Follow Cape Elizabeth senior Mitch Morris as he embarks on his final xc season. Morris a newcomer to xc last fall is the top returning runner in Class B from the state meet a year ago. Mitch will be looking to chase the individual title, as well as try to lead his team to a third straight Class B title. On the track Morris showed his skills this winter running a 9:36.51 for 2 miles.
So far, this blog has been dedicated to telling the story of my "road to running", the story of how my running career got started. This is the fourth part of the story. If you want to read it from the beginning, part one can be found here: http://me.milesplit.com/articles/133589-road-to-running-a-blog-by-mitch-morris#.VBb5bkuLQTs
Despite my sickness, I worked harder than I had ever worked in my entire life to regain my spot on the varsity soccer team. Soccer meant everything to me, and at that time I had absolutely nothing to fill the physical, social, and mental void that consumed me in its absence, so I resolved to work to earn back my place on the varsity team, whatever the cost.
My first step was to evaluate myself as a player. With no explicit reason cited for my relegation, I wanted to know why I was kicked off the team, and exactly what to improve in order to get back on it. I labeled aerial ball control (my ability to control and settle balls played in the air) and dribble moves as weaknesses. Through constant practice targeted at these specific areas I resolved to make my weaknesses my strengths.
My hours of homework late at night were now punctuated by the soft thud of my battered, faux-leather ball against my foot, and by the gentle creaking of my bedroom floorboards as I navigated the small, crowded space with the ball at my feet, quickly but silently executing a different dribble move at each obstacle. As the weeks went by, I logged my progress. I noted how the dribbling moves I executed around my bedposts became quicker, sharper, and more controlled, and I watched as I doubled my personal juggling record after daily practice, and then doubled it again.
However, I knew that it would take more than just ball control and a few fancy dribble moves to prove my worth to the varsity team, so I took full advantage of every practice, constantly playing with a championship game-like intensity and pace in the hopes of catching the coach’s eye. I did all of this, but there was still one thing holding me back. After more than a month, my sickness hadn’t gotten any better. In truth, it had gotten worse, and evidence to that fact was plain to see for anybody, including the varsity soccer coach, who may have been watching me practice. I would move up and down the field, facilitating offensive attacks and distributing the ball to my teammates with ease, but when the time came for me to make my own run with, for, or to regain the ball, I could make it only a few yards before doubling over in an intense fit of coughing. Running, once my greatest asset on the soccer field, was now my greatest weakness. I could now juggle into the hundreds and perform any dribble move I needed, but I was completely ignorant to the fact that it was my health, not a lack of ability, that was keeping me from playing my best, so when my hard work for soccer failed to pay off, I did the only thing I could think to do, work harder.
I broadened my training and doubled my practice time each night, staying up long hours in my basement perfecting my first touch and drilling complicated maneuvers like the “Cruyff” again and again. But after a few more weeks of practice, for better or for worse, my health finally won its tug of war with my ambition. On one gray, rainy day late in October, after months of toil, I collapsed on the field during practice. I remember laying on my back looking up at the sky, my heart full, my lungs empty. In that moment I wanted nothing more than to get right back up as I had always done, only this time, I couldnt.
As always, I’ll continue the story in my next post. Thanks for reading, and best of luck to all of you at Regionals.
- Mitch Morris
Read Previous Blog Posts
Entry 1 | Entry 2 | Entry 3