During my third grade basketball season, I was a star. Well at least in my head I was. I would cheer for myself whenever I made a basket in the 8-foot hoop like it was the game-winning shot of the NBA finals. My passion was lit and I knew one day I would be a collegiate athlete.
However, the journey of sports is not an easy one. It is a LOT of work, let me tell ya. When I was in eighth grade I had to get surgery on both of my feet and I was pretty scared that it would affect my goals of playing at the collegiate level. I went into my freshman year of volleyball after being cleared to run only 3 days prior. Part of the tryouts at my public school was running the mile. I ran that mile as well as I could, but I'm pretty sure I looked like an awkward penguin... I ran a 10 minute and 9-second mile. It was definitely the slowest mile I have ever run, but it showed me what I was capable of. I wasn't going to let anything get in my way of my goals.
Sophomore year came around and I was on the sophomore volleyball team. 3 games into the season, I was asked to move up to Varsity. It was exciting as well as mentally exhausting. It felt like everyone thought I wasn't good enough to be up there, so I worked my butt off to prove them wrong. I made JV for basketball which was pretty great considering I was only on the freshman team the year before (due to my slow running skills).
My junior year, I transferred from that school to a tiny private Christian school. The transition was amazing and weird all at the same time. I was blessed with a phenomenal basketball coach who welcomed me to the Varsity team with open arms. I played on the Varsity volleyball team and my not so great volleyball experience was turned around and I fell in love with the sport again. Basketball my junior year was and is the highlight of my sports career. I started every game and averaged 14 points per game. I set my record scoring game that year with 26 points. I felt like I was on top of the world and my goals were close to becoming reality.
One day, my friend asked me if I was going to do track and field that year. I said, "Heck no! That's way too much running and I suck at running." She said that track at a small school is way different than big schools and it is a ton of fun. So, I decided to give it a try. I had done track in eighth grade but after the surgery, I wanted to just focus on basketball and volleyball. I surprised myself that year when I got fifth in state in triple jump. I realized that track wasn't all about running and it did happen to be pretty darn fun.
Senior year came around and I was ready to rock and roll. My senior volleyball season was my favorite season of all times. My teammates were AMAZING. My basketball season was pretty darn great too. We made it to the State tournament for the first time in 14 years. Then we went and surprised everyone by winning our first game in overtime. Personally, my basketball season was a bit shaky mentally because I psyched myself out and put a lot of pressure on myself. I still couldn't figure out what college I wanted to play for, though. I had a few offers here and there but nothing that stood out to me.
Track season rolled around and I was ready to kick butt and win state. Well... I didn't do that, but I did get sixth place in triple jump, which was pretty cool. At that point, I was burnt out. I had no steam left from that passion that started burning in third grade. I started to lose the spark. I decided to be done with sports.
I went through my freshman year of college at College of Western Idaho. It was decent, but during volleyball season I cried because I missed it. I missed basketball so much I decided to coach and be part of the team as much as I could. During track season I helped with the high school track team. Then, my husband was recruited by a small college in Lewiston, Idaho. I decided to submit my information and see if the coach was interested in me as well.
He was and we went and visited the school. It felt like the perfect fit. But never in a million years did I see myself running collegiate track and field. I actually laughed at myself because I was nowhere near as fast as other track athletes.
My sophomore year I started out the season training for the heptathlon; 100 hurdles, 200m, 800m, high jump, long jump, shot put, and javelin. I definitely didn't realize how much work it takes to do that many events. And training for the 800m was pure misery. My teammates can attest to that... I felt like I wasn't getting any better at a single event so I switched to just focusing on triple jump. Let me tell you, it was the best decision ever. I improved so much in such a short period of time. I increased my personal best by almost 2 feet which is pretty significant in the jumping world.
However, I will be the first to tell anyone that collegiate sports are not easy. They take hard work, dedication and a huge passion. If your heart is not 100% sold into the sport, it will be a long season. I will also tell you that you don't have to be on club teams or spend money on recruiting unless you want to. All it really takes is emailing a coach and asking to talk to them. Most of the time, they care more about who you are as a person and what solid qualities you will bring to the team than how baller you looked on your highlight video.
Sports are amazing, and they can make you feel amazing. The journey they will take you on is a tough one, but definitely worth it.
