Slug's story...
Kartik Panchal
Gabrielle Gavande
CLNI 80 Fall 2017
7 December 2017
Untested Waters
It was 12:30 A.M. My legs felt heavy as I struggled to sprint up an endless flight of stairs. With each breath I took, I felt my blood pulsing and food climbing up my throat. With each step I took, I regretted switching from football to water polo, a sport I knew little about. After five hours of rest, I experienced my first morning practice. It consisted of a demanding swim set which was equivalent to about seven miles and an hour of strenuous weightlifting. Every five minutes I would look at the clock and wonder why it was taking forever. As it came to an end I had no sense of pain. My legs felt like noodles, my arms were ready to fall off, and I was ready to go home. On the ride back home I wondered what made me join water polo. Despite all the negatives in the moment I did my best to find the silver lining in the situation, that this would only enhance me as an athlete, and used it as motivation to validate my sense of mental fortitude.
As the weeks progressed, we started doing more drills for water polo and I felt an even greater sense of agony. I saw my experienced teammates soar ahead and felt worthless because here I was, a former lineman, attempting to tread water. Despite the struggles, I refused to give up and I strived to improve. As practices went on my I did my best to improve my shot and naturally my stamina improved. I watched olympic water polo so I could analyze how professionals played this sport. I was progressing at an exponential rate according my coaches. I was allowed to tread with ten-pound weight belts by my 3rd week of the season. I fell in love with water polo and improved. By the fourth game of the season, I had the most goals and steals on our team. Midway through the season, I was appointed as a starter, a feat no first year player had accomplished within their first year. My coach was even comfortable with me taking the last shot during close games. I may have missed a couple and those stung as I felt like I had broken my coaches trust, however you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. By the end of the season I had accumulated the most steals, 4th most goals on our team, and received the “Coaches Award”.
I had a desire to play more water polo and develop my skills even more, so during offseason, I joined my coach’s club. Throughout the practices I improved. I felt faster, stronger, and more knowledgeable of this sport. My shot was more consistent and I was able to become a consistent player. As summer approached my club was preparing for Junior Olympics. I never thought I would earn a roster spot as there were players who had played for more than four years and here I was a 9 month player, a rookie, trying out for our clubs Junior Olympic team. I did my best to not let it affect me, after all I had nothing to lose. The day roster spots were revealed I was shocked, not only did I make the team, but I also earned the starting job on our club’s Junior Olympic team. I was ecstatic and motivated to work even harder that summer season. Unfortunately, our team did not make it past the state competition level, however I was honored that seasons “Most Improved Player”.
After the summer season I mentally prepared myself for the upcoming varsity tryouts for my high school's team. Making a varsity team meant so much to me because it would be the same time I would have made a varsity team, especially within a year of playing a new sport to me. As tryouts were approaching I wasn’t as nervous as I was when trying out for junior olympics since I had gained confidence, however I did not let it get to my head as all of my teammates were far more experienced than me. When tryouts started I felt more exhausted than I felt during junior olympic tryouts, but then I remembered how I had become a couch potato during the last two weeks of summer break. Luckily I was not terribly rusty and at the end of tryouts I was elated to see my name on the varsity list.
This sport, this unexpected talent, pushed me to both my physical and mental limits. It showed me the merits of perseverance during trying times. It made me who I am - a well-rounded, resilient individual. My experience with water polo allowed me to challenge myself academically. It pushed to me explore new classes, such as computer science and excel in it. I know that my resiliency and work ethic will help me succeed in any task in the future.
Gabrielle Gavande
CLNI 80 Fall 2017
7 December 2017
Untested Waters
It was 12:30 A.M. My legs felt heavy as I struggled to sprint up an endless flight of stairs. With each breath I took, I felt my blood pulsing and food climbing up my throat. With each step I took, I regretted switching from football to water polo, a sport I knew little about. After five hours of rest, I experienced my first morning practice. It consisted of a demanding swim set which was equivalent to about seven miles and an hour of strenuous weightlifting. Every five minutes I would look at the clock and wonder why it was taking forever. As it came to an end I had no sense of pain. My legs felt like noodles, my arms were ready to fall off, and I was ready to go home. On the ride back home I wondered what made me join water polo. Despite all the negatives in the moment I did my best to find the silver lining in the situation, that this would only enhance me as an athlete, and used it as motivation to validate my sense of mental fortitude.
As the weeks progressed, we started doing more drills for water polo and I felt an even greater sense of agony. I saw my experienced teammates soar ahead and felt worthless because here I was, a former lineman, attempting to tread water. Despite the struggles, I refused to give up and I strived to improve. As practices went on my I did my best to improve my shot and naturally my stamina improved. I watched olympic water polo so I could analyze how professionals played this sport. I was progressing at an exponential rate according my coaches. I was allowed to tread with ten-pound weight belts by my 3rd week of the season. I fell in love with water polo and improved. By the fourth game of the season, I had the most goals and steals on our team. Midway through the season, I was appointed as a starter, a feat no first year player had accomplished within their first year. My coach was even comfortable with me taking the last shot during close games. I may have missed a couple and those stung as I felt like I had broken my coaches trust, however you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. By the end of the season I had accumulated the most steals, 4th most goals on our team, and received the “Coaches Award”.
I had a desire to play more water polo and develop my skills even more, so during offseason, I joined my coach’s club. Throughout the practices I improved. I felt faster, stronger, and more knowledgeable of this sport. My shot was more consistent and I was able to become a consistent player. As summer approached my club was preparing for Junior Olympics. I never thought I would earn a roster spot as there were players who had played for more than four years and here I was a 9 month player, a rookie, trying out for our clubs Junior Olympic team. I did my best to not let it affect me, after all I had nothing to lose. The day roster spots were revealed I was shocked, not only did I make the team, but I also earned the starting job on our club’s Junior Olympic team. I was ecstatic and motivated to work even harder that summer season. Unfortunately, our team did not make it past the state competition level, however I was honored that seasons “Most Improved Player”.
After the summer season I mentally prepared myself for the upcoming varsity tryouts for my high school's team. Making a varsity team meant so much to me because it would be the same time I would have made a varsity team, especially within a year of playing a new sport to me. As tryouts were approaching I wasn’t as nervous as I was when trying out for junior olympics since I had gained confidence, however I did not let it get to my head as all of my teammates were far more experienced than me. When tryouts started I felt more exhausted than I felt during junior olympic tryouts, but then I remembered how I had become a couch potato during the last two weeks of summer break. Luckily I was not terribly rusty and at the end of tryouts I was elated to see my name on the varsity list.
This sport, this unexpected talent, pushed me to both my physical and mental limits. It showed me the merits of perseverance during trying times. It made me who I am - a well-rounded, resilient individual. My experience with water polo allowed me to challenge myself academically. It pushed to me explore new classes, such as computer science and excel in it. I know that my resiliency and work ethic will help me succeed in any task in the future.