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Ms. Metzger
English 103
9/22/14
Talent over Pride
Track had gone downhill from when I fell in love with it freshman year. The running
aspect still relieved my stress but the coaching was tearing me apart. Today was pretty much
your average practice: doing a workout outside and then coming in to do alternate exercises like
lifting, stretching, ab work, or a combination of the three. Like everyone else, I completed the
workout outside and was coming in with some of my fellow runners when my coach pulled me
aside. He said he wanted to talk about my attitude. Granted, maybe I didnt have the best attitude
on the team; I didnt come out every day exclaiming this is going to be the greatest three hours
of my life!, but I was there for a legitimate reason. I enjoyed running for the team and, more
importantly, for myself. I worked hard to be there every day no matter how awful it was. As
clich as it is, actions speak louder than words. And mine did. As the rest of the team rustled
about being rowdy in the hallway behind us, my coach started on his rant; he feels Im a bad
influence for the other athletes and how I needed to pay more attention to what he said.
Ironically, at the time, I was beyond fascinated with the floor tiles that day as he spoke to me.
That tile was chipped in the corner, and the one adjacent was buckled upwards. The murmurs of
his voice droned on in the back of my mind whilst my brain whizzed on with more important
thoughts. Even with all my attempts to block him out, the spit that constantly flew from his
consistently chapped lips made me all too aware of his speech going on. Somewhere in the midst
of barely hearing what he had to say and analyzing the floor tiles I found myself pointlessly
refuting his argument even with the extensive knowledge that he was not one to budge his point
for your opinion. He continued to drill his words into my head whether he thought I was listening
or not. I was one who hed previously had trouble with and he knew I was not one to back down

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either. After a solid ten minutes of him talking at me instead of to me, I finally started to walk
away. I was suddenly sick of his voice Ive heard for too many years and sick of his harsh
opinions about what should or should not be happening. Without looking at him I could feel his
appalled gaze upon my back as I had the nerves to walk away from an adult. You wouldnt walk
away from a teacher like that, would you? he shot at me. I pivoted on my foot to face him.
Youre not my teacher, I commented and once again began to turn away. He stood silenced for
only a moment when he almost exclaimed, If you walk away, this is it. I stopped dead in my
tracks at the sheer thought of not being on the team. I could feel the eyes of my teammates
beating down on my spine as the realization hit them. They knew I had a bad relationship with
my coach. They knew it might eventually come to this. One-by-one the other athletes silenced
each other and soon enough you could have heard a pin drop on those hard concrete floors. My
split second decision making came to a shuddering halt. Momentarily, I was speechless. For the
few seconds in that moment my mind raced for the correct thing to say. When responding in a
moment such as this you will find it saidthat reason is best cultivated when it is rooted in
robust emotional ground (Postman 424). When I spoke, my voice would shake. I might choke
on my own words, but I needed to say something. There was a bitter taste in my mouth, like my
words would be poison I needed to spit out. My emotions were welling up inside me and soon it
would be too much to bear. Confidently I turned for the last time to look him dead in the eyes.
Coach, I dont respect people who dont respect me, and with that, my indoor track season was
over.
I bent down to grab my bag and quickly walked towards the doors tears immediately
streaming down my face. I could feel the stares of the wrestlers and other athletes milling about
the school as they watched me leave the building. I could taste the salt on my lips as the tears
continued to flow. On a normal day I might have called my mom to pick me up and take me

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home. Today was not a normal day. I walked across the front of the school, ignoring the constant
glances of unknowing bystanders. After finally crossing the school and getting off the campus I
heard my friend rushing to catch up to me. Kathleen, she shouted from a distance. Kathleen,
wait! I didnt skip a beat, I kept on walking. Eventually she caught me by the shoulder and
swung me around to face her. I could not make eye contact like this, I was independent. I didnt
want to talk about this. It was over. I want to walk you home she told me quietly. I could hear
the deep sympathy in her words when she spoke. No. and I turned and kept walking away. She
stood behind watching me walk away. I knew she wanted to help, but I needed to be alone right
now. How could she help me deal with something I couldnt even put into words? My life had
just fallen apart at the seams, and at my own hand. My coach gave me a decision in that moment.
My pride would not fall for a man of his lowly stature.
My mind was reeling as I walked against the cold winter wind down the path to my
house. The dead leaves crunched under my feet as I shuffled along. My tears seemed infinite as
they fell down my cheeks, almost frozen by the time they reached my lips. How would I explain
this to my parents? What would they say? Would they be angry with me? They, too, knew that
dealing with my coach was a daily struggle for me. After all, who didnt see the conflict? Upon
finally reaching my house, I walked into the kitchen to both my parents watching TV in the
living room. They could immediately tell something was wrong when I arrived unannounced
without calling for a ride and by my bloodshot eyes and my rosy, tear stained cheeks. My mother
was the first to react (motherly instincts, I suppose). Whats wrong? She was on her feet to
come find the source of the problem. I stood there in silence for a moment until I could gather
the words to explain what I just went through. Emotionally and physically drained, I did my best
to recap the sequence of events in the past hour or so. My hodgepodge of anger, frustration,
bitterness and utter sadness all came out whilst trying to reiterate my encounter. My parents

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listened carefully as I went through the events and when I finished they took a moment to think it
over and my mother finally spoke up. Im proud of you, she said boldly. I am so proud of
you; you are so brave to stand up to him. Hes always been like this. A rush of relief came over
me as I heard her words. They werent disappointed that I quit. They were happy that I could
stand up and make my own decision for my own personal betterment. My mom went on to
elaborate on how much he got on her nerves because of how many problems he had caused me.
Although my day was going awful, the fact that my parents understood brightened it just a bit.
The first few days of my trackless life felt amazing. I was free. I had no commitment
after school; I could start my homework right away and have so much time in the evening to
myself. But as the days went by, my blissful period came to an end as I realized just how much I
was missing out on. Not only did all my friends do track but going out to work out alone wasnt
fun. I began to fall into a small depression like stage. I went through phases of anger at myself,
anger at my coach, anger at God. How could I ever let out these emotions digging deep inside
me? I was so used to being busy that when I had too much time, I never did my homework. As
many times as I told myself I had plenty of time to do it and then just procrastinated until I was
too tired and lacked all motivation to do anything. I would come home from school and sleep. I
was tired all the time even without the exercise. I started losing weight because I didnt eat as
much and my muscles began to soften. The months went by, winter finally finished and the cool
spring mornings started up again. I told myself I was never going to run track for my coach again
and so I didnt go out for outdoor track. Two days into the season, the sprint coach (different
from the distance coach, who was the man I disputed with) told my brother that he wanted to talk
to me. My brother dragged me to practice the next day and Coach Rich took me on a walk down
the sidewalk and let out his scheme. He was very soft spoken but when he spoke, you wanted to
listen to him. You are so talented. I hate to see a girl with the potential like yours to give up on

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something because of one man, he thought carefully about the words he chose. Im going to
talk to him and make sure its okay with him, since hes technically the head coach, but youre
going to run for me now. I was shocked. Both because he didnt sound like he was giving me a
choice and because I was flattered to have someone want me back to run. I agreed to his terms
and he sent my brother a text that night saying that Coach Bob had allowed me to come back and
run for Coach Rich.
I came back that season working harder than I ever had. I needed to prove myself and
show Coach Bob what I was made of. Halfway through the season I hit a 7 second personal
record as the anchor leg of the 4x800 meter relay. I was back. Going through all this taught me to
work hard; to persevere for something I wanted. It taught me to be self-motivated; to work hard
on the days when I was tired. It taught me to be prepared for any situation, battling through
practice whether it rained, hailed, or snowed. It taught me to be reliable, being on relays was a
commitment, dropping it would let the team down. Whether its the love of competing, the social
aspect, the health aspect, or the pure love of exercise, athletics are important to lots of students
around the country. Many students use exercise as an outlet for energy and emotion and by
encouraging participation in an organized form, it allows students to release that energy in a
healthy and beneficial way. Not only is being involved healthy physically and mentally, but it
also teaches students life skills that arent able to be taught in a classroom.
The most important part about participation in after school sports and activities is that
they teach what cannot be learned in a classroom. Jay Matthews of The Washington Post says
that sports and other extracurricular activities do better than academic class in teaching
leadership, teamwork, time management and other skills crucial for success in the workplace
and also goes on to say that the Partnership for 21st Century Skills has published a list of what it
calls life and career skills, including flexibility and adaptability productivity and accountability,

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leadership and responsibility. Many teens find the most congenial way to acquire such
competencies is after school activities (Matthews). Being involved in something like a sport
challenges students to take charge of their own success and work hard to achieve something that
sets them apart from others. The fact that extra-curricular activities occur after school hours also
teaches students a lot about time management and responsibility. To be able to balance
everything and still leave time for yourself is a skill thats important for your mental health.
Students mental health is becoming more and more of a prominent issue in the education
system today. According to psychologist Robert Leahy, the average high school kid today has
the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s (Clark). The
amount of stress high school students deal with on a regular basis can be detrimental, especially
if not handled correctly. Exercise is one of the most common ways, not only for students, but the
general public as well, to let out energy and emotion. Its not only good for your physical health,
but mental as well. Exercise releases endorphins that interact with the receptors in your brain
that reduce your perception of pain. Endorphins bind to neuron receptors which act similarly to
pain medicines, but the body cannot become addicted or dependent on them. By encouraging
students to participate in the after school sports, you increase their chance for higher self-esteem,
better sleep, and reducing stress (and therefore fights depression). As previously mentioned, your
mental health is not the only important part of exercising. It also increases your energy, helps you
lose weight, improves strength (including your heart), and what many people are concerned with
helps you look fit and healthy. Being involved in the teams at school also creates a supportive
environment through other athletes to motivate each other (WebMD). By being around other
athletes who are working towards similar goals, reaching your own goals will seem more
reasonable and attainable. There are lots of opportunities for students to get involved after
school, even marching band is considered exercise. Because of my love for track, I helped a

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friend get onto the team as a shot putter and she lost 22 pounds and her quality of life increased
dramatically. Encouraging students to be a part of athletic activities benefits students both
physically and mentally and should be promoted more so that students have the greatest
opportunity to become involved.

Works Cited
Clark, Taylor. "American anxiety: The three real reasons why we are more stressed than ever
before... Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.
"Exercise and Depression: Endorphins, Reducing Stress, and More." WebMD. WebMD, n.d.
Web. 16 Sept. 2014.
Mathews, Jay. "How sports can help high schools." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 17
Sept. 2011. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.
Postman, Neil. Television as Teacher. From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader.
Ed. Stuart Green and April Lidinsky. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. 421-430.
Print.