Has there ever been a time in your life when you accomplished something all by yourself and proved it to yourself that you could do it? I have, and I’ve never felt better. It was March 22, 2008 at Schoolcraft College for a fencing tournament. I was 14 and ready to fence. It was a cold, windy day with about four inches of snow on the ground. I entered the gymnasium with my fencing bag at hand. My heart was pounding.
After an hour of the strenuous anticipation of waiting for the event to start, the fencing was about to start. The gymnasium was filled with people, all in silence due to suspense. I was called to the strip. I hooked up to the score box and began to fence. Before I knew it, the bout was over. I had lost. Several minutes later I was called up again to fence my second bout. When it was over the cheers of the crowd pierced through me as I lost once again. Three more bouts followed and I had lost all but one. My confidence was falling rapidly.
In despair, I told my parents that they should probably start packing up. One of the directors walked up to the bulletin ...
Our society has shifted its beliefs in how we should treat competition in young people. The question is asked, should all kids get a participation trophy? As it may seem to be an unanswerable question, it honestly isn’t. Thought that the participation trophies may send the message that “coaches” value the kids’ efforts despite their abilities, trophies do not need to be given out. Your words mean just as much when you remind an athlete that you value them in more ways than one. Some may think trophies are a great idea because it shows that everyone’s a “winner.” However, I disagree with that idea. I believe that kids should know that they need to work their hardest in order to be rewarded and understand that not
The winner of the fight wins money. While being in the ring fighting for not only money, but also dignity, the narrator had a feeling of hopelessness and being lost. The narrator tells us “Blindfolded, I could no longer control my emotions”. I had no dignity. I stumbled about like a baby or a drunken man.”
When we first arrived I’d thought we’d taken a wrong turn and went to a traveling gypsy convention by mistake. The whole field outside the school was filled with tents of various sizes and colors. 200 wrestlers, about thirty of which were girls, filtered about the area. As my soon-to-be teammates and I headed to the first practice, anxiety gnawed at my stomach like a dog with a bone (FL). I wanted to impress everybody, and prove that I could make it in this sport. Before we started, the coach patted me on the shoulder. “I’ve got your back all right.” he told me. I smiled and nodded. At least one person was looking out for me.
Being a professional boxer didn’t do much for his mental health because he says he would feel on top of the world and yet so lonely at the same time after a fight. Therefore, he suffered not only the physical demands, but the mental demands in the professional arena of the sport.
Once I joined the wrestling team, I sense of pride and respect for myself returned. This sense was short lived for only a month, when the football players who wrestled came to practice. It became apparent that I was the smallest on the wrestling team and became the practice dummy. The biggest wrestler on the team was called the heavyweight since he stood six feet and weighed about two hundred and ninety pounds. He became my wo...
But, I knew I had to remain focused and had to practice everyday to get to where I needed to be. I had to become better, stronger and faster to be successful. I had to prove to myself that I could do it and that everybody else, was I found myself starting at second base and leading the team in every statistic. My team won our first high school softball state championship. I also made All American status for the first time ever.
From this moment, I learned to believe in myself and to have confidence. I doubted myself on whether or not I could hit the ball, with the outcome of the game up to me. However, I proved to myself that I’m capable of a lot more than I think, and if I put my mind to it I could accomplish anything. This part of my life changed me because ever since this moment in softball, whenever I’m put in this same situation again, or in a situation similar, I think back to this moment. I remind myself how much I doubted myself, but in the end I hit the winning run. To this day, I have more confidence playing softball, just from this specific
Nothing could have prepared me for this moment. This was the moment that I did the only thing that I didn't know I could do. The chance to prove myself to my teammates, coach, and family members. You will never know how far you can go unless you try. I never thought that I would succeed in this one goal because I never tried.
So before it was too late I talked to myself (I know a little weird isn't it) and told myself that I am able to do this and that everything that I had achieved was not for nothing.
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, echoes through my head as I walk to the middle of the mat. "At 160lbs Aidan Conner of La Junta vs. Rodney Jones of Hotchkiss." All I can think of is every bead of sweat, every drip of blood, every mile, every push up, every tear. Why? All of this: just to be victorious. All in preparation for one match, six minutes. For some these six minutes may only be a glimpse, and then again for some it may be the biggest six minutes of their life. Many get the chance to experience it more than once. Some may work harder and want it more than others, but they may never get the chance. All they get is a moral victory. Every kid, every man comes into the tournament with a goal. For some is to win, for some is to place, others are just happy to qualify. These six minutes come on a cold frigid night in February at a place called the Pepsi Center. Once a year this gathering takes place when the small and the large, the best of the best, come to compete in front thousands of people. I am at the Colorado State Wrestling Championships.
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.
I dip my toes in—feels cold. My nerves rise up and spread like fire throughout my body while I watch—while I wait. Stomach hurts. All those butterflies clash and crowd. They come every time that I race—it never fails. There is so much noise—the splash of water, talking, yelling, whistling, cheering.
...ng side of it tend to invest much more time and effort into what we do there. Therefore we spend a lot more time together than with any of the others. A unique bond forms between us. We are almost like a family. We know what each of us goes through while we are there. We all know what it feels like to work ourselves to exhaustion night after night in preparation for a fight. We know the dread of waking up before the suns up to run. We know the feeling of stepping into the ring in front of a thousand pairs of eyes looking only at you. We know what it feels like to look across the ring and stare into the eyes of a man who would like nothing better than to knock you out cold. We know the adrenaline rush followed by the ring of the bell. Only we feel the pride accompanied when our hand is raised in victory, or the disappointment of having it left hanging in defeat.
At last we had brought all our practicing skills into work at the final stages. After working hard for three solid months it all paid off, the competing mat was beneath our feet. It was as if I could almost hear the girl?s hearts thumping before we walked onto the mat. I couldn?t stop smiling, I had the biggest grin on my face as if I were the cat who just ate the canary. Only when I thought that was enough, my facial expressions were amazing, all the nights I spent in front of the mirror or watching my self through the reflection of the glass door in my kitchen. It?s hard to go first because watching all the other teams compete makes you think, how did I do?
The greatest achievement in my life would have to be my success in the sport of football. I started playing the game at the age of eight. It stuck with me throughout my life until now. During a football game there are numerous amounts of dynamic situations to be involved with. There are so many crucial actions that take place in the matter of seconds. In a certain instance in my life , the game had a strong impact on my life. It took place my senior year against our rivals, the best team in the district. That Monday we began preparing for the coming Friday. It was a typical week until I woke up Wednesday morning. I was routinely late for school running around the house. On my way out the door the phone brought me to an abrupt stop. Turning around, I started to sprint to the phone. A few steps into it, I crushed my little toe on the leg of my couch. Face down on the carpet, I proceeded to scream in pain. Answering the phone quickly got check off my things to do list. As soon as I could regain my sanity I hopped over to the couch and forgot about school. My toe suddenly turned black and swollen. It was the worst coincidence that could’ve happened to me. I went to the hospital later that day, where I heard that my foot was broken and I couldn’t play.