June 10, 2014 by Charlie Eisenhood in Livewire, News with 0 comments
Seattle Riot’s Charlie Mercer has a great blog post about developing into athlete and finding ultimate (and her own confidence). Here’s an excerpt:
Between the summer of 7th and 8th grade, I ran almost every day. I dropped about 15 pounds and grew 4 inches. That was the point when everything changed.
I came back to school in the fall and I was different. It wasn’t the fact that I looked different; it was that I felt different. I had confidence. My head was held higher. My voice was a little louder. I started to find my place in the world. Middle school wasn’t a horror story; it was my coming out story.
At that point, I became obsessed. I loved athletics with a ferocity that I couldn’t explain. I would play any sport that I could get my hands on. Freshman year, I ate in my 5th period class after lunch every day because I played football when I was supposed to be eating. Sorry I’m not sorry.
At the end of freshman year, I joined an ice hockey team. The only teams around were all-boys teams. That no longer fazed me. They couldn’t intimidate me anymore. I belonged with them, not cowering behind them. I made them respect me, because I respected me. I went from an 11-year-old who couldn’t talk to a boy to a 15-year-old who had mostly male friends because they were the ones she played sports with.
I discovered ultimate the summer after my junior year, and my love affair with sports became a marriage.
