April 2, 2014
Yesterday after practice I was talking with two of my hurdlers, Lamar and Arthur. We were talking about hurdles and hurdlers, about some of the guys I coached back in the day, about professional hurdlers Lamar had been studying on YouTube, about what we think we’ll be able to accomplish this year.
We ended up talking for close to an hour and I didn’t even notice the time go by. Not until some kids who ran for a youth club team that trained on our track started trickling in did I realize it was time to go and that everyone else on our team had left.
At one point during our conversation three blue jays flew past us, temporarily jolting me out of my reverie, but also heightening my awareness of how special this simple moment was. I thought back to past athletes on past tracks through past years, and how this seemingly ordinary ritual of hanging out after practice has always been a common thing among hurdlers I’ve coached. They don’t want to leave the track, and neither do I. So many faces and so many names crossed my mind as I stood there talking to Lamar and Arthur.
It made me realize that for all the personality clashes that can occur within a team, and despite how arduous the daily routine of training can be, the moments spent chillin’ after practice with my hurdlers are among the purest, most authentic moments of all.
