As track and field are coming to an end of their season this year, they have a great amount of achievements and memories to reflect back on.
One of the coaches in track and field is Coach Harshaw, who has been coaching for around four years and has enjoyed every aspect of being a coach to these athletes. Throughout the season Coach Harshaw has noticed the team’s strongest traits were made up by their resilience, teamwork, and unwavering commitment to excellence and succeeding.
“One of my favorite things about coaching is witnessing the growth and development of my athletes, both on and off the track,” said Coach Harshaw.
Senior Ashley Garcia has seen improvement and personal growth this season in areas that are not only physical, but mentally as well.
Coach Harshaw likes to remind us to keep a positive mindset, he says, “Don’t say you can’t, say you can,”says Gracia.
This was Ashley’s first year participating in track and competed in the 100 meter, 800 meter, and a four by 100 relay. Ashley explained how one of her biggest challenges in the season was her own mindset. At the beginning of the season she would doubt herself on what she could do, however with the help of Coach Harshaw she was able to break this habit and see growth in herself. Coach Harshaw helped her see that if you filled your mind with positive things, then the more likely you were to see a positive outcome. It was a mind game all along for Ashley to see what she could achieve.
“Track has definitely helped me as an athlete and in general, it taught me by staying disciplined, determined and focused, you’re guaranteed to have a better outcome and improvement,” says Garcia.
Just by Ashley being on track she was able to come out of it with a new mindset, positive outlook, and a determination to achieve her goals.
One of Coach Harshaw’s highlights in this season was their team being able to showcase their dedication and hard work, which was placed among Selma High School’s all time rankings.
Malachi Carrasco is a senior as well who has been in track for eight years and competes in high jump and triple jump. Along with Ashley, Malachi has struggled with the mental aspect of this sport. Track is a sport where your outcome is determined by how far you can push yourself and being in a positive mindset. Over the years Malachi has seen himself improve little by little, however all these small milestones are not unappreciated as they have helped him create his biggest accomplishments in track, such as new PR’s.
“Track has shown me how in life to achieve my goal it may be a longer road than what it may appear, with steady work toward your goal,” says Carrasco.
Coach Harshaw’s most important thing his athletes can take away from the sport is a sense of self-discipline, determination, and the ability to be able to overcome challenges both on and off the track. This goal is depicted through members on the team like Ashley and Malachi. Whether you have been on track for a year or multiple years, they both are the same as to what values they come out with, along with a new mindset.
