It was the end of my junior year, almost the end of the season, at one of the most important powerlifting meets. It was the last one before regionals and I wanted to do really, really good and beat the girl that had beaten me all season. Every meet that we went to, I just got closer and closer to beating her. I try my hardest to do my best at every single meet and give 110%, but at this meet things didn’t go as planned. I learned that everything can’t go your way and when something goes wrong you have to pick yourself up and move on. I began this meet just like any other I weighed-in, stretched, warmed up, and put my equipment on. I always get a little nervous before we start, but I feel a little better once I have the bar on my back. I always tell myself “You can do this, this is easy weight. You got this.” as I’m sitting down waiting to get my knees wrapped. Sitting there waiting is one of the worst parts because you’re just waiting to feel the pain as they start wrapping. I was really nervous because I was using my signature golds and I had never used them before and because I was about to squat 375 pounds and I’ve never gone over 360. …show more content…
As I get to the platform, all I hear is “Go Mel, you can do this!
Head up, chest up, back straight.” I get under the bar and pick it up. As I picked it up all I could think about was how heavy it was and wondering if I could even do this because it felt so heavy. I took a step back, got in my stance, and waited for the judge to give me the signal to start. The judge usually waits a good while before he gives you the command, but this time he gave me the command right away. I was nervous so once he gave me the signal I took 3 big deep breathes and went down. My coach always tells me not to go forward as I go down because that’s usually one of my problems, but this time he wasn’t there to give me a pep talk and remind me of the things I need to
do. As I was going down I thought “Oh, it isn’t that heavy.” but the first thing I did was go forward with 375 pounds on my back, face first. I was so scared. There was little bars hanging outside of the rack so you can put the weights there and I fell straight towards them. Everyone got quiet once I fell and then rushed to come help me up. They unwrapped my wraps and made sure I was ok. I couldn’t help but cry after. I had never fallen like that at a meet before. I felt so scared and ashamed of myself. As I walked off, everyone kept asking me if I was ok and that just made me feel even worse. I knew that my coach was disappointed in my performance for that event because once he saw me he didn’t even ask what happened, because he already knew. He just said “You know what you did wrong, I don’t have to remind you.” After I calmed down, I went to the locker room to get ready for bench press and deadlift. I wanted to redeem myself on the next events, but that didn’t happen. It turned out to be one of the worst meets that I had ever had in my powerlifting career, but I still somehow placed second out of the 10 girls in my weight class. In the end, I got up and went on with the help of my family, friends, and my coach. I realized that even though things are going terribly wrong, it’ll be ok and you can move on. It was hard, but it was a huge eye opener for me. I learned that it is ok to mess up and be ashamed of yourself because you learn from your mistakes and you can only get better from there. This meet only made me better because I went on and squatted 380 pounds at the state meet.
I have always loved sports and the competitiveness that comes along with them. In so doing, I have decided to eventually become either a high school or college coach at some point in my life. Subsequently, I decided to interview the Vilonia High School Cross Country Coach, Coach Sisson. As I walked into her office, I instantly noticed all of the trophies and team photos from all of the past years of coaching. She is also the school nurse so her office has first aid equipment intermingled into the trophies and team pictures. While I set up my notes and questions for the interview on one of the desks in her office, she was finishing up a diagnosis of one of the high school students who felt sick. After her patient left, I quickly started the interview in order to waste no time. She began with how she got involved in coaching. The Vilonia School District expressed their interest to her as being the next cross country coach several years ago. She was widely known for her passion for running and she gratefully accepted the position and has been a coach for numerous years now.
Johnathan and Travis had been giving me shit all week. There were two team’s JV, and Varsity. I just wanted to make JV. He said if I call your name stay with me after practice and if I don’t call your name be dressed and on the field by 4:30. I was so nervous after like 60 names of cuts they never said my name.
In my freshman year at Lewisville High School I joined the wrestling team. Originally my only reason for joining this discourse community was to lose the weight I gained over the previous summer, but that changed when I got to experience the joy of wrestling firsthand. Being a part of the wrestling team helped me understand the inner workings of the sport, the importance of team chemistry, and what perseverance can accomplish. Joining this discourse community was the best decision I made high school by far.
Growing up my parents ran a little lake on the outskirts of my hometown of Shelbina here in northeast Missouri. I was the "tough" one out of my family by the time I was in the ninth grade I could use two weed eaters at the same time and pick up the back end of a golf cart. At 5'3 and wearing size 16 I was big girl and was often made fun of by my peers. I wanted to be something other than the "fat girl" at school. So I became stronger than an ox and used that to my advantage. My high school coach seen me one day bench pressing a picnic table and begged me to join the weightlifting program. I excelled at the class and became known as "Pipes" I went from being the chunky girl to being the girl that was respected for my bench pressing and squats. My coach believed in me and that was all I needed to continue to do my best. That year I made a C average except for weightlifting where I got an A and earned the respect from my peers and my coach.
My coach repeatedly yelled for me to get up and do it again repeatedly. For the 3rd time I got up, took a deep breath, and walked back to the end of the cheer mat. I stood there, calmly gathering myself from the last fall. My next attempt was no better than the last one, it resulted in my body slamming to the floor, right hip first. Although I physically felt weary and frustrated, my mind felt ambitious to continue. I got up and walked back to the end of the mat, without being told. I was ready to try again. A full is one of the hardest skills to master as cheerleader. Being a part of my high school cheerleading team I have experienced embarrassing losses that have made me question myself and my cheerleading abilities. have taught me wanting to win more than other teams is not enough, working harder is.
I love volleyball even though it has not always been easy. I have had a lot of problems during my volleyball journey that have helped me grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. I started playing volleyball in fifth grade on the middle school team and am now playing on JV. I did not get a lot of playing time when I first started, but I practiced and learned the basics of the game. I developed a love for the game with a great group of girls that I looked up to, during my first season. I have not always had the best team and coach, though.
Went home and replayed the day in my head. My warmup and my quad had flaws within them. For weeks before this day, I had led myself to believe that I was better than I really was. Vanity, arrogance, and disappointment were just a handful of emotions that were wreaking havoc in my mind. It made me want to quit. It extinguished my inner fire an passion for this activity. After that day, I had accepted my failure, and wanted no part in my
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.
We had a short amount of time in each area, so we needed to use our time wisely. We ran through the routine twice and moved on to our stunts. I was really excited; I had a great stunt group and knew we would be flawless. We started the warm-ups; one, two, three times we failed - to my surprise. I didn't know if we did something wrong or we were all just nervous. We attempted it one more time, and finally it was a success. Everyone had warmed up and was patiently waiting to perform next. Once the other teams' music stopped, my heart dropped. In that exact moment, I knew we were next. Before we went on the floor, we did our favorite chant to get everyone's energy up in excitement. Our school is called and the time had come to go out there and give it our all. When we go out on the floor, everything is loud and bright. Our routine had started and we are pumped. Our team was immaculate with all the motions, smiling, yelling the cheer with excitement and walking to my first stunt. We set to do the stunt and the cheerleader goes up and I caught her foot. The stunt made it and then she fell. At that moment, I felt like the world stopped. Everything we did - all of our hard work, the long practices - just went down the
In kindergarten, we had sports day, a day where all the kids participate in athletic competition against other classes. The main event was the relay race. I was a pretty fast runner so I was put second to last in the relay. Though I gave everything I had, my clumsiness caused me to trip and fall. I immediately got back up with a bloody knee and passed 4 people and managed to be the second in the lead. Bazinga. I like to think that I have always had a lot of perseverance and determination. I think this part of me is what also helped me win the JV Volleyball Kanto Plain tournament with my team in my sophomore year. Whether it is in sports, academics or dealing with problems, I am not the type to give up, and I’m proud to know that I am a strong person.
After my September health evaluation, I noticed the strengths and weaknesses of my body. Because of my rigorous soccer schedule, my cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, diet, and body composition were all optimal. After the preliminary fitness testing, my results were exceptional. However, despite my active lifestyle, I noticed a few negative aspects in my overall health. First, my muscular strength was not up to par with what I would have liked it to be. Next, my sleep schedule was inconsistent and insufficient. Lastly, I was not consuming enough calories. Each issue I addressed in the following months with my SMART goals and methodical progression.
Once upon a time, I qualified for the Tae Kwon Do State Championships, to go to the Tae Kwon Do Junior Olympics in Orlando, Florida. It was my second year at the Jr. Olympics, and I was competing in two events. Sparring and forms. Forms has always been my favorite, partly because I was pretty good at doing them. Sparring was okay. I guess.
A jolt of energy rushed through my body and hit my heart when they call me up to get the team trophy. Not fourth, third, or second, but first place for the third year in a row. Being a captain of a team is an amazing experience. You get to see your team physically, mentally, and emotionally prepare for competition. It's a lot of hard work, but if you try your hardest, make all the practices and have a passion for cheerleading its worth it. Every year we take a few weeks to build a competition routine, the out come is incredible, but the celebration is the best part.
Adding exercises into one’s daily routines can change their whole lifestyle. Many people look at exercise as being something just for people who want to lose weight or to become muscle bound, but there are a great deal of benefits that can be received from exercising regularly. Of course gaining muscle and losing fat are the two most popular reasons that usually attract people to the gym, but they make up a small part of the potential benefits that can be achieved with exercise. There are several ways in which I have benefited in my life from exercising regularly, besides just making me bigger and stronger. It has made me become more organized, helped me make better decisions, and motivated me to take on new challenges in life.
the barbell is just as important as your technique when lifting it and should be paid careful attention if you are to complete the deadlift correctly. When lowering the barbell, begin by bending your back while keeping your legs straight, bending your knees only after the barbell has passed them.