Personal Narrative: More Than Just A Coach

At the beginning of my sophomore year, August 2015, I fractured my left ankle. My second season of cross country had just begun. The whole team had a Saturday practice at Atlanta Memorial Park. We came to this park for a time trial. Not being able to run was going to be a challenge for me. I loved running, and seeing myself not run was going to be hard for me.

I don’t recall having a hard time learning how to read. It was one of those things that just came easily to me for some reason. For the most part I enjoyed reading as well. The only time I didn’t enjoy reading was when I didn’t understand a certain word or a certain phrase. One of the strongest memories I have from learning to read was when I was unable to pronounce the word “the”.

Prompt: The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Ever since I was little and even now, I have always loved sports that involve running, including track. In middle school when I was in seventh grade, I wanted to participate in track because I knew I would enjoy the sport. Track started in the spring during seventh grade, and the first couple of practices I thought were challenging because of what little practice I had before track had even started. From this point on, I knew I would have to work hard to reach the goals that I wanted to accomplish, and to even get personal records in running so that I could compete in sectional or even state meets that include top runners from every school. I had also kept in mind on what events I wanted to compete in, which were the one hundred meter dash,

I quickly finished tying my shoe and hopped onto my purple mountain bike and we were off. Logan my brother who I love sometimes,Cassie My best friend, Easton Cassie’s brother,Sawyer Cassie’s brother, Mr. Wychers and I were going to ride our bikes through a trail off in the woods and go to Whistle stop and then cut through town and head to Houseman's. The sky was cloudy and the daylight was being blocked by a thick dark cloud, which looked a lot like a rain cloud.

I have the standard set of beliefs as most people; don’t do anything illegal or to harm anyone, be a decent person, help those who need it. However, I’ve struggled most with the old adage of “treat others as you want to be treated”. It seemed simple enough to me as a child, and thus I began to do just as the age-old advice said. In most instances I have gotten what I’ve expected in return. My grades reflect my efforts at school, the treatment of me by my sister was indicative of how many names I had called her that day. Yet, there is still one issue that I’ve always wondered about. One could say that my experience in cross country has been far from normal. One year, I was running a thirty-minute 5k, and ranked eighty-sixth on the team. The

North Andrew hadn’t been to a state championship game since the early 90’s. This isn’t acceptable in a small football town like mine. Everyone knew something had to change. It wasn’t until my sophomore year in 2012 that we finally made it back to a state championship. We had a new coach that year and a lot of talent. Our new coach worked our butts off, harder than any other 8 man team in the state. This was difficult for all of us but we later learned that hard work really pays off.

I couldn 't endure those athletes with slogans of "challenge oneself, surpass oneself " before; considering them as insatiable rebels with over-competitiveness who create barriers for the world to achieve social tranquility. As for me myself, I thought I was a person with great wisdom and foresight back then; for I only put in the precise force that are barely enough to rub through situations without bothering too much. After all, with the strategies of leaving myself some leeway, life wouldn 't get too tiring.

The meaning of mentoring is a person who gives a younger or less experienced person help and advice over a period of time, especially at work or school. The characteristics of being a mentor are, Approachability, availability, and the ability to listen. As well as the Ability and willingness to communicate what you know. An example from In These Girls, Hope is a

It was the last inning in our all-star game, and we were losing 10 to 8. Our team had 2 outs and we couldn’t get the third. Our pitcher was doing bad, throwing all balls, while all of us in the field were tired, ready to fall asleep at any moment. There goes another walk. They score again. Great! I was thinking. At this point in the game I thought for sure that I would die right there in center field. However, baseball is baseball and things can change rather rapidly.

I had spent months training for those 20 minutes. I prepared for every possible thing that could have gone sour during those fleeting moments that would determine how my freshman season would end. If the start was too slow I would gradually speed up after mile one. If my hip injury worsened mid-race I would alter my stride to avoid pain. What about if I completely fell apart one mile in? I should have imagined what to do in this scenario, because it was the only one that actually happened.

On September 14th, Haverford High School hosted one of the most important races for the Upper Darby Cross Country team. In most races, the winning team is not rewarded with a prize. But this was a different race. The girls team were running, fighting for the possession of the sports bra. The tradition of the sports bra was established by the coaches of both teams, Upper Darby and Haverford, in late seventies inspired by the boys’ tradition with a bronze shoe. The trophy was an actual sports bra that had been plastered. Painted purple and red with gold in the middle, it hung from wooden posts attached to a wooden base. The colors represented the school colors of each team with gold as the hue we share. Despite its vulgar impressions, it is the

I woke up in my hotel bed on a Saturday. This day could make me or break me. The scouts from Ohio State, Notre Dame, and the University Of Michigan would be there. If I perform like I did this whole season I will have a full ride football scholarship from these schools and many others.

This quote is from the daily record, mentioning me after the Smithville football game. “As much as he tried to fight it, Chippewa’s Jake Hall couldn 't control his emotions. Like many of his teammates, the senior linebacker left just about everything he had in him on the field friday night in a 23-20 overtime win at Smithville in Wayne County Athletic league play”. This was by far my best game of my senior year football season. At the time we were fighting for our team 's playoff lives and if we wanted any chance of going there, we needed to win this game and we did, in overtime. Once it was all over and set in stone, I just collapsed to the ground in exhaustion and just completely overwhelmed with emotion.

It happened on June 11, 2015. My lacrosse team won our regional quarter final game the previous day—I scored my personal best of five goals and was named Player of the Game. As a reward for the win, my coach gave us a three hour practice the next day that was strictly conditioning—leaving the seniors 30 minutes to go home, shower, change, and drive to our Senior Dinner at Bowdoin College. I raced home from practice, my sweat sticking to the car leather seats, music blasting, and the wind in my hair. I had the future on my mind: playoffs, graduation, summer, and college. I took an ice cold shower and threw on a dress, making my way to Bowdoin 15 minutes late (and still sweating). I went through the motions of the Senior Dinner that night: I