The Oval: The Reflection on Its End

With the intensiveness of weekends because of grad parties and the hot summer days, I’ve been slacking on my blog entries lately. This one takes more of a personal matter because it involves something that has become my life the past four years. We can strictly name it “The Oval,” or Track & Field as it is most commonly known as here.

Who would’ve thought that at the end of high school, you’d miss something so exhilarating as a sport? For me, I have to miss it, because I’ve learned so much in being a part of the sport itself. I’ve seen many things develop such as school record holders, state champions, and rewriting history and our (and Reading’s) books. Of course, besides the highlights, I’ve seen career ending injuries, close brawls with opposing teams (because of iPods), and quitters.

I guess it’s safe to say after seeing the good and the bad, they’ve all had a certain lesson that no other sport I’ve participated in would have on me. Don’t get me wrong, the other sports were great, but I was never good at them in any level so that I could learn certain lessons. Track & Field, it doesn’t matter what level of competing you’re at, as long as you’re able to learn something from what you do no matter what your time or distance is. Are the lessons what really got me into this sport? I actually have no idea. I fell in love with the sport very early in my career, not knowing really why it was so addicting.

I probably have a couple of reasons why I fell upon the sport. I mean, I guess throughout my life I always was seeking attention because I was always ignored. My freshman year was my highlight season because I solidified myself as a competitive runner, fighting for every second and point possible. In a way, I got the attention I wanted. Of course, that shortly went away with injuries, so I guess that’s not a great reason.

My other reason? This one seems more legitimate. The sheer will to self-improve mentally in physically. To improve my ability to run great times on the oval and to make great decisions in school or outside of it helps build character. I believe I’ve become who I want to be because of these tests and lessons right in the oval. Every race is a test, and every practice is a learning experience. I feel as if I’ve learned so much about setting self-goals and achieving them is great, but you got to set new goals right after you achieve one. If you miss a goal, you get right back up and work even harder to get that goal.

If I could, I’d praise the coaching staff for all this. But I’ve learned they don’t even want the credit. All they do is make the workouts and give them to us. It is up to us to decide whether or not we want to make the best out of it. I leave high school satisfied with the choices I’ve made on and off the oval. And who knows? Maybe these same lessons could be applied on the college level (should I choose to join it),