While I am a true believer that inclusion in sports is successful, given I was a three-season runner, I feel it is important for you to be aware there may be some bumps in the road as you become a success story. Being part of a team successfully requires many important skills, including having appropriate social skills/behavior, being a great communicator, a strong listener, and possessing a high level of determination, which can be for some students with an NVLD or similar disability at first challenging and very disheartening. However, in the end, I believe all the successful memories will outweigh the hard moments.
For example, in my first year of winter track, I spent a lot of time with a few people who were far from good teammates. They genuinely took advantage of the NVLD kid, which I didn’t realize until I had a seizure at one of the meets, so I asked them to get our coach. Regretfully they said, “No, Eileen, we are not getting Mrs. Sharrow. She will just yell at us” in a laughing tone as we were in an area where we were not supposed to be. Thankfully Coach Sharrow’s daughter overhears us and immediately goes to get her mom, who, of course, arrives beyond angry and deeply concerned about me as she could see I was in distress. It was probably one of the most worrisome moments of her coaching career. Thankfully afterward, she redirected me to a group of varsity girls, and with their support socially, I wasn’t again taken advantage of.
The next bump along the way was when I first joined the track teams. My coach, Mrs. Sharrow, was only able to put me in one sprint event for dual meets, and for the rest of the meets, I didn’t run at all. It was so discouraging and somewhat depressing. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep running. However, rather than quitting, we talked about how the track could be more enjoyable and successful for me, and her advice was for me to join the Cross-Country team. Since Cross-Country races are 3 miles, I would have the endurance to run everything but hurdles. I listened to her advice and came to the winter track season following my first season in Cross-country, being able to run whatever events Coach Sharrow asked me to, and I never looked back. This move allowed me to become a great teammate, and through this, my communication, listening, and social skills became age-appropriate as I was so driven to be the best person I could be. It also made me realize that Coach Sharrow was my best cheerleader on and off the track because she loved my “Yes I can attitude.” Today this hasn’t changed, and I am eternally grateful. This is another example that a negative experience can be turned into a success story with the support of a great mentor.
While running distance was a difference-maker for me, running relays was still hard at first because I was significantly slower, which sometimes brought me some unwanted attention. For example, some teammates who didn’t run this event said to me after my first time running the 4×800, “I hope you know you caused your team to finish in last place.” However, rather than saying what I was thinking, I said, “it is unfortunate, and I wished one more person would have said yes to run this race as I don’t like running relays because I know I am much slower. But when Coach Sharrow asks me to run to get the team points, I will say yes. Getting some points is better than getting no points by not having enough people to run the race at all. Through facing this negativity, my honest answer to these teammates made running relays more enjoyable, as they were now impressed by my courage and strength to help my team while knowing I was slower.
So my advice is always to work hard and trust your coaches as this will lead to tremendous success while social, communication, and listening skills difficulties will become a distant memory. I know how true this is as my coach, Coach Sharrow, always remembers my “Yes I Can Attitude” and being a special teammate, not as the athlete who could hardly run at all. I shared the same feelings, and I am grateful for Penny taking me under her wing as it was her widespread support that led to so many successful memories. It is certainly not easy, however with your coaches’ support and your own determination, you will succeed and begin to understand me.
Eileen
Eileen is a Project Social Ambassador and blogger for The NVLD Project. She loves helping others understand they can achieve their goals and dreams through hard work and dedication.
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