"The strength of the team is each individual member.
The strength of each member is the team."
~ Phil Jackson
It's 5:30am and, as usual, I'm enjoying my first cup. I'm nothing if not predictable. Outside it's dark and grey and the rain is steady. It's a perfect day to curl up with a book or do a movie marathon from bed. Ha. Or not. A little before 7:00 I head out to pick up McKenna and the two of us make our way over to Lexington High School. He doesn't drink coffee. I know. But we do make a stop at Dunkin' for his traditional pre-meet donut. We pull into the school lot and see our athletes slowly trickling out of their cars, trying to stay awake or just to wake up in the first place as they walk over to load the bus. We have about forty five kids; runners, jumpers, hurdlers and throwers who will be lining up together for the MSTCA Division One Relays which starts with the boys events at 9:00am. This is our first big meet of the season. A season that has been different and more challenging than any other outdoor track season we've ever had. We are nervous, excited and everything in between. All of us. And it's going to rain all, damn, day. Obviously.
The bus is quiet, many of the athletes dozing off on our way over to Peabody. The calm before the storm, if you will. Pun intended. We get to Peabody High School and set up our tent over by the track. Thankfully it's big enough for all of us as, unless we're coaching or competing, we'll be parked there for the foreseeable future. James, the boys coach, and I go over to the registration tent and join the rest of the coaches for a pre-meet information session. Coach Mike Miller of Weymouth goes over all the details and understandably reminds us that, between Covid and the weather, among other things, this event was a bear to coordinate and to please take a minute to acknowledge and thank those who are both on and behind the scenes making it happen. Noted. Ashleigh, our hurdles coach, texts the Lex coaching staff to let us know that she is going on a coffee run. Sweet Lord above, sign me up. It's now 8:30. I am wearing every layer of clothing that I brought. I'm soaked. The tent is wet on on the inside and out. The boys are getting ready to race. The girls are curled up in blankets trying to stay warm and maybe get a little more sleep as their events don't start until 1:00pm. It's a labor of love, this sport. We love it. But, right now we hate it a little bit, too. Finally, around 12:00, the girls get moving and work to get in the race mindset. My 4 x 1600m team, Lauren, Uma, Clara and Mirra, will be the first Lexington team on the line. After quite possibly the longest morning ever, they are fired up and ready to rock. Honestly, I don't how they do it, but they do. By the time they are warmed up, warm being a relative term here, and over by the start, all four of them have their game faces on. The wind has picked up and the rain is coming down even harder. Doesn't matter. It's time. Let's freaking go. The gun goes off and Lauren takes a spot with the lead pack. She is smooth and controlled. Almost gliding. And, the best part? She is smiling. No joke. She's wearing an ear to ear grin as she tics off each lap. And it never fades. She runs a blazing fast leg and passes her baton off to Uma, still smiling as she steps off the track. Uma goes out crazy fast and continues to grind it out, running with everything she's got and then some. Up next, Clara, who starts out in second and within three laps of her leg takes the lead, crushing her last lap. She finishes handily in first with Mirra the last to finish things off. And that she does. She literally flies off the line and never stops. She's by herself. Doesn't matter. She's running like there is a fire behind her. Nothing is stopping this kid. She's working harder than I have ever seen her work. It is truly incredible to watch. And then, it's over, and the girls have won. No one expected it. No one knew what to expect, to be honest. So the surprise of the win is that much sweeter because of this. Pure joy. And things are just getting started.
The LHS ladies work their way through multiple events including the shuttle hurdles (6th place), the Sprint Medley (9th place), High Jump (2nd place), Long Jump (5th place), Shot Put (6th place), Discus (2nd place), and Javelin (3rd place). The field events squad is bringing it and then some. I'm not able to see them do their thing as they are off to the side of the track but they are crushing it handily and scoring points steadily for the Lex team. The weather is equally bad if not worse as the day goes on. At one point, the tents over at the timing system are ripped out of the ground by the wind and flipped over. It's total madness. And yet, we're still out here doing the thing. Finally, we're are closing in on the last event of the day. The girls 4 x 400m. I've had four, maybe five coffees. I've borrowed additional layers of clothing from my athletes. I'm shaking with the chills and frozen to the core. We all are. Mind you, it's around 4:00pm and the girls in the 4 x 4, Mari, Catherine, Aylin and Aleia, have been here since 8:00am. The fact that they are able to get up and motivated to race after the day they've had is mind blowing. Not surprising, given this group of incredible women, but still. Mind blowing. At the same time, this is it. They didn't sit here all day to half-ass anything. They're full speed ahead. I can see it in their faces as they stand by the start. They're ready to make things happen. I have the chills before they even step on the line. Literally and figuratively. The gun goes off and Mari shoots out like a cannon. I'm standing at the 200 on the track and I see her flying down the straightaway. Her look of determination is fierce. There is absolutely zero doubt in my mind. She's winning this leg. She passes off to Catherine. Same thing. Grit, determination; nothing is getting in this girl's way. Next up Aylin. She finds a new gear today, running like I've never seen her run. There is no fear. All fight. And finally, Aleia. Beast mode. She's comfortably in the lead at this point. Doesn't matter. She's running like someone is right on her shoulder. And she will not be beat. She floats down the final stretch straight into the arms of her teammates. To say they killed it is the understatement of the year. In the cold, wind and rain, or perhaps despite it, they lit up the track.
The heart of this Lexington girls track and field team, a group of almost 60 amazing women, is huge and beats loud. Louder than in years past. I've been coaching at Lex for 10 years. I'm seeing something different here. A joy and passion that's bigger than ever before. Maybe it's because we were forced to shut down our spring season last year due to Covid. Maybe it's because this school year has been harder than ever before. Maybe it's simply because these ladies love what they do and love doing it for and with each other. Most likely it's all of this. Whatever it is, I am proud and honored to be a part of it as their coach. Everything they feel, I feel it to. Everything they want, I want it more. When they step on the line to run, jump or throw, I step on the line with them. They're all in. I'm all in. We're all in together. Day in and day out. Blood, sweat and tears. LEX GO.
Listen to this:
Electric by Katy Perry
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