Who Am I?

I am an avid runner and have been running since I was 15 years old. I began running low to medium distances while on my high school track team, running the 800 meter and 1600 meter races (I was a sub 5 miler and a 2 minute 800 runner). In addition to the track team, I also joined the cross country team. After high school I still wanted to run and decided to start doing road races. I have probably ran a couple hundred 5k races (16.29 PR)along with many 10k's as well. In 2009 I decided to step up my game and try to tackle my first marathon. I will be honest; the only reason I did this was because my father ran a few and I wanted to show him that I could do what he did. I trained poorly for my first one and regret it. If you are going to run a race, train like you want to win. I still continue to run marathons and other distances as well, and every race is a chance for me to better myself.
I started this blog to hopefully communicate with other runners and to shed any knowledge I may have about the sport that can help other runners. I believe running is the best sport and can be a great stress reliever. I encourage all runners to spread the word of our sport and show people why running is so good and why the community of runners has such great people. You can follow me on twitter @byrne1324 or find me on facebook- Shaun Byrne

Friday, November 20, 2015

Random Friday: A Change In Sports pt.2



Continuing with our topic of kids and sports, this week I interviewed a co-workers daughter who plays field hockey year round and is the leading scorer 2 years in a row for her high school team. I was hoping to better understand the mind set of someone who was brought up to only play one sport as opposed to someone like me who grew up playing multiple sports.

1. Name, Age, Grade Level


Sarah Metzmaier         age:16            10th grade


2. At what age did you start playing field hockey?

11


3. At what age did you make field hockey your primary sport?

8th grade

4. Do you play any other sports?
No, but when I was younger I played volleyball, however I am very active on the water, with wake boarding and knee boarding in the summer


5. Do you play in any other leagues outside of school? If so how many?

Pittsburgh Venom Field Hockey club along with being a guest player on 2 others (TGT and Coyotes)


6. Do you feel there is more opportunities for boys in sports?

Yes, people look at boys as though they better, faster, and more athletic, however if given the opportunity, more often than not girls can do just as much.


7. Have you ever lied about the severity of an injury to keep playing?


Yes- for a broken finger, possible concussion, and knee injury


8. If you received a scholarship, would you choose the sport over a career? Example: schooling for a doctor or lawyer would interfere with practice 

I would always choose a career over a sport

9. Do you think parents are too involved in sports?

Sometimes- they are always very supportive but sometimes that support causes a lot of pressure to do well.


10. What do you hope to get out of playing?

Friendship, opportunity, competition, and life skills ( learning to accept failure, and never give up)


11. Did you choose to play or did your parent’s steer you toward the sport?


My parents steered me into the sport after I tried several others and didn’t enjoy them.


12. Has playing interfered with any part of your life? Have you had to sacrifice anything?


Time with family( holidays and weekends) missing school for national tournaments


13. Do you ever regret not playing another sport?


No, by only playing field hockey I am able to commit all my time to it ( which is a lot) If I wanted to be at the same level in another sport I would have to sacrifice even more of my time.

14. Do you think a girl who only plays for her school has any chance of being competitive as opposed to a girl who plays year round?

I think a girl who only plays in HS has some chance of being competitive but in order to reach the next, faster, more skilled style of play she must practice outside of the HS season.


15. If you were to decide to quit playing today, how do you think you parents would react?


After the first shock, I think they would be supportive of my decisions and reasons( since I’d have to have a very good reason)

-Next week I will give you my final thoughts on this subject.

No comments:

Post a Comment