peer over my neighborhood park fence and gaze over the spacious scenery. The track field was well in shape, free of small debris and ready for a test run and light jump activities in the sand-pit. Soon enough the high temperature fills my head, leaving me in a state of allusion. Images of my friends and I sporadically unfold in front of me and unto the track; as if being placed in a desert mirage. I feel a sense of peace and eagerness surge through my body, while the images continue to appear. Then, a whisper comes into the mix saying some sort of gibberish. Stepping a bit more cautiously then I regularly would I walked

87/140 blood pressure. Hypertension? No, adrenaline. My heart was beating fast and hard; I could practically feel the blood pumping through every vein, every capillary, every artery. I could feel ,the constant assault on my whole body of the speeding wind that brought in a brigade of sand to scratch my face and make its way through every crevice. We were moving at such high speeds that the truck seemed to never even touch the ground.

During practice there were several behaviors analyzed that served to find if the coach was using the correct strategies to improve the performance of the players. First, the coach began practice by informing the team that someone will be taking video of their practice to analyze areas of improvement. Additionally, he required every player to record themselves practice at home and email those recordings to him, so that each player could be evaluated individually. Later, he gave the team general technical instructions on what the session for the day would consist of and soon every player began to take their assigned positions for practice. During practice, the most frequent behaviors consisted of specific positive reinforcement (41%), general technical instructions (22%), and general positive reinforcement (22%). Regarding specific positive reinforcement, the coach would mention the name of the player and the area that he was performing well on. For instance, he would say “Alex, great job on communication!” or “Liam, awesome job on recovering the ball!” This way the players had a clear idea of the areas that they were doing well on rather than just hearing “good job!” I also observed that when the players would receive appraisal their energy increased and as a result they became more engaged in practice. The players who did not receive as much appraisal seemed frustrated and confused throughout practice and as such their performance suddenly decreased. Although, general positive reinforcement

I was able to gain knowledge on my weaknesses as well as ways to improve my coaching ability. The feedback received was similar in relation to my strengths, weaknesses, minor and major areas of contribution. Alex, Tyler both stated that my strength was my ability to ensure the students were doing as told. They stated that it was evident the students respected me and listened to the instructions I had given. Other strengths that were apparent during this coaching experience was my ability to work well with Tyler when it came to planning lessons and communicating with each other during lessons. The feedback received from Drago and Tyler was that my major weakness was my explaining of drills. They discussed the fact that my explanations confused the students as I gave to much information. During explanations I would over complicate the drill or skill by not addressing the keys cues. Tyler said that due to the fact that the students were cognitive learners the explanations had to be short and simple and only address the key cues. This would result in students remaining focused and gaining a deeper understanding. The agree with the feedback received in relation to my strengths and weakness as I identified my explanations of drills confused the students and need further clarification thus taking time away from the actual

Next me as the teacher should help in assisting the students by rehearsing the strategy steps and going over in full expansion of what every step means. Making sure the students have an understanding of what is being taught helps with rehearsal. Students learn through visuals and repetition. Rehearsing helps put this strategy in the student's mind and