I could see the pain in her eyes, and I could feel my heart burst into a million pieces. I just wanted her to be ok. Everything felt like slow motion. I just wanted to start over.
I woke up to the smell of fresh pancakes, bacon, and eggs. I walk out to the kitchen of the beautiful vacation home. As my feet hit the cool tile floor; I felt a shiver crawl up my back. I see a few of my other teammates already filling their stomachs with the delicious food. I joined them. After I finish my breakfast I wander back to my bedroom and start the tedious task of hair and makeup. After two hours I finally add the finishing touches. I change into my uniform and pack up the things I need in my backpack.
As our meet time approaches we all pack into our rental cars and head to the ESPN World Wide of Sports Arena. After the close to 25-minute drive, we arrive at the place where dreams come true. We drive under the Disney arch and continue to the arena. We park our rental car and enter the sports complex. My team met up with our coaches and we prepare to go to warm up. I give my mom a hug and she whispers in my ear, ”You got this. I love you”. I nod my head and give a cheesy smile in return.
My coaches take my team to a hidden hallway inside of the building. We start to stretch and warm up our bodies. As we continue to stretch my coach says,” today is our day kids”. We finish up stretching we move on to do a few walkthroughs to make us feel confident about our routine. We make sure to iron out any last imperfections in our routine. As my team finishes up our pre-warm up we start to head to the actual competition warm up.
As we enter the warm-up room I instantly feel intimidated. All I can see is the best of the best, cheerleading teams warming up their impeccable routines. One of the staff members says, “Fury Athletics, you are on the warmup mat in about 30 seconds.” These 30 seconds felt like hours. Finally, it is our time to warm up. We warm up our stunts one by one. Perfecting every movement. Knowing there is no room for error. After stunts, we warm up tumbling. As I stand on the side of the mat, waiting to warm up, I see a glimmer out of the corner of my eye. I looked down to see what the object is. It was a penny. I thought to myself, right now could possibly be the best time to find a lucky penny. I hold it in my palm and wish for nothing but the best form my team this weekend.
As we leave the warm-up room I have this pit in my stomach. We began the long walk to the arena. Feeling anxious, nervous, scared, happy, sad and excited all at once. Once we arrive at the on-deck area all I can do is just shake in nervousness. The blasting music is drowned out by the speeding thoughts running through my head. I look around at my 18 teammates and they resemble the same emotion as me. We begin our pre-performance talk. We all know how hard we have worked for this moment. The moment of pure glory. To hit a perfect routine, and to make it to finals. My teammates say,
“ We can do it.”
“We have worked so hard.”
“It’s our time.”
Saying these inspirational quotes was easier said than done. We were all attempting to hold back our tears. Knowing the season is over after this weekend. With five seniors and many not returning next season, this was potentially the last time together on the mat.
Finally, my team is called out into the arena. My team walks out on the mat and all I feel is nervous. I look around at my teammates. I make eye contact and nod, providing reassurance, and a confidence boost. This was our time. I see my coach put her thumb in the air notifying for the music to start. I take one final deep breath and the music is on. The music is so loud that it makes all of my nerves disappear. The crowd is so loud that it motivates me to be even better than I’ve ever been.
After the hard parts of the routine finish up, I am nothing but confident. So I thought, as I watch my teammates complete the running tumbling section I notice something very abnormal. I look over and another one of my teammates says, “It’s Autumn, she's hurt.” I yell to Autumn, “We are almost done. You got it.” We move into our basket section and there is a fluke in one of the groups. We finish up the routine and I instantly worry about Autumn. I look over and she is on the ground holding her ankle. A few of my other teammates help carry her off of the mat as she winces in pain.
We meet our coaches after our performance. As the medic is checking in on Autumn, we are all fearing the worst for her. At the same time, we are upset that it wasn’t our best routine. After a few minutes, the medic tells our coach that it seems to be nothing other than a major sprain.
After about an hour we head to the results. We are desperate to make it to finals. As they start naming the top ten that are advancing we can do nothing but hope for the best. As the chances get slimmer and slimmer we know that our name is not going to be called. It wasn’t. After hearing the results we do one final breakout as a team. At this point, no one can contain their emotions. My teammates, my coaches, and parents are crying. Knowing that this was the end. The end of such a great team and season.
We faced adversity and overcame the injury of our teammate. I forever cherish the 2017 season. Looking back at our performance I know that it is not always about winning. It is about the experiences that you make with your teammates and the memories you will hold onto for your entire life. Long live Fury Athletics Of Madison Genesis 2016-2017.
It is your turn! I want to hear your stories of adversity and perserverence. Comment below a time that you or your team has faced the odds and come out even stronger!
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