Elementary School Track Meet





In the spring of 1971 I was finishing 6th grade in Mrs. Sprenkle's class at Mazie Gable Elementary School. As part of the end-of-year festivities there was a big "track meet" where boys and girls of the different age groups were entered into different events by our teacher. I'll be forever grateful to Mrs. Sprenkle for entering me into one event that day that changed the rest of my school days, and helped me discover one of my talents.

The only events I remember competing in that day were the 75-yard dash and the softball throw. Prior to that I never thought I'd had any athletic talents (other than tether-ball) because I didn't have the speed of my friends, all of whom were smaller. I struggled playing basketball as it required speed, agility and jumping all things I wasn't good at, especially at the age of 12. I had 2 things I did well that I knew of - tether-ball and kickball.

That's why that day of the track meet mattered. I was nervous about both events. First up was the 75 yard dash. All the children lined up in the grass near our classroom door; there were probably 8 or 10 kids ready to race. One of the teachers did the usual - on you mark, get set, go! Off we went. As expected I started slowly but around the 50 yard mark I was up to speed and started passing people. To my surprise I ended up beating every one of the boys except 2 and got a 3rd place! To someone who thought he was slow, this was huge. Compared to most boys I was actually fast - I just wasn't quick. We always ran the 50-yard dash for the annual Presidential Youth Fitness event which consisted of a 50-yard dash, a 600-yard run, long jump, pull ups, sit-ups and push-ups. I really only could do the 600 and sit ups reasonably well. This left me believing I had little athletic ability.

Comparison of baseball and softball - Wikipedia
Then came the softball throw. Imagine my surprise when I threw the softball so far they had to run backwards to see where it landed. When the event was over I had not only won easily, I'd set a school record with a throw around 200 feet. It may have been 206 feet as that number is the one that first comes to mind. Who knew?
Shot Put And Discus Quotes. QuotesGram
As time went by my ability to throw well mattered. This became especially apparent when the next year I started throwing the shot and discus in Jr. High. Confidence and self-esteem are always rooted in achievement and finally I had something I did well. I rode that confidence to more athletic success in more sports until by the time I graduated from high school I had the most varsity letters in my class - 9. Only one boy, Mark Miller had as many.

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