Jessica Igarashi | Contributing Writer

Sports have been a constant in my life basically since I could walk. When it was time for me to begin my college search, being able to play a sport was not a huge factor, but it was something that I was going to keep an open mind about. So, I met with a couple of coaches and teams on the various college visits that I went on. When the first semester of my senior year of high school came to a close, I had decided that playing a sport in college was definitely something I wanted to do.

As second semester flew by, I started to second guess my decision. Part of the reason was because I hadn’t decided on Buena Vista University (BVU) until April, and I thought by then it was going to be too late for me to commit to a sport. Then, I reasoned with myself that my decision was okay because I knew a sport would take up a lot of time. I really wanted to focus on my grades since everyone talked about how the transition from high school to college is a tough one. I also did not think my athletic abilities were strong enough to participate in a college sport. So, my decision was made, and I was fine with it.

Then, a couple of weeks after graduation, I got an email from the head track coach at BVU about summer workouts. I emailed him back and told him that I wasn’t planning on doing track, and he responded by saying that he thought that I should give it a try. He said I might really enjoy it, and I didn’t have to stick with it if I didn’t want to. I thought it over for a while and talked to my parents and my high school track coach about it. They were all very encouraging and thought that I should give it a shot. I emailed the coach back and told him I was in, and it ended up being one of the best decisions I have made.

My second year of track has just started, and I’ll have you know that I did not stick with it solely because I enjoy running. Running sucks about ninety percent of the time. The reason I put myself through this pain every day is because I have found a home within my team. We all go through the pain together, and we are all there to pick each other up when we feel like we can’t keep going anymore. I found coaches and teammates that I know will have my back in any situation, and I also picked up some forever friends along the way. While the relationships I’ve formed are the main reason I’ve stuck with track, I feel like I’ve developed better time management skills and have become tougher, both physically and mentally. My decision to run track in college has brought so much happiness into my life. I hope that anyone who is conflicted about doing a sport in college decides to take a leap of faith and go for it.

Photo courtesy of Jessica Igarashi