Personal Narrative: Falling Short As An Athlete

“Sprinters don’t even do anything,” is what the distance runners say. “You guys hardly even run,” they go on. As a sprinter, I hear this a lot. Every year we get grief from them about how they think we don’t do anything and it’s very agitating. Track and field is supposed to be a team sport, although people do run in their separate events. Having the long distance runners always talk gossip and tell us we never do anything is just adding unnecessary drama. I hope some day they can learn to stop making perceptions of us.

I found my love for athletic activity at a young age. When I was 7 years old, I was enrolled in a YMCA summer program in Michigan. That is where it all started. My summer days were filled with various sport activities. Unfortunately, when I moved to California at the age of 10, I stopped playing sports for at least a year. However, during the rest of elementary school, throughout middle school, and in high school, I played different sports to figure out which one I liked best, which is now, Track & Field.

What is the only thing harder than disciplining a dozen ten year olds? Disciplining them on ice! All throughout my life I’ve played sports, and no matter what sport it was, there was always one person who seemed to have it out for me…the referee. The referee is one of the most hated people in the world of sports, but is also one of the most crucial. I grew up with the mindset that the referee was the enemy. Whenever they made a call against me or my team, they were always wrong, no matter how obvious the penalty was. But one day, my whole perspective on referees changed---the day I became a referee.

From my earliest memories school sports have been a part of my life. When I was in elementary school I watched my older siblings play basketball, football, baseball, and even male cheerleading. I couldn’t wait for my chance to play on a team, and make a difference. I have been very fortunate to be a part of many great teams at Mandan. I have grown and developed not only as an athlete, but also a person through the athletic programs. Sports have taught me to be accountable, to show up on time, to work hard, to practice, and to push myself to the best of my abilities. They have made me mentally and physically stronger than I ever thought possible and taught me to help push other members to be the best they can possibly be.

My clinical rotation for the fall semester of my junior year is with the King’s College Men’s soccer team. As an athletic training student, I hold a lot of responsibilities regarding the prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, management, and treatment of these student athletes. Most of my daily activities can be separated into three groups, the pre-practice, pre-game, during the activity, and post- practice and post-game.

After waiting three weeks, I was finally cleared to play basketball again only to suffer another one. I was out after receiving an elbow to the head in a previous game giving me my first concussion. Walking onto the court at Eden Valley High School, I could feel the nerves rush through my veins. The whistle blew and the game started. I was going up to grab a pass when an opponent ran into me. Black. In those moments I was unconscious, I could only remember colliding with my opponent. I woke up in a car, my head aching as I sat up and saw bright beams of light off the street lights. The light stung my eyes and made me feel like the world was spinning a million miles per hour. “Stay awake sweetie we are almost home,” whispered my mom. Every heartbeat thumped in my head like a bass with the music to loud. I was so discombobulated and hurt I just laid there in the back seat

Instead of feeling pressure to conform as a student at the University of Georgia, I have found that being in college has made me value the importance of a higher education more so than I ever had before. During high school, my primary goal was to play well enough to receive a football scholarship. At that time, my focus was not on academics. However, since I've arrived at the University of Georgia, my entire concept of the value of a college degree has slowly changed. Rather than seeing just football in my future, I can now picture myself as a football player with a college degree. Consequently, instead of having a negative impact on my personal growth, college has helped me broaden as a person.

I actively participate in a variety of extracurricular activities. Both seeing a need and having an interest, I along with some other girls founded our school’s first Athletic Training Program during my freshman year. In the program, we educate students on common injuries seen in high school sports. As the head trainer for our school’s swim team and girl’s track team, I attend to athletes’ sore muscles, apply wraps, and provide assistance to our new trainers (2015-2018). I’m also a leader within my school’s division of Future Health Professionals of America(HOSA), helping to energize the students preparing for healthcare jobs in the future. I became one of the founding members of Stem Moms in 2014, a program that educates students about

The athletic training program at my school, many times our supervisor would let us take the lead when it came to treating a patient and diagnosing them. The biggest obstacle I face through this was doubting my confidence. One time as we were on watch during a game, a player had fallen and was in great pain. I was the next in line to go with the trainer to help the player, when we approached I began to feel my confidence dwindle. Yet I knew I had a duty to the player and was able to overcome this barrier.

It was a warm summer morning on August 28, 1998 when my mother went into Sioux Valley hospital to give birth to a baby boy. After an agonizing 15 hours in labor, I was born. They named me Bryce meaning “Nobel One.” My full name was Bryce Jay Edberg, I got this middle name after my father, which his middle name was also Jay. Being born at exactly 4:03 a.m., with a staggering 23 inch body and weighing 10 lb 4oz the delivery was nothing less then painful.

Many student athletes at Kennedy have played a sport throughout all four years in high school, and many don’t plan to continue their experience after they graduate. Towards the end of high school, student athletes are faced with the dilemma where the high school sport they have played, will be continued in college or parted with.

“Try not to get lost in comparing yourself to others. Discover your gifts and let them shine,” said Jennie Finch. I’ve had the great opportunity of discovering my God-given talents through sports. I have played volleyball, softball, and basketball and have truly been impacted by helping my teammates. I would like to use what I have learned in my career field of becoming a veterinarian.

I was in Canada for a hockey tournament and it was the semi finals. I was going for a breakaway and then boom, there were two hits his sharp graphite stick piercing my pack and my fist curling into a ball and smacking against the ice. I needed one more goal to win this game and i was so close. I broke my wrist at that moment and I needed to play so I didn’t tell anyone about my wrist then. I pushed through the pain and persevered. The score was 3 - 3 and there were 5 minutes left. Jonathan and I were in the zone passing it back and forth in the zone trying to get a clean shot. Im at the top of the zone I skate in signaling at jonathan to do the move that we practiced, my hand pulsing with pain, I skate in on the goalie with jon close behind

In the seventh grade, there were 12 girls on the cheer squad and I was the only one unable to execute a cartwheel. To be a stronger cheerleader, you must know some basic tumbling moves. Therefore, I set a long-term goal to learn how to do a cartwheel. Achieving this goal was not easy. As a team, we took tumbling lessons a couple nights a week. Because I did not have the same skill level as the other girls on the team, I also took private tumbling lessons. My instructor told me that one reason I was unable to perform a cartwheel was that I did not have enough upper body strength. Therefore, he developed an exercise routine for me that I could do at home to help me gain strength in my upper body. It took about three months of diligently

Since the day I’ve saved a goal, to my first hit on a baseball field, my passion for sports has invariably given me a dose of adrenaline unlike any other. In my search for my perfect dose, like chef, I venture and try things that I am not familiar with. In high school, I endeavored into distinct branches of physical endurance. Baseball taught me how to strategize in moments of brief thoughts and Hurdles (Track and Field) have taught me that in order to achieve my goal I must concentrate on my objective and go after it relentlessly.