Editor’s note: Alexis Paine is an athlete at The University of Alabama but also works as a staff reporter for The Crimson White.
Progress. That is what I want this indoor and outdoor track season to be for me and my teammates. Each practice, meet and everything in between is an opportunity for us to improve. We have been focused on enhancing our abilities and making strides toward our goals since we started practicing in September 2012.
This past weekend, The University of Alabama track and field team competed at the Indiana Relays at Indiana University. I was less than satisfied with my two prior performances, and I wanted to prove to myself that I had progressed from this point last year.
I watched my teammates improve through the first two meets and I wanted to be a part of that after not clearing a bar during our second competition. For a few days, what I considered to be a disappointment filled my head. I realized that I would not compete well if all I thought about was the possibility of failure. Instead, I focused on what I needed to do and attempted to crush the worries I had about past mistakes as I entered Gladstein Fieldhouse, the indoor track facility.
I’ll be honest. It was a nerve-racked and sloppy meet for me. I didn’t clear the first bar on my first attempt and the nerves hit me. The butterflies attacked my stomach, and again I worried about not clearing a bar. I was determined to wiggle over the bar on my next attempt any way possible. Some may call my next jump an act of diligence, but what I really did was revert to a form of vaulting that is neither efficient nor smart. Luckily, I was able to clear a bar at a school record 4.1 meters, a 13-foot-5-inch a bar I know I can clear with better form.
Clearing a school record-breaking height is something I’m proud of, but it was never a goal. I have the mindset that the height does not matter as much as the developments I make in my technique. With that, higher heights will come. I want to vault like I know I can and continue making improvements, getting faster and stronger. Breaking this indoor record is one step on a long journey of becoming a better vaulter. It gives me motivation to keep putting in the hours at practice, trying to fix details that may take many attempts to grasp.
Like me, the track team as a whole is hungry. We want bigger and better results than the team has seen before this season. Every member knows they have the ability to be something great if they continue to work at their individual events and listen to their coaches. We are just three meets into a season that lasts until June, and I don’t want my progress or the rest of the team’s progress to end here. Every accomplishment, whether it be breaking a school record, tweaking technique, or improving our personal best by something as small as a centimeter or a second is another step in the direction we are taking. We’ve been “Built by Bama” and we’re ready to show it.
