Saints Track and Field Senior Day Reflections and Lessons
The journey of one’s athletic career comes along with many ups and downs. Sports often make us say, “On god, I hate this sport,” Track Junior Raei, but there are far more positive factors about the sport that makes us stay than dwell on the bad.
Upon reflection on my own and other teammates’ journeys in sports here at SSSAS on the track team, it has been interesting to see how much joining a sports team can affect one’s outlook on life. With the Senior Day celebration for our track team at our final home meet, Draper Invitational, I caught up with fellow thrower and senior Justin Hill and asked him to reflect upon his time with the team.
While Justin had just joined the SSSAS track team this past winter and only began throwing these past few months, he explained that the throwing community on the track team is a “real family,” which couldn’t be said better in my eyes. For starters, roughly eight members of the throwing cohort, including Justin and me, are a tiny minority compared to the number of sprinters or distance groups on the track team. This small group of individuals has bonded over a lack of official coaching, general goofiness, celebrating beating personal records, and the camaraderie of being a part of an athletic team. Justin says, “Although we might talk trash to each other, at the end of the day, all we want is for each other to succeed in one way or another.”
I later asked Justin about his favorite memory from being on the track team. He stated, “Finding out on my Senior Day [for the winter season] that I broke the school record for indoor shot put.” He expressed his initial shock at this news but later explained that it took hard work to get him to that position of beating the school record, and in that hard work, there were many times when there were bumps in the road.
Finally, Justin wanted to end by saying, “You’re only going to get as good as you’re willing to push yourself. There will be times when you don’t want to show up to practice or even meets, but the reward is so great.” He emphasizes, “Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.” Justin is saying a vital life lesson to not only our graduating seniors but the rising seniors, rising juniors, rising sophomores, and rising freshmen because so much of our life will be uncomfortable, but learning how to adapt to it, will set you up for success.
