Friday, January 1, 2010
9:12 PM
Track Season
Even those who weren't a part of the track team were allowed, on a first-come-first-serve basis, to use the hurdles, high jump, and pole vault at recess. All through 1st and 2nd grades, my friends and I had watched in awe as the older kids practiced their track events out on the playground. We just thought they were uber cool and we couldn't wait to get old enough to be just as cool as they were. lol So in the spring of my 3rd grade year, when we were finally allowed access to the track equipment, two of the boys in my class and I laid claim on all of the hurdles that day, and almost everyday afterwards. Sometimes, when the older kids were willing, we traded hurdles for the high jump but most of our time was spent jumping the hurdles.
Several kids in my class enjoyed playing with the track equipment but none were as obsessed and enthusiastic as Brent A., Curtis D, and I. We were SERIOUS (lol) about being track stars so we trained like champions. (We also had a crush on one another but that's another story entirely! lol) Considering the fact that we were all still fairly short, we did a most respectable job.
Hurdles had four settings known as "notches". (1st notch, 2nd notch, etc.) Brent, Curtis, and I were not interested in racing. Our collective goal centered around those notches. We wanted to prove that we could jump as high as the older kids could jump so that we could garner their respect and earn our own place in the cool track kid's club. lol In reality, the older kids probably didn't care about or even notice us much but in our 9 year old heads, they were watching and they were going to be very impressed. LOL
We worked hard and we paid our dues. In 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, we spent at least an entire week walking around with painfully pulled muscles that we got as a result of pushing ourselves too hard without stretching or bothering to work our way up to 3rd and 4th notch in a gradual manner. We didn't mind. Each of us wore our muscle discomfort as though it were a badge of heroism. The three of us were by far, the best hurdlers in our 3rd grade class. Thanks to my Grandpa Lee, and the limber, flexible hamstrings I inherited from him, lol, I quickly grew proficient at jumping 1st, 2nd, and 3rd notch without any problem at all. I was hit-and-miss on 4th notch. That one intimidated me just a bit. I could clear it sometimes, while other times, I would fail miserably and pay the price for missing. Tripping over a hurdle is more than just a little rough on the shins. lol Curtis and Brent struggled a little with 4th notch but they were more consistent at clearing it than me. By the time spring of our 4th grade year rolled around, they had grown a little taller and more confident. I never completely mastered 4th notch. If anything, I think my fear of getting seriously hurt attempting that level increased. I continued to enjoy hurdles but I did so feeling most frustrated by the fact that 4th notch and I could not find agreement. lol
It was, however, during my 4th grade year that I was afforded the opportunity to spend more time on the high jump and it didn't take me very long to fall in love with that activity. I loved the high jump and I loved the way that all of the other kids on the playground would sit and watch those of us when we practiced. Because I had so admired the kids who were good at high jumping when I was younger, I was just sure that my classmates, as well as the younger kids, were equally impressed with my skills, which, deep down, was probably the thing I loved most about the whole process. lol I quickly became an above average high jumper, which surprised me more than it surprised anyone else. I was not built like a typical high jumper. I was still short and I had short legs, etc. but for reasons still unclear to me today, I could high jump because it involved a different jump style. Rather than jumping straight and forward, as is the appropriate technique for hurdling, high jumping required a "scissor" style jump that I found much easier to do. No doubt, part of the reason for that was that the scissor style eliminated a great deal of the fear factor because usually, missing on the high jump meant falling into the sand on your bottom, whereas, missing on hurdles meant slamming your shins and/or ankles into the hard wooden bar that stretched across it. Tripping across a hurdle also yielded a high probability of getting your legs tangled up in the equipment so drastically that you would hit the ground (no sand underneath hurdles) at dangerously awkward angles that often resulted in sprained ankles and wrists, twisted elbows, cuts and various other bodily abrasions. If you took an especially hard fall, a serious faceplant was not entirely out of the question.
So starting in 4th grade, I spent much more time on the high jump than I did on the hurdles and I had a blast because I was so surprisingly good at it. I don't mean to imply that I was setting any records or anything. There were some 6th grade boys who could outjump me and I THINK there were a couple of 5th grade boys who could outjump me. I was no superstar or anything. Also, girls weren't allowed on the high jump team so I only competed in p.e. class and on the playground, anyway. lol But I did a more than respectable job. The boys who could outjump me could clear the bar when it was set at the very tip top of the poles. My highest jump was only about 2 1/2 - 3 inches below that which was pretty darned impressive for a squatty 4th grade girl. I was very proud of myself and my high jump memories are some of my very favorite playground-related childhood memories.
Oh,...I never did make the track team, which was a huge embarrassment and disappointment to me. I mean, it wasn't earth shattering to me or anything but I was pretty upset for awhile because I wanted to be a fast runner so, so badly. I could have made the track team if girl's high jump had been a legitimate event but it wasn't so the only way I could have been a part of the team would have been to compete as a runner. Nobody tried harder than I did to become a fast runner but I completely sucked at running. I eventually became a very, very good athlete but I never became a competitive runner. Compared to a lot of the other kids, I was very slow. In later years, I became great at basketball, swimming, diving, volleyball, and skateboarding but I never became a good runner. That just wasn't ever intended to be my gift. It would be fun to be able to run like the wind but I get to walk through life as a musician, which is a far more significant gift to me so I can't complain. Just know that if you and I ever have a foot race, I'm going to need a significant headstart. lol
Curtis, my track buddy, who left this world way too soon.
1961-2008