Sam "REPRESENT" CYA Track & Field - First Gold Medal!!!

What an awesome day today was! As I had posted on my Facebook page, a coach's job is to place his or her athletes in the best position to succeed. Three weeks ago, I did just that with Sam. Much to the laughter and chagrin of some, and because of that, some convincing to Sam that this event was a viable event, she decided to give race walking a try.

It turns out that Sam is a natural - had the form down in less than 20 minutes. And, the work and effort that we put in (including that one extra practice at Mount St. Mary's) really paid off today!

Despite a sore knee, which quickly became two sore knees, Sam succeeded in her quest to not only complete the race walk, but she did it to perfection - receiving not one demerit for form. Race walkers are judged on their ability to keep both feet on the ground while keeping the front knee locked at all times.

Here is Sam's winning walk:

From the second lap on, Sam's knee was hurting her. The other walkers told her in the bullpen that everyone's knees hurt when they begin race walking because of the stresses the event places on the knee by having to keep the knee straight. But, she continued to race along, and fought through the pain. In fact, she told me afterwards "Oh, I wasn't going to quit." Now that is every coach's dream to hear their athlete make that statement!

So, 3000 meters and 27:28 minutes later, Sam crossed the finish line a CHAMPION!!!

As a coach, is there anything better than this? Can a coach be any more proud of their athlete? Well, yes, when said athlete possesses a humble personality along with a strong, good personal foundation, this simply amplifies their rise to Champion!

Very proud of you Sam! You represented Catoctin proud today!

~Coach John