Dear Stunt Group,

Well here we are! It’s just over a month from nationals and look where we are, further than this program has yet to go. Battling our bad luck and keeping up our will to keep moving forward. It hasn’t been easy but this has been a long time coming. There is nothing I want more than to take the floor with you all and show them what small schools can do.I could not be more proud of you for making it here, but we still have a ways to go and I just know we’ll get there. We know where our chances lie so let’s put ourselves in the best position for success. With that said there are some things I want y’all to know and we continue to push.

Frustration is our worst enemy. Keep your mind positive so we won’t provide frustration the opportunity to overwhelm us. We must not let frustration lead our actions in practice, instead let determination lead the way so that we can work our bodies and skills to their full potential. Remember that we are human, and nothing will be perfect the first time around. However, you can be damn sure it will be the twentieth time!

Control your emotion. Be excited, be bummed, be nervous, but do not let your emotions distract you. We have our goals and we will get there, but we cannot dwell on any single emotion or set of emotions at any given time. Nor can we allow them to make us mentally give up. When we do this we become an obstacle to our own success.

Champions figure it out! Always. Always. Always! When we come to a bump in the road and seem to hit a stop we will have to find ways around it. It won’t always be easy, I can’t even guarantee that it will ever be easy, but it can be done. Having the determination of champions will give us the mentality that we CAN run through walls. That, my lovely ladies, is where I want us to be and where I hope you want us to be.

Focused Families Finish First. “F to the Fourth” as the Larkins would put it. When we have family we have family, and we have already won (not to say that we don’t want to win because obviously titles are nice lol). Family above all else, family over everything! When we work as a family there is no wall, no hill, no obstacle that we cannot overcome. You four are my sisters, my family, and there is nothing I would not do to place us in the best position for success. I promise to fight fiercely for you and everything we’ve worked for, from now until we yell “Jacks!” at the end of our routine on March 26, 2017.

Our stunt group means the world to me, and it kills me to see us struggle with these things on our road to Nationals. We have some of the best chemistry I’ve seen in a stunt group let’s take that with these lessons and create the best versions of ourselves. I hope these words rest with you as we continue to work and give you the motivation to push harder than ever before. There’s not a day that goes, since we’ve been together, that I don’t about hearing our name called last at awards. I love you all so much, so let’s kick some axe!

-N

Hands in, Jacks on three…One, Two, Three!

JACKS!