Personal Narrative: Georgian Court University's Gym

The sun glared down on our bruised, tired, and dirty bodies as we hung our heads in defeat. Dropping to the losers bracket on our first of three days of the State Softball Tournament meant we could not lose again or we would go home and I would never play with this team again. Attitudes and hope started to fade as Coach read us our new schedule. We would have to play eight games in a row without losing once in order to make it to the championship. Everyone started to say goodbye and thank you to one of our coaches and a teammate that would not be there the next day. Halfheartedly they included a doubtful “see you on Sunday”.

In 2016, more than ever, the team was committed to and had one goal of winning. One of our biggest rivals was St. John’s College High School (SJCHS). My doubles partner and I played the last match of the WCAC championships against SJCHS. During the season, SJCHS was one of the hardest competitors we faced but walking onto the court on the final day of championships, my partner and I knew we would fight and win. After 45 minutes, I hit an ace and we won the match that put us in the lead to win the championships. October 30, 2016 was the single most exciting and overwhelming day for the team all season. Everyone’s hard work paid off.

It all started on June 2014, I was uncomfortable in my own skin. I was underweight and was always out of breath. I ran like a turtle. At that time, I weighed only 115 pounds. I wanted to make a change for the better, wanting a better lifestyle. So I decided to sign up for the gym. That day changed my life forever. The gym made me fit, healthier, but most importantly it made me a better person which is who I am today.

Half way through this Mohawk Volleyball season, Coach Nicole Hunter is working the varsity team hard. But, all that hard work is showing improvements. “Each and every game our girls are improving in whatever aspect we have been focusing on in practice,” Coach Hunter explains. Although their record may not portray the hard work they put in and improvements that are occurring, multiple close matches have stacked up in their favor. Matches such as the ones against Marshalltown, Clear Lake, and many others. One match that Coach Hunter will always remember from last season is the game against Decorah. As Coach Hunter put it, “We had battled through a lot of

It all came down to this game. We had lost to Fort Branch during our first game of the school year and then came our chance for redemption, the annual 7th Grade Volleyball Tournament. The air was thick with tension as both teams warmed up. The time on the clock slowly slipped away as we got prepared and soon enough, it was time to start the game. Coach Elpers gathered our team all around her and gave us a motivational speech. We gathered in a huddle and all shouted, “Lady Elites” on the count of three. Then, we ran onto the court to play the most important game of our season.

The Girls Varsity Volleyball Team made their mark at the beginning of the season when they participated in and won this year's "Bulldog Classic." The two-day tournament took place at Ayala High School where the girls played against 7 teams in all: Bishop Amat and Roosevelt on Friday; and Glendora, Arcadia, Claremont, Kings, and Santiago High School on Saturday. The games on Friday started at 2:30pm until 7:00pm, while the games on Saturday went from 7:00am to 3:00pm. "We played hard, and we pushed through the fatigue," mentioned Taylor Johnson, right-side player. The girls were definitely motivated to Go Big or Go Home, as they played to the best of their ability and won against all seven teams, resulting in them winning the grand prize for

I was stoned the first time I went to a gym. I came in with some friends and we were all non-stop laughing. Everyone must have thought we were crazy. The first thing we did was go to the locker room to change out; we felt like we needed to calm down. We still couldn't take each other serious, so we decided to start working out. We started out with biceps, doing simple curls. Well, not so simple since every time we curled up a weight, we would act like Goku going super saiyin from “Dragon Ball Z.”

The beginning of my sixth grade year is when I experienced my phase of embarrassment. To begin, my gym class was after lunch, so immediately after lunch we transferred to gym class. Mr. Dees, our teacher, announced that we were going to have a free day, in which, my face held a smile as wide as a Cheshire cat. Initially, the boys would play basketball while the girls would pretend to be cheerleaders. This particular day, the girls pretended to have cheerleading tryouts in which the boys would be the judges. One by one each girl took turns showcasing the skills which included cartwheels, toe touches, splits, and cheer chants. Everyone did exceptional on the tryout skills, except me. When it was my turn I completed everything smoothly except

They tossed me the ball and I slowly and nervously walked back to the line. The only thing I could say in my head was “you better make this serve Caroline!!” that repeated in my head over and over again. I finally gave myself a toss, bad toss said my head but I was too nervous to let it drop so, I swung. I made it over the net, but they free balled it back to us and no one could get it. 14-12. One more point and they win. #16 on the Dunes team missed her serve on the first try. 13-14. Jaceys turn. I don't know what she was thinking but her body language told me she didn't want to serve right then. Ace! Point Farout! 14-14. We still had to win by 2 though. Miss. 15-14, there serve. WE got a volley from #12. I set Alexis and she just set it over but #5 on Dunes popped it up.

We had lost the first set easily and were down in the second set. Ainsley and I kept striving to do well, but Chloe and Megha were just playing better than us today. Then, it was 2-5. We were a little bit discouraged, but we kept fighting our hardest. We hadn’t gotten that far in the tournament just to be hopeless and give up. Despite our best efforts, we lost the next three points.

I walked into a new gym, and I saw a guy hitting a volleyball harder than I had ever seen anyone hit before. In the next moment I saw him walking over to me before my practice started. He said hello to me. I was a 13 year old kid when I first meet KK Paela at club volleyball practice. After knowing KK for a year, he began to help me become a better volleyball player by fixing all of the mistakes that I was making. He told me how to improve my hitting by reaching my elbow up higher, how to become a better passer by keeping my platform out in front of my body, and to hit around the block instead of hitting right into it. Everything that he has taught me since the day that I first met him has made me the person that I

I was hot, sweaty, and tired but there was not a quitting bone in my body. The first couple of points go back and forth. Everyone is watching now. He hit a drop shot. I’m there. He hits a lob. I run so hard, I slam into the rusty fence. I cut my arm and it started to turn black and blue. After an injury time out, I was eager to get back out there. As I walk out, I noticed there were twice as many people watching now. He serves to start the tiebreaker. I quickly notice I will not be able to hit my two-hand backhand any more. I wasn’t panicked, I switched to a one-hander. I win the point. I can tell Marshall is starting to sweat and will remember my name. We go back and forth a few points now and he keeps trying to attack my new one-hander but it’s steady every time. It’s 11- all now and his dad is blue in the face; scared his prodigy was two points from losing the match. We go back and forth now and he edges the victory, 16-14, in the third set breaker. I walked away with the feeling that my dreams of playing college tennis had become a

Although fitness centers and gyms may appear to be a place to break a sweat and work out with the intention of not being seen without makeup and in grungy clothes, this may not be the case, in particular when it comes to college gyms. Contrary to the findings Tamara L. Black displayed in her dissertation for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology from the University of California in Los Angeles, in which she depicts the situation of the classical fitness center as exercise dominated, after observations made while participating in the Boston College Recreational Complex, fitness centers may be more heavily focused on expressing sexual and social relations than for health related issues. Although she does not elaborate on this view

I pushed the ball to Mariah, she passed it to Victoria, who drove the ball into the net. We heard the sound of a clean hit to the back board. It was one beautiful goal. We all cheered and high fived, but knew we had to stay serious. It wasn’t over yet. Nearly a quarter of the game had gone by. There was still time for things to change. We all jogged back to our starting positions and waited for the ball to begin moving once again. This time, we were back on our heels. The star player from Monadnock gained possession of the ball and began

October 19, 2016 is the first round of sectionals. We play the Batesville Bulldogs. Our season opener opponent that we successfully took home the W in five nail biting sets. The bus ride there is quiet, everyone has their headphones plugged in getting pumped up for the match. Focus. There was not one thing that could distract us from getting that W once more to bring back home. Until, we walked in the door. We’ve been here before, so it shouldn’t be a shock to anyone that it was their home court advantage. We were the underdogs it seemed like, but the focus is still strong, headphones turned up even louder. We walk into the locker room and get our things together to start warming up. We all get in a circle and pray that this is our year. We hug, we sing, we dance, and we sure as heck scream at the top of our lungs.