Outside of fencing, I am heavily involved in both Speech and Debate and Cross Country for my Highschool, while balancing both my fencing and school work. In Cross Country, one of the major goals is to get on varsity as I was very close last season. In Debate I am excited to become a leader to many incoming freshmen, helping them become fluent in the various debating techniques. In school, my favorite classes are Science and English as in Science you learn about all sorts of intricacies of life, and in English, you are able to craft words to both create convincing and wonderful works of writing. I also am starting to volunteer at my public library as I have always loved reading and I enjoy both teaching and helping people experience the joy …show more content…
The worst words I’ve heard in my time fencing. These words sparked a long and boring two months of nothing. No running no fencing, no unnecessary movement. This long sabbatical has sparked great change, transcended my athletic self and influenced who I am as a person, through the ways it unleashed a new level of work ethic in my athletic self. Before I was injured I had it quite easy, do to a large amount of time I had spent fencing I could obtain success with relative ease. But now, I have no such ease. I had lost my point control and most of my footwork. An average person may have seen this as terrible and an end, but I’ve seen it as a beginning of new potential. This beginning has forced me to work at a redoubled rate, pushing myself to great extents to achieve the prowesses I once held. I developed habits of work, the days of half-assed practices and little effort are over. I have been motivated in a better way to change my habits and force myself to attain the greatness I desire in even better ways than before my injury. Not only did I apply this to my fencing life, but I have applied this to who I am as a person. I have taken the lessons learned in diligence and applied it to my school work, in any class where I have any struggle I make an appointment with the teacher and I complete every homework assignment as soon as possible. I have made the worst moment of my fencing career into the best. This is how
I am eager to try rowing, fencing and water polo. This is not all however, because break dancing, debating and Army Cadets are also things that I am keen to involve myself in.
It’s the triumphs as well as the defeats, that I will remember most about my life when I look back in thirty years. If I can look back and say, “I didn’t think I could ever accomplish this, but I gave it my all.” Pursuing the next challenge along with being a well-rounded, compassionate person will allow me to consider my life a success in thirty years. Nothing in my life emulates this attitude towards what I will consider a success, in terms of pushing my limits, in thirty years, than my current pursuit of collegiate level sports.
Although therapy deemed very challenging, I’m thoroughly engrossed in watching the inner workings of the trainer building me to be strong again. During the rebuilding process I’m able to absorb several factors of how the human body works as well as notice the psychology required to strengthen a patient. Hard to admit, but during the recovery time the onset of struggling to maintain a positive attitude can become prevalent. Being sidelined from sports weighed on my psyche and negatively affected my grades as well as daily demeanor. This is where the mind strengthening from the trainer and having a strong faith truly came into
Athletes are often viewed specially because of their intense determination. They often beat themselves up in order to overcome what they think they can do. Breaking this threshold nearly always requires the overcoming of adversity. In sports psychology, when an athlete “not only makes it through [his] adversity, but acquires additional protective factors in the process”, he has undergone what is known as “resilient reintegration” (Galli, Nick, and Robin S. Vealey 318). This is especially the case when “an athlete returns with a greater appreciation of sport or a stronger work ethic than before” (319). According to exercise and sport scientist Galli’s study, athletes who overcame adversity were ninety percent more capable to cope with future adversities and perform “well in both sport and in life” (320). It is no surprise that people who have overcome adversities in their past are better suited to overcome them again. What is a surprise is how far this truly goes. In fact, this study shows that athletes who have returned from an
Each game, my passion grew. Each team, new memories and lifelong friends were made. Sports sometimes make me feel disappointment and at loss; but it taught me to be resilient to a lot of things, like how to thrive under pressure and come out on top. Being the team captain of my high school’s football and lacrosse team showed me how having a big responsibility to bring a group together to work as one is compared to many situations in life. Currently playing varsity football, varsity lacrosse, and track I take great pride in the activities I do. Staying on top of my academics, being duel enrolled at Indian River State College, working three nights a week, and two different sport practices after school each day shaped my character to having a hard work
I joined my school’s cross country team in the summer. At the beginning we performed pre-season workouts. The training was tough, but my proud personality and the very thought of what I had to gain kept me motivated and helped me push through the pain. Every time I felt like giving up or quitting, I would say to myself, “This pain is only temporary; remember that the reward will be permanent, and it will be worth the pain that I endure today.” I was able to push through the
I have a very active lifestyle resulting in a wide variety of interests outside of the classroom. I have always had a deep life-long passion for sports. I represented my high schools varsity volleyball and basketball teams as well as partaking in an adult slow-pitch softball league throughout high school and into college. Other sports and activities I enjoy include Tae-kwon-do, soccer, fast-pitch softball, tennis, callisthenic and weighted workouts, running, hiking and biking.
Ever since the previous season I had my standards set high. I had placed fifth, which was all right for the time being, but I knew as time went on I needed to push myself and increase my level of wrestling. I decided that I would do whatever it took, through thick and thin. I traveled to small local tournaments in Colorado, and a couple out-of-state tournaments, I even traveled to Delaware. It didn't really matter how I did at these tournaments because it was just all practice until February. So, I lifted and wrestled just about every chance I got. It was all in preparation for one match, six minutes.
Then, three years ago, I broke through those walls. My conscious urged me against it, ran through all the “what ifs” of the situation, as usual, but this time I couldn’t help it. How can one ever truly test his abilities if one is too afraid to even take any initial risk? So, one cloudy, brisk Saturday morning, and joined the football team. Immediately after the first practice, the option of quitting crept its way into my mind. But how could I ever reach my goals if I couldn’t take on a high school sport? There will be thousands of students in college competing with me, professors looking to make scholars, not dropouts. If I couldn’t face this, I couldn’t face them. So, I endured practice after practice, game after game. Every day, I had to rebuild the courage I had to walk out on the field that first day to step out on the field. I was weaker, smaller, and less apt at the game than man of the guys on that team, but I the constant threat of fear couldn’t hold me back anymore.
Athletics has made a difference in my life through its redefining of the word “success.” Before I got involved with track and cross country, success was measured by goals I set and achieved for myself that made me happy. Since then, I have realized that success is much more gratifying when it is dependent on making those around me proud. In track, success is when I have trained hard enough so that I am able to help my relay team win a race or break the school record. In cross country, success is when I have built up enough endurance to contribute to the team score and help my team move on to the state meet. This mentality has translated to my daily life, as I am constantly working hard to please those around me. At school, I always do my homework and get good grades so that my teachers do not have to focus extra energy on getting me to do my work. At work, I strive to go above and beyond my typical duties so that I can lessen the responsibilities of my co-workers. At home, I help out with chores without being asked so that my parents can have one less thing
The start of the 2002 track season found me concerned with how I would perform. After a disastrous bout with mononucleosis ended my freshmen track season, the fear of failure weighed heavily on my mind. I set a goal for myself in order to maintain focus and to push myself like nothing else would. My goal for my sophomore track season was to become a state champion in the 100 meter hurdles. I worked hard everyday at practice and went the extra mile, like running every Sunday, to be just that much closer to reaching my goal. The thought of standing highest on the podium in the center of the field, surrounded by hundreds of spectators, overcame my thoughts of complaining every time we had a hard workout. When I closed my eyes, I pictured myself waiting in anticipation as other competitors names were called out, one by one, until finally, the booming voice announced over the loudspeaker, "...and in first place, your 2002 100 meter hurdle champion, from Hotchkiss, Connie Dawson." It was visions like these that drove me to work harder everyday.
The activity that is most important to me is cross country. I have been in cross country since freshman year. I started out slower, my first year and I was injured the last month. Little by little, I worked my way up each year. This year I finished third on my team at the Minnesota State Cross Country Meet. I improved because I dedicated all of the year to training. For the past two summers, I have ran the most miles on the team with over 400 miles. Each year I have broken out of my shell, became less shy, and meet more people. This year I was one of the captains of the team. As a captain, I was a role model for the rest of the team. Being a captain helped me become more outgoing and it developed my leadership skills.
... like some might have, I wouldn’t have played. Especially if I thought I’d further hurt myself, but since I thought I could contribute to my team, it was my obligation to them to try. And although I played with caution, I played without fear and with confidence in myself. “…..it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!” (Rocky Balboa 2006). By choosing to get up when life knocked me down I discovered that even at my lowest points I can still persevere and achieve great feats. My life is by no means easy, but what some might see as setbacks I see as life pushing me into the “deep end pool”. I see a challenge and an opportunity to try and swim and achieve greatness. And once you get into the habit of “swimming” winning becomes a state of mind.
Fencing is a great activity know worldwide just like reading class I learn in both. A great activity offered by my school is fencing. First, fencing offers me a lot of health benefits for the future. Second, it is just simply fun to take and to learn important life skills. Last, I take it because some of my friends take it with me, and I like the way they teach us all of the important skills first. As can be seen, the great activity offered by my school is the art of fencing.
Zemper, E., & Harmer, D. P. (1996) Fencing. In: Caine, D., Caine, C., Linder, K. (Ed.). Epidemiology of Sports Injuries. Champaign (IL): Human Kinetics: 186-95