Notes

College Essay Rough Draft
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

My current and favorite sport that I participate in high school in, Track and Field, has taught me a lot over the three years I’ve been doing it. Starting in the spring of 2019, I came in as the only freshman participating in the throwing events, shot put and discus. To me, the season was pretty lackluster as the guidance I was seeking from the captains, upperclassmen, and coach seemed to be missing. The basics of throwing were taught to me but nothing more, leading me on an adventure to learn more about the sport and how to improve using the physics of the body. I explored many resources including YouTube videos and old books from the 1980s on throwing techniques to help me improve my form thus improving my throwing distance. At the end of the freshman year, my best shot put throw was 36 feet and 4 inches, just 2 feet shy of meeting the FCIAC qualification standard (Fairfield County Interscholastic Conference). To my coach I seemed to have a lot of potential with a strong freshman season but I knew I wasn’t performing my best and expected more out of myself. After the season ended, I signed up for a track meet called the Nutmeg Games outside of school that occurred in the middle of summer in New Britain, CT. I outdid my old distance by a foot, throwing 37 feet and 4 inches. Winter of 2019 came indoor track season which I again improved by a foot, throwing 38 feet, qualifying for FCIAC and the state championship meet since the winter qualifications were easier to meet than the spring ones. Being one of the three sophomores who participated in that meet, the rest of them being juniors or seniors, it felt like a big accomplishment to me. I still wasn’t satisfied with my performance though, I had been lifting weights, improving my technique, and nothing seemed to click for me. My practice throws averaged in the 40 foot range while I underperformed in competitions. Although to my coach it seemed like I still had a lot of potential I again wasn’t satisfied with my performance. The spring season was then cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a huge deficit for me and the rest of my team. I did what I could at home - sometimes going to the school to throw and practice on my own and doing at-home workouts. Come junior year, I had a very limited winter season with only one meet, improving by another foot, throwing 39 feet. Through my three years of throwing, I’ve participated in special throwing clinics, talked to many experienced coaches, and studied the techniques of olympic throwers. The spring track season of 2021 is where I finally saw results after all of the work and studying I had put into the sport. My best throw of the season was 45 feet 1 inches, which truly impressed my coach and myself. A 6 feet improvement in shot put is extremely impressive and I finally felt satisfied with myself. Starting from my freshman year of throwing, one of my dreams was always to go to the FCIAC and state meet, in which these dreams have come true. I threw 45’1 at the FCIAC meet, and (insert after the state meet on 6/1) at the state meet. I finally see my potential as a thrower and have chances to beat the school record for winter track, which is 45 feet and a quarter of an inch. Throwing has been my passion and led me to meeting new, inspiring, and truly helpful people that wish the best for me. Track and field is a sport of many different events yet is an entire community that comes together as one, which is why it will always be my favorite sport.