Personal Narrative: The Hammer Throw

From the first time I walked into the hammer circle, I knew that the hammer throw was going to become one of the most important things to me. My first time throwing the hammer was a complete failure. I actually threw it in the wrong direction and fell onto the ground. After practicing nearly every day for the past three years, I'm finally at a point where I'm confident in my skills. I’ve competed in national meets all over the country. The hammer throw is a really complex event, which requires speed, strength, and technique. I spent many hours doing drills and nearly whole afternoons in the weight room to get the point that I'm at. I'm not sure which I love more, the minutes before my throw anticipating and planning what I'm going to focus

When I first started competing, I used to focus too much on how the other athletes were doing. This caused me to psych myself out and not do the best that I could. I learned to not worry about what others do. I cannot change what they are doing, I can only compete to the best of my ability. This way of thinking has reflected into the way I see life. I don’t have to worry about what everyone else does, I just need to focus on myself and work as hard as I possibly can to be the best version of “me” that I can be. Not only has track and field influenced my view on life, but actually my interests in school. Being at track meets quite frequently, I have seen phenomenal things that the human body is capable of. Seeing athletes become so powerful, strong, and fast. Seeing the effects of adrenaline of the athletes competing. Being in this environment of amazing athletes sparked an interest in me of how the body works. This interest has developed over time into me wanting to become a doctor. A single sport has grown into one of the greatest influences on me and has overall helped me become a better person. The effects of track on me has been more significant than any other factor in my