Mikayla McGarry '17 Recruiting Profile

My life has revolved around sports ever since I can remember. I swam for eleven years, played softball for twelve, and began track in tenth grade. Over the years I have learned to push myself, and constantly work to improve not only in strength, but in technique.  Due to injuries, I have learned how to better myself individually from coaching.  In tenth grade, I found out that in addition to having asthma, I had vocal chord dysfunction, which further inhibits breathing. I had to practice breathing techniques at every practice. At first it was difficult to not give up during the workouts, and take a break, but over time I gained greater control over my breathing. At the end of tenth grade I injured my hip flexer, and during indoor season in eleventh grade experienced the same problem. I had to stay out for the season in order to regain strength, and spent most of outdoor simply getting back into running shape. Though these obstacles held me back, they made me work harder. When my breathing was bad, I forced myself to go for jogs in addition to practices. When my hip was injured, I began static workouts on my own at home. I built up strength in my arms with curling, and became a master at wall sits and planks. (By outdoor season I was up to 4 minutes for wall sits and 5 for planks.) 

In addition to my personal achievements, I strive to better my teammates also.  With each new goal I set for myself, I wrapped my competitive teammates up in also. My friend and I began staying after practice to intensify the workout. We would time each other and give feedback on how to improve our technique. Similarly, I often performed workouts separate from the team so I could provide input for people that wanted advice for improvement.  When they did as I suggested, it made me feel just as accomplished as if I had improved myself.  

I think my primary reason for wanting to compete in college is so I can learn. I am studying to become a high school teacher, and my hope is that in addition to teaching in the classroom, I can help coach students who would like to run track.  Especially for schools that may be at a disadvantage in sports, my hope is to give the students an opportunity to make friends outside the classroom, and hopefully, even if track is not their niche, feel they are a part of the team.  Essentially, I would like to be a part of your team so that someone else has the chance to be a part of a team too.