Cross Country
My experience as a high school varsity cross country runner
In this segment of my athletic career, I will be discussing my journey from bottom to top in cross country. I will also explore my newfound passion of influencing and guiding other athletes around me, younger and older than me.
My team and I at the 2024 NFHHS Cross Country State Championship
My Career
I started running in 7th grade, when my mom made join the team. I wanted to play tackle football, but my parents said it was too violent and shut that idea down. Even though I wasn't allowed play football, my parents still wanted me to play a sport, that's when they decided cross country. I rejected the idea at first, but eventually I gave in when my mom practically bribed me with a pair of shoes I wanted. I ran that year not being fast for my age, but ended up liking the sport a lot and saw good progress. My coach even convinced me to join the track team in the spring. Fast forward and now I'm a junior in high school competing for a state championship with my team, and learning everything I can about being the best athlete possible.
Me running at the 2023 NFHHS Cross Country State Championship
As I entered the beginning of my Junior Season, I came to embrace the reality I was becoming one of the leaders of my team. I was so used to being one of the younger guys who would annoy or look up to the seniors, so watching myself turn into what I looked up to became surreal. Yet with a newfound role on the team, also came responsibility. This meant I had to set a good example and lead the way for the sophomores, freshman, and even the middle school squad. As the season began our team was looking strong, but the guys weren't clicking. All good teams in history have good chemistry. The 2000-2019 Patriots, The Big Three (Miami Heat), and even the Detroit Lions in the 2024 season. As a team leader, I knew we had to do something about our team chemistry, so I started to get to know the younger guys more. As relationships on our team started to develop, so did our chemistry. With Chemistry becoming strong in our team, guys started to show up to practice consistently and full of positive energy, which had not been the case the past couple of years. In sports, if you enjoy your teammates, you'll enjoy what you do. This is because the people we are surrounded by is what matters most in almost any situation in life. Since the guys all loved being around each other, it made a lot of us find a new love for the sport, prompting faster times and more ambition out of all of us. Even though our team had great chemistry now, there was still work to do, we needed someone electric to get the guys excited and ready to go. That's exactly what I was prepared to do. I started a culture of pre race hype ups that got the team riled up, yet we stayed relaxed and channeled the fire. These additions to our team have created new culture and tradition, and also have sparked a flame for a potential championship run in the 2025 season.