Pro Day With Sanya Richards
Wednesday, Sept. 16, was a big day -- for the first time, GIRL Magazine brought together a pro athlete and a team of high school athletes in her sport for a day of training, mentoring, learning and just a splash of good, old-fashioned girl talk. The star in question? Newly minted 400-meter world champion Sanya Richards. The lucky athletes? Members of the high school track team in Montclair, N.J. It was an amazing day, the first of what we hope will be many GIRL Pro Days to come. If your team would like to host one, let us know by e-mailing us at girl@risemag.com.
Check out Sanya Richards' tips for big-time block starts.
Pro Day at Montclair High was great. We gathered first in the field house and junior Shana Kerr kicked off the conversation by asking how I got scouted in high school (I ran college track at Texas). I told her that the serious attention came when I broke the indoor 200m and 400m HS records as a senior. My grades helped, too. I am really competitive, and not just on the track. I figured if someone else could get an A, I could too. I kept a 4.0 in high school and had a 1200 on my SATs.
When I showed the team my medals from this summer's Worlds (I have golds from the 400 and the 4X400 relay), sophomore Jalisa Jenkins wanted to know if the quarter-mile was always my best event. The girls seemed surprised when I told them I never intended to run it. My dad thought it would help me get stronger and faster for the 100 and the 200. When I broke the HS record, though, I realized I had found my race!
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE ...
Throughout October, ESPNRISE.com will call out feature stories from GIRL Magazine's fall 2009 edition. A sampling:
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While we stretched, Jacqueline Barnes, another sophomore, asked if I still feel the burn in that last 100m like they do. I told them, 'Yeah, in that last hundred, you feel like a bunch of bricks have been thrown at you!' What helps is having a strong core. I added Pilates to my training in high school and it made a huge difference -- core strength makes it easier to pick your legs up, which really helps in the homestretch.
Junior Kristina Mondesir wanted to know if I have traditions I follow before big races. I actually try really hard not to have too many superstitions or rituals because I don't like to psyche myself out if things don't go exactly as expected. Things are always changing. You have to be able to roll with it. I do wear my bullet necklace all the time, though. My mom gave it to me in seventh grade and told me, 'Sanya, you're faster than a speeding bullet.' I remember that whenever I see it.
At the end of our day, I asked the girls if they'd be in one of my video blogs (you can watch them all on YouTube.com/Sani400). There's this dance I do when I'm celebrating and Taylor Newman, the other captain, knew it! She helped me teach everyone and my mom taped us on my iPhone. We laughed so hard.
Thanks for hosting me, Montclair High! Good luck with your training, girls, and keep pushing forward. I always tell people it's easy to put it off, but if you want to be great at something, it's never too early to start working hard.
