Folders |
farewell to throwing
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the
first time i ever picked up a shot put was in 8th grade at a p.e. track
meet at gage. i won. the next year i was a freshman at north, with no
intention of doing sports.. somehow i was talked into playing
volleyball and when i realized that conditioning was going to kill me i
found a way out. track. my first year of throwing i threw the shot
32-2 and the discus 99-9. by my senior year i had improved to 41 feet
in the shot and 160 feet in the discus. my senior year was also the
first time that i ever picked up a hammer. at the ucla throwing summer
camp i fell in love with ucla and learned how to do a hammer turn.
when i left camp i bought a hammer, emailed lance and asked him how to
throw. he wrote me back that i should just practice as often as
possible doing multiple turns and try to keep my hips level. after
regular throwing practice i would stretch a measuring tape out and
practice hammer by myself. marking my improvement each throw. at an
all-comers meet in january i threw the hammer 149-7. the next year i was at ucla living the dream. i finished that year with a new PR of 197-7 and won junior nationals. by the time i graduated ucla in 2004, i was an 8-time all-american, pac10 and regional champion as well as part of 2 national championship teams. my heart wasn't at ease and i knew that i wasn't done throwing. after not making the finals at the olympic trials i emailed lance again and asked him if he would be interested in coaching me. about a month later he agreed to try it out and i moved up to oregon. i'm so glad he agreed to it and i'm glad i moved up here. my lifetime best throw is from my bruin days and i am proud of that. it proves that i gave everything i had to that program. moving to oregon has helped me to see that. its helped me to appreciate everything art did to make all of us exceed our personal bests. like in the alchemist i found out that i had been in possession of my treasure all along, but i had to go on a quest looking for it to realize this. i couldn't have ended my career any other way. a hug from lance then a hug from art. thanks to everyone that supported me along the way. cheers! Cari |