Wow, it's been six months.
SIX.
That's, like, half a year.
So what's happened in these six months?
Let's see...
Hmmm, well, the spring season came and went and had its ups and downs. I remember when I started off the season, I gave up on shot (the team gained some really fantastical throwers, and I just can't compete, ya know?) and I decided to give disc a whirl. But I mostly stuck with jav and I stuck with it throughout the whole season.
Funny (and long) story. The jav sector lines weren't painted during the first two weeks of practice and my sense of distance was... Off... Every time I threw, I counted the steps it took to get to my throw to approximate the distance. And I also used this fence that runs alongside the field where I throw. Anywho, using these methods, I thought I was throwing, say, around 90-100 ft. Well, that dream was crushed. When the sector lines were painted, I realized that I was throwing 70-80 ft. So much for that. I moped internally. A lot.
Eventually (meaning a week later), I got over all that. I trained and trained and trained, hoping to hit that varsity distance (it's 90 ft at my school) sometime during the season. I came close multiple times. When I say close, I mean that I hit 89' 1" on a day when the weather was... Not favorable, to say the least. I threw a little fit after that throw, but life was all good when the announcer said that I got first! It was an important meet too, woot!
So I kept training. I think what I'll remember most about that season was how often my coach told me to stop practicing and to just go home. I'd always say, "One more throw!" My coach would just kind of shake his head, probably thinking, "She said the same thing half an hour ago." Sometimes, some of my friends would take my jav to stop me from throwing and they would have to drag me off the field. I mean, I was overthrowing and possibly hurting my muscles in the process, but no pain, no gain, am I right? Ah, the good old days, haha.
The last meet of the season comes around and it was HOT. As in, 91 degrees hot. Which was pretty intense for where I live during that time of year. The air was dry. There were a few clouds, but none of them would pass in front of the sun. Luckily, there was a breeze every once in a while. I warmed up, hoping to just throw and get everything over with so I could return to the shade and comfort of the tent that my team used. Being the lucky soul that I was, I was in one of the last flights to throw. So I had to sit around under my umbrella (yerp, I use my umbrella to hide from the sun), watch other peeps throw, get dust in my eyes cos the ground was so dry, and burn until it was my turn. Finally, my flight was called. I warmed up (again) and got my practice throws in.
The last three throws of my sophomore year! That was pretty exciting and a bit saddening. I had to make these good, seeing as to how the year before, my last throw of the season was so short that it didn't even make the minimum to be counted. I had three more chances of making varsity. I set out to do my best.
When it was my turn to throw, I weighed my jav in and got in the runway, making sure to place myself perfectly so I'd have just enough room to stop myself at the end of the throw. I thought about all of the moves that I was going to make, and I let my muscles follow my brain's orders. The jav flew, dropped, and hit the ground beautifully. I retrieved my jav, knowing that I did well. I heard the ref call out 92' something and I danced internally. First official throw of the last meet of my sophomore year, and I had PR'ed.
High fives and congratulations went around. I was proud of myself, for having all of my hard work pay off. Finally, I hit that 90. I knew I still had work to do, though, as I had two more throws left.
For my next throw, I just let my muscles go. I already had my mark, and I didn't expect more. I threw my jav as hard as I was able to and what do you know, I hit 94 ft! Another PR IN THE SAME MEET! I was feeling good.
When my last throw came around, I was so happy and pumped, though at the same time calm enough to throw. I thought, "Let's end this season with a bang." I trusted myself and let the darned stick fly, one last time as a sophomore. I retrieved my jav one more time and heard the ref call out 95' 0". THREE PR'S, ALL HITTING THE VARSITY DISTANCE IN THE SAME MEET. That was pretty amazing.
I made it.
After that whole ordeal was over with, my coach told me that I had actually made varsity before that meet, when I placed with my 89' 1". He just didn't want to tell me because he wanted me to hit that 90. I was momentarily stupefied. I facepalmed internally, but I quickly recovered and thanked my coach.
Moral of the story? Lie and keep secrets from peeps so they can do better.
Haha, nah, just kidding. Real moral of the story is that you have to always just put in that one extra throw and though life will bring you down with bad weather or bad anything in general, you must stay motivated and keep going on. When a teammate's down, give them a nudge and help them up.
SIX.
That's, like, half a year.
So what's happened in these six months?
Let's see...
Hmmm, well, the spring season came and went and had its ups and downs. I remember when I started off the season, I gave up on shot (the team gained some really fantastical throwers, and I just can't compete, ya know?) and I decided to give disc a whirl. But I mostly stuck with jav and I stuck with it throughout the whole season.
Funny (and long) story. The jav sector lines weren't painted during the first two weeks of practice and my sense of distance was... Off... Every time I threw, I counted the steps it took to get to my throw to approximate the distance. And I also used this fence that runs alongside the field where I throw. Anywho, using these methods, I thought I was throwing, say, around 90-100 ft. Well, that dream was crushed. When the sector lines were painted, I realized that I was throwing 70-80 ft. So much for that. I moped internally. A lot.
Eventually (meaning a week later), I got over all that. I trained and trained and trained, hoping to hit that varsity distance (it's 90 ft at my school) sometime during the season. I came close multiple times. When I say close, I mean that I hit 89' 1" on a day when the weather was... Not favorable, to say the least. I threw a little fit after that throw, but life was all good when the announcer said that I got first! It was an important meet too, woot!
So I kept training. I think what I'll remember most about that season was how often my coach told me to stop practicing and to just go home. I'd always say, "One more throw!" My coach would just kind of shake his head, probably thinking, "She said the same thing half an hour ago." Sometimes, some of my friends would take my jav to stop me from throwing and they would have to drag me off the field. I mean, I was overthrowing and possibly hurting my muscles in the process, but no pain, no gain, am I right? Ah, the good old days, haha.
The last meet of the season comes around and it was HOT. As in, 91 degrees hot. Which was pretty intense for where I live during that time of year. The air was dry. There were a few clouds, but none of them would pass in front of the sun. Luckily, there was a breeze every once in a while. I warmed up, hoping to just throw and get everything over with so I could return to the shade and comfort of the tent that my team used. Being the lucky soul that I was, I was in one of the last flights to throw. So I had to sit around under my umbrella (yerp, I use my umbrella to hide from the sun), watch other peeps throw, get dust in my eyes cos the ground was so dry, and burn until it was my turn. Finally, my flight was called. I warmed up (again) and got my practice throws in.
The last three throws of my sophomore year! That was pretty exciting and a bit saddening. I had to make these good, seeing as to how the year before, my last throw of the season was so short that it didn't even make the minimum to be counted. I had three more chances of making varsity. I set out to do my best.
When it was my turn to throw, I weighed my jav in and got in the runway, making sure to place myself perfectly so I'd have just enough room to stop myself at the end of the throw. I thought about all of the moves that I was going to make, and I let my muscles follow my brain's orders. The jav flew, dropped, and hit the ground beautifully. I retrieved my jav, knowing that I did well. I heard the ref call out 92' something and I danced internally. First official throw of the last meet of my sophomore year, and I had PR'ed.
High fives and congratulations went around. I was proud of myself, for having all of my hard work pay off. Finally, I hit that 90. I knew I still had work to do, though, as I had two more throws left.
For my next throw, I just let my muscles go. I already had my mark, and I didn't expect more. I threw my jav as hard as I was able to and what do you know, I hit 94 ft! Another PR IN THE SAME MEET! I was feeling good.
When my last throw came around, I was so happy and pumped, though at the same time calm enough to throw. I thought, "Let's end this season with a bang." I trusted myself and let the darned stick fly, one last time as a sophomore. I retrieved my jav one more time and heard the ref call out 95' 0". THREE PR'S, ALL HITTING THE VARSITY DISTANCE IN THE SAME MEET. That was pretty amazing.
I made it.
After that whole ordeal was over with, my coach told me that I had actually made varsity before that meet, when I placed with my 89' 1". He just didn't want to tell me because he wanted me to hit that 90. I was momentarily stupefied. I facepalmed internally, but I quickly recovered and thanked my coach.
Moral of the story? Lie and keep secrets from peeps so they can do better.
Haha, nah, just kidding. Real moral of the story is that you have to always just put in that one extra throw and though life will bring you down with bad weather or bad anything in general, you must stay motivated and keep going on. When a teammate's down, give them a nudge and help them up.