As I started my research, I was looking for something that
you catch not just my attention but others as well. While looking through
sports articles I came across this one, “Toughness” by Jay Bilas. He is a sports
writer for ESPN.com. Just like he says in the article, people seem to have
different definitions of toughness. I can promise you that my definition is
opposite that of my little sisters. To me toughness is going the extra mile,
picking someone up when their down, or simply listening to someone tell you
story that makes you want to cringe but you keep listening because you know
that you are helping them. Yes, the article is mostly about toughness on the
basketball court. However once I read it, there where points he made that could
be referred to in our everyday lives.
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The summer before junior
year we, the Lady Raider basketball team, went to team camp at Middle Tennessee
University. We all were so excited that as soon as we pulled in to register we
all jumped off the bus laughing, screaming. Our first game rolled around. Right
away we realized that the team we were playing was a tough team. Now when I say
“tough” I mean they were a bunch of big, aggressive, in your face girls. The first
three minutes were miserable for all of us. Our smiles and good feelings had
vanished. Coach called a timeout and we all knew what that meant. It was only a
30 second timeout, but just like always he managed to yell the entire time. It
was out ball coming out of the timeout. As we set up our offence I ran to the
wing. The wing is located on the left or right side of the court. After
receiving a pass and dribbling to the top with my left hand, I was directed to
cross over to my right. As I made the cross my right ankle dragged against the
floor. As I fell down I lost the ball, which my defender proceeded to take down
court for a layup. My coach was in raged. He obviously did not realize what
just happened. As the game came to a stop and as I sat there in pain and agony,
my teammates came and helped me to my feet. Taking my shoe off revealed my
worst fear. I had severely sprained my right ankle. It was black, purple, and
blue. I can honestly say it looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my
ankle. We went back to the hotel before our other two games that day. I spent
an hour in my room with my foot in a trashcan of ice water. I couldn’t feel my
foot after because the ice made it completely numb. I attempted to play the
third game that day and the remainder of the camp. I sometimes still suffer
from pain in that ankle but it has become more unnoticeable as I continue to
play on it.
Toughness is not about the strongest person in
the weight room or the person who can hit the hardest on the football team.
Toughness is about doing all the little things someone else wont. It may be
making sure you get every rep in or pushing that lineman one more inch so your
running back can have just enough space to slip by. Whatever it is, make sure
that YOU go the extra mile, that YOU do the small things no one else will. That
in my book, is being the toughest person out there.
I cringed at that description of the ankle. I think this idea of toughness applies to other areas besides sports or physicality. I wish kids were tougher reading books--paying attention to the details, challenging themselves to face new ideas, going the extra mile to imagine a character or author's perspective. Follow through with learning is tough; it requires commitment to push beyond just being at school and instead apply learning to the details of our lives.
ReplyDeleteAnna when have you been tough off of the basketball court when something has gotten difficult maybe at home or with classes at school? Is it harder to be tough when you doing something athletic like running suicides, or more mental, like having to do homework really late at night that you hate?
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