CAS @ MLC SCHOOL

CAS Reflection Form

Activity Name: Athletics Training
CAS element(s) involved:
C

YES

Group

Is this activity completed or ongoing?

Completed.
Activity Reflection: Comment only on those learning outcomes listed below that are
relevant to this activity.
You may want to comment on:
What you wanted to achieve by doing this activity and what you did actually
achieve.
What you struggled with or found frustrating and how you managed that.
What you have learnt about working with others. What you learnt about yourself?
How this activity will inform your future CAS activities.

Increased awareness of my own strengths and areas for growth

Undertaken new challenges
Planned and initiated activities
Worked collaboratively with others
Shown perseverance and commitment
Engages with issues of global importance
Considered the ethical implications of my actions
Developed new skills

This semester, my action activity was athletics training leading up to and

including IGSSA Cross Country. Athletics training was on every Tuesday and
Thursday morning from 7:00-8:15 am. I was apprehensive in using my athletics
training as a CAS project at first, because I didnt know if I could persevere with it
for the whole semester, as I had done it last year, and it was extremely physically
challenging. By completing my activity, and making it to IGSSA, I believe that I
showed perseverance and commitment to athletics training. In the beginning, I
did think that I had some strength of mind, with regard to cross country and
running, but I wished to improve on this. During this activity, my physical strength
and mental perseverance was tested, due to the difficult training sessions and
hard workouts. However, I got through all of them even in the face of adversity
and because of this, I believe that I have shown perseverance and commitment
to this activity, not only in the training during the session, but the sheer number of
sessions that I had to attend. Many times I struggled with the physical
challenges, but kept going, and didnt fall ill at the end. This means that now, I
have confidence about my athletic ability and the strength of my mind. These
physical challenges also demonstrated my undertaking of new challenges during
this activity. I was constantly pushing myself to see how much faster and further I
could run.

CAS @ MLC SCHOOL

I also demonstrated increased awareness of my strengths and areas for growth

both mentally and physically in my completion of this activity. Before I started, I
did not really have an idea of how much I could run, so I always underestimated
myself. However, after attending so many training sessions, and challenging my
body so many times, I gained a better idea of the limits that I could reach. For
example, before this, I was under the impression that a 4km run around Burwood
Park was extremely difficult- almost impossible- and I almost psyched myself out
of it during training. However, after finishing it, I realised that it wasnt as bad as I
had expected and this both gave me confidence about my abilities as well as a
new idea of my strengths. Because there were professional athletics coaches
there, I also learnt about my areas for growth, as they would point out
improvements that I could make in my posture, stride and pacing.
By doing this activity, I was aiming to increase my strength and general health. I
think that doing an active sport really balanced out my academic workload and
other commitments. I believe that this was good for my health because it meant
that I wasnt always focussing on one thing the whole time. Having the ability to
take a break from my school work or my music for example, meant that I could
work more efficiently in each aspect, and not get too tired of each. More
specifically, doing so much running improved my cardio-vascular health, as well
as my stamina and strength, as I was doing long distance running.
In addition, I wanted to do this activity in order to increase my mental willpower,
and to prove to myself that I could do it. I had participated in this activity before,
and I found it extremely challenging. This meant that I was already daunted by
this task, and I had to overcome my mental barrier to complete this activity. I
wanted to show myself that I could be strong enough, both mentally and
physically to participate in and finish the cross-country. I was really pleased and
proud of myself that I managed to make it to IGSSA and finish there. As it was so
tough, I believe that, by racing at IGSSA, I have increased the confidence that I
have in myself and thus my mental stamina, as I know how much further I can
push myself.
What you have learnt about working with others. What you learnt about
yourself?
This activity has taught me more about teamwork and placing trust in and relying
on my teammates for support. Although running may seem like a highly individual
sport, I found that my friends and teammates support during the race was
extremely useful in boosting my mental stamina, which in turn helped me
physically. Hearing my friends cheer for me gave me a mental push to keep
going, which is vital when running a long distance race. Furthermore, I ran most
of the IGSSA race with my friend Tess, and I found that this helped not only
because I was not alone and had someone to talk to, but also because we were

CAS @ MLC SCHOOL

able to pace each other and egg each other on, which meant that both of us
kept running for each other.
By doing this activity, I have new knowledge about my physical abilities and
mental willpower. I now know what distances I can handle, and what times I
should be aiming for. I know that now I can run a 4km race with confidence, and
that I should be able to do it in 11 minutes. This has given me something to work
towards in the future. I appreciate this knowledge, as this means that in the future
I will not be afraid to undertake new challenges. And this means that this activity
has given me new ideas about how I will later approach active activities- with
new goals and challenges for myself.
By submitting this form you are declaring that the reflection and evidence in this CAS
activity meet the IB Academic Honesty guidelines.