Personal Narrative: Joining Cannon Falls Weightlifting Team

When the school year started, I realized I wouldn't be able to do all the things I wanted to do and keep my grades up. I had to choose between my love for sports and my love for the arts. I wanted to continue running on the cross-country team, and later on, do indoor and outdoor track and field. For me, running is important. It's something I enjoy doing, and after the summer captain's practices, I have grown to love the people I run with. The team really felt like a family and I loved being with them day to day. If I continued to run I would do track in both, the winter and spring. On the other hand, I had the arts. I have always had a passion for the arts which not only included painting and drawing but also theatrical performances. Theater has been something that I have done all my life. It has been a way of expression for me and my childish dreams of going to Broadway or becoming an actress have stayed with me to this day. This year I realized how much it meant to me and I wasn't ready to give up on it. I wasn't ready to quit something that I have been doing for years. However, I did want to be part of a new group and join a sports team. It took a long time to decide and one main struggle that has continued is I don't know if I made the right decision. I decided to join the cross-country team and later join the track and field

A week before I decided to quit gymnastics I was discussing with my family and friends that I wanted to join cross country. It was the beginning of ninth grade and I was not enjoying gymnastics as much as I used to. I didn’t want to quit entirely because I was progressing my skills on beam and vault, but at the same time the sport became too much to handle. I also knew that if I wanted to run cross country that I would not be able to do gymnastics since the sport required me to drive up to Lincoln four to five times a week. Deciding whether to

Cheer Athletics in Plano is one of the most prestigious competition gyms in the country. There are other Cheer Athletics’ branches in other places like Frisco and Austin, but not one is as successful as Plano. It is the absolute best place to go for a serious cheerleader. The best and most experienced coaches work there and they are hungry to win. They expect every ounce of energy and athleticism to be left on the floor when we are finished performing. I have never had any problems with an authority figure until I started at Cheer Athletics.

Everyone has something they’re talented at, and many people have to try multiple things before they find their talent(s) that they have. As a child, my parents like many others had me participate in multiple activities. For example, I took dance classes, played a great amount of sports, and was a participant in many plays. In my freshman year, I tried running track and field. During the course of it, I developed shin splints and I proceeded to go to the athletic trainer. The athletic trainer here, Todd Korabek, has a system that works for the whole program. New injuries will see an aide, and that aide will then write up a card for them which lists their name, sport, injury, and body part. The aide doesn’t write the injury because only the athletic trainer can diagnose. After the athletic trainer treats all old injuries, he evaluates the new injuries, which happened to be me at that moment. Watching the aides assist Mr. Korabek really inspired me and his profession intrigued me.

It has made me wonder why I did not get more involved or put myself out there more. Why did I not attend that volleyball game or why did I not join that club that I thought looked interesting? Do not get me wrong, I have been to a lot of games and a have gotten myself involved here and there, but not as much as I wish I had. Eighth grade year my friends and I were in photography club, which was basically just us taking pictures of each other and goofing off the whole time. In freshman year, I joined the track team, but with my luck they put me on hurdles. Have you seen how short I am? Who puts someone with legs as short as mine on hurdles? Sophomore year I signed up for a photography class that was all seniors. When I first walked in I was terrified because I really did not know any of the seniors and there were no girls from my grade in the class, but it turned out not to be as bad as I thought it was going to be. Last year I took a creative writing class just to see how creative I could get and it was actually one of my favorite classes I have ever taken at Chapelle. So out of all my years at Chapelle I have at least done one thing out of my comfort zone, but this year I am looking to give it my

I am proud to be part of a community that supports each other, respects milestones, and strives for more accomplishments. The weightlifting community in Vancouver, British Columbia has been a vital part of my life for the past five years. Anyone can be a part of it if they have a passion for the sport and common goals. A weightlifter is supported when they ask for a spot or look for information online. They cheer you on as you seek a new personal best. When a weightlifter achieves a milestone in their weightlifting career, those around them recognize it. When I reached the milestone of being able to squat three hundred and fifty five pounds I was showered with encouragement and advice on how to improve even more. Weightlifters who are more

As I looked at the barbell stacked with two 45 lbs plates on both sides, I questioned my own ability, and think to myself there is no way in hell I am able to lift this without injuring myself.

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.

As a former gymnast, cheerleading was never something I planned on doing. In the gymnastics world, cheer was hated. Gymnasts everywhere claimed that cheerleading “stole” tumbling from us. So when I made the Junior Varsity team my freshman year, I expected the worst. Looking back, cheer has taught me more life lessons in the past four years than gymnastics ever did in the ten years I was a gymnast.

Volleyball has been a large part of my life the past five years as I've played on Greenwood High School's Team. My transition from elementary school to middle involved joining the high school volleyball team, along with two other to-be seventh graders. These past few years have been marked with both struggle and triumph as we experienced three different coaches as the original coach stepped down. This left us with only 14 girls to play with one year, when an average volleyball team plays with 30 girls. We struggled as a team that year but we also came closer together through shared experience, which enabled us to work together even better as a team the year after under the tutelage of our third coach. My ninth grade year I participated very heavily on the team as I played both Freshman and

On 03/03/2017 at approximately 0900 hours, I woke up and started getting ready for the gym. I drank my pre-workout drink and left my house for the gym. On my way to the gym, i stopped to one-stop nutrition shop for a protein shake. I worked out on my shoulders in the gym. On my way to home from the gym, i stopped at a hot bagel shop and got two turkey burritos. After i got home from the gym, i start getting ready for work. At 1245 hours, i left my house for work. On my way to work, i stopped for gas at Chevron gas station on the carefree highway. I bought two monster drinks and one protein bar from the gas station. I arrived at work at 1330 hours, but my briefing for work start at 1400 hours. My sergeant brought pizza for the whole squad.

When I did Cross Country and Track for the first time, I fell short as a star runner. Instead, weightlifting became the place in high school athletics where I was able to find my niche.

When I got to the gym, a hum of optimism was in the air, and even though half of us felt like collapsing in exhaustion, I could tell by the sparkle in our eyes that we were as ready as a firing rocket. I had realized that joining the GCA Volleyball team was so smart, a true genius couldn’t deny it. With juggling school, church, AND volleyball, I could be more responsible, and ready for college, as well as a job. I could learn to space and manage my time wisely which I know is something I would have to do very soon. And stress, luckily, wasn’t much of a problem with volleyball, so I didn’t feel like tearing out my hair at any point. There are no regrets in my heart for joining the team, making new friends, and becoming better at

To become an athletic trainer, one must complete courses such as Human Anatomy and Physiology as well as other courses that pertain to this major. These classes will help in learning how the body functions. I will also have to pass the Board of Certification exam and must be CAATE certified I could also volunteer at sporting events to get to know the environment around the players, coaches, and spectators from a non-athlete point of view. This could prove helpful because an athletic trainer will constantly be around sporting events and usually close to spectators, coaches, and players alike.

My Weightlifting Journey As he walked into the iron jungle, the smashing of the weights freighted him. The smell of seat and rust filled the air. It was the first time I had set foot in the Anytime Fitness gym. I had no idea where to start, my mind was unsure of my surroundings.