It'll Get Worse Before It Gets Better

By Sky Roberts

 

As a first year on the nationals mat, my teammates had warned me about the pain, fights, and frustration we would go through before we would feel accomplished and ready to head to Orlando, Florida for nationals. Though our team, the most talent Avila has ever had, was experiencing a more enthusiastic three weeks of nationals practice. Every girl was on cloud nine, until one practice where everything fell apart. Nothing was hitting, no one was excited, the team we had the last three weeks had disappeared. Disappointment on our coach’s faces told us that we needed to get it together. One of my strongest, admirable teammates walked off of the mat and broke down. This is when I knew what my teammates had been talking about. At the same time, the most inspiring moment of my life had been coming together. The team circled around one another as most heads bowed and others had blank stares. I had never seen my team so defeated. My quiet teammate beside me, lacing her fingers in between mine, spoke through choked words and tears. She told us that we were better than this, and that we weren’t just a team, we are a family. She said she had never wanted anything as badly as to win this national championship not just for herself, but for every girl competing with her. As she continued, I examined the tears falling down every single teammates face. Her voice rose as she continued, telling us that we needed to do it for each other, for the seniors, for the girl right next to you on the mat; no matter who it was. To see some of the strongest girls I know break into tears let me know that we were a team, and we were going to finish this struggle together. When my teammate finished speaking, my hand nearly losing feeling from her grip, all everyone could do was nod. Our coach called for us to run the routine again—it was the best routine we had ever done. This is when I knew that this was a team—and not only a team—a team that loved one another more than they loved themselves. This is when I knew that the national championship title would be ours.