The state track meet a couple weeks ago certainly brought back some memories for me. Seeing those kids run around the track with one person or team in each event becoming the state champion, the ultimate goal.

Back in the day, that state champion was me. Yes, that’s right yours truly was a state champion in the mile relay and got runner-up in the long jump.

If you went to my parent’s house, you would see both plaques proudly on display. Plus, you would also see the baton that we used for that mile relay team.

Boy, I remember all the work we put in to get that championship. It actually started immediately after the state track meet the previous year. I made the states in the long jump, but our mile relay team didn’t get past regionals.

In the long jump, I missed making it to the finals by ¼ of an inch. Yes, you read that right ¼ INCH! That right there probably was the spark for my determination to do better my senior year.

I started my training for next year right after I got done with my last basketball camp. With the rest of the summer open, I started a strategic weight lifting program three times a week. Not really knowing what I was doing, my parents hired a personal trainer who had experience with athletes and he got me going.

We started implementing plyometrics with the weight training in September. This was going to help with my jumping and explosiveness not only for track, but for basketball as well.

Once basketball, started my schedule got trickier. I wanted to keep up the lifting, but I had practice and games all the time. I eventually decided to strength train twice a week and we just tried to squeeze them in. It was a little hectic, but I was determined to do well in track the next year.

When the winter weather started breaking, I spent some extra time doing sprint work on some hills to try and get my track speed back after a winter of hibernation. Eventually, basketball ended and now the fun began. Track season was upon us and the countdown to states began.

All that hard work paid off in a big way. I was so much stronger and more prepared for the season. I was jumping the best I’d ever jumped and my times were dropping a lot earlier in the season than the previous year.

We made the state meet and I blasted off a long jump that was the culmination of all that hard work. Landed me state runner-up. Then in the mile relay, I got the baton in third place. With 150M to go, I began my kick and passed the second place dude and now I was gunning for the leader and the finish line. I was feeling so strong as I passed with 5M left to secure the…..

Wait…that wasn’t how it went.

Oh yeah, I didn’t win the state championship. We got runner-up in that mile relay. In fact, I didn’t even place in the long jump my senior year. I got 7th place and back then that got you NOTHING.

All that hard work I did for months before….oh wait, I didn’t do a whole lot of extra hard work. My parents got me some trainer and I worked out at a gym for a month. This trainer was some surfer dude from Cali who spent more time flirting with the women than paying attention to me. (Yes, the stereotypical personal trainer)

I didn’t lift during the basketball season or do any extra sprints prior to track. So basically from the end of states my junior year to track the next year, I did a half assed month’s worth of workouts.

My mile relay team missed getting the state championship by .5 of a second. If I had even gotten my personal best in the long jump, I would have placed no lower than 5th. When track season rolls around and I see my athletes getting accolades, you don’t think I don’t wonder what could have happened if I had actually done a proper off-season program??

If I had been strength training for 3-5 months, maybe I could have made up that .5 seconds difference in the mile relay. Maybe I could have blown past my PR in the long jump and placed high in the states.

But, I will never know.

You on the other hand still might have a chance. You still have the opportunity to eliminate the “what if’s”. You still have the time to do everything in your power to put yourself in as good a position as possible to be successful for your sport. You can start planning all the training that you need to do.

It would be a lot easier for me to say, I did everything I could in my power to ready myself as an athlete. That day I just went up against someone who was better than me. But, I can’t say that.

If you can’t say that either, then seriously think about truly how good do you want to be? Is this something you just want to have fun with and if you are good great, if not so be it? Or do you want to see just how good you can be?

If it is the latter, then listen to my words. YOU KNOW if you are doing all you can do to prepare yourself for your sport. There is no perfect time to start, you just have to do it and adjust. Not to be cliché, but just do it and let everything fall into place.

Photo courtesy of Steven Pisano on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenpisano/