In 2018-19, the Mountain East Conference began its "Dear Sport" initiative where student-athletes in the conference were encouraged to write a letter to their sport. The initiative provides the opportunity for student-athletes to express in their own words the impact that sports has played in shaping them throughout their lives.
Click here to view all letters posted throughout the year.
Below is a letter from Emilee Henry, a track & field student-athlete at Concord.
Dear Track,
This is a very difficult letter to write. It’s not easy to say goodbye to a sport that has been my “sole”mate in many ways.
Our journey together began in the 6th grade at Elkview Middle School. If you remember, I played soccer in the fall and I was told that I was very fast. I may not have had the foot skills to dribble the ball with grace, but I had no problem chasing down the player with the ball. My mom ran track back in her runner days and she talked about it, so I thought I would give it a try. I think you and I had an immediate attraction and I really enjoyed the individual events you offered and I had no one to blame but myself if I didn’t do a good job, and that isn’t easy for me to admit, as you know. I didn’t start off running the sprints. You had me compete in a variety of running events I even had to endure the 800m and I struggled, but I never gave up. I was so small that I had my uniform safety pinned to keep it on while I ran.
We took a break from each other my freshman year and I focused on trying to score goals on the soccer field, but you knew I couldn’t stay away and I returned full force my sophomore year at Herbert Hoover High School with Coach Moore. Success became addictive and I loved your gifts of ribbons and trophies and especially the award of “High Point” for a meet. You knew just how to put a smile on my face. I still haven’t wiped the smile off my face from winning the state title in the 400m, I even rushed to graduation after my last race, continuing to wear my red, white, and blue uniform and my medals around my neck as I crossed the stage and received my diploma with my classmates that afternoon.
Regardless of the places, the ribbons, the record, and the recognition, I have recognized that winning as a college athlete is much different than at the high school level. I look more at my personal best times, because having a “PR” is the best feeling. I am thankful for each victory because you never know when someone can take that away from you in the next season. It is also about making new competitors- turn into friends along the way. It is always fun to see former runners from high school track days who run for other colleges and we cheer each other on. It’s a familiar face in the organized chaos during a meet. Anacia Hines, from St. Albans High School, and I use to compete against each other at Laidley Field throughout the years and now we cheer each other on as she runs for Coastal Carolina and we get to see each other at meets throughout the season, a friendly face and lots of memories of where we came from.
You have given me so much more that I have given you. The more I reflect, the more I realize how much you have become a part of my life. Some things you have given me have been quite painful, such as the shin splints, compartment syndrome (surgery), and stress fractures, to name a few. But sometimes more painful than the injury is the patience it takes to return back to you heathy. When I am recovering I am reminded of how important it is to cheer on your teammates, even though it is hard to watch them move forward while I heal, I want them to do their best and succeed.
Thanks to Concord University and Coaches Cox and RJ, I was able to continue seeing you on all the turns and straightaways, and I have been provided opportunities that most people never get to have. You have given me challenges year after year to be better than before. You have given me unbreakable friendships. You have provided new chances every weekend of our seasons together for me to help my team and the track program. I have traveled to places I never dreamed of just so that I could see you and compete against the best runners at other universities. I have met Olympians and even run against a few.
I do have to apologize for how I reacted at the VMI meet. You were quite understanding and my coaches truly taught me a life lesson about running my mouth when I should have been just been running the DMR, a regret I can’t take back, but a lesson that will stay with me forever.
I can’t imagine not being with you. Each time I step into a lane no matter where you are, or when I get out of the van to warm up for a meet, you leave me speechless, and you know that I usually have lots to say. I will miss the simplest things such as putting on my uniform and my spikes. You give me a rush of adrenaline and goosebumps every time you call my name over the loudspeaker. I will even miss the jitters when I get into the blocks and the sound of the gun going off. I actually look forward to conversations with coaches and looking up in the stands to find out where my parents are sitting around you. You have brought my parents and me closer as we spend quality weekend time in your stands during meets and waiting for my events. Believe it or not, I will miss my alarm going off on my phone that is set to wake me up to leave, before the sun rises some mornings, crammed in a van, and trying grab some sleep before we arrive to compete wherever you are on our schedule that weekend. The taste of double bubble (that I chew to relieve stress), the walk to the clerk to check in, and sound of my teammates cheering me on, the looks I exchange with my competitors, and the feeling of knowing that I want to light up the track and cross that finish line with a better time than before, are things that I can never erase from our time together.
I am a better person because of you. You have taught me to plan ahead, be an excellent packer, become more vocal, and be more respectful and grateful for the things that I have. You have motivated me to get my school work done, giving me incentive for a diploma and to be eligible for each season. You have helped keep me organized and how to develop a routine to be a better student and athlete. Anxiety, stress, and depression can make for tough days in my life, but the constant activity and involvement that you have given me has helped me deal with doubts/worries/ body issues and it helped me to embrace that it is okay to be the way that I am -and that -in the moment that I am getting into my lane, jumping up and down to loosen my muscles, and adjusting my blocks, nothing else matters but you and me. I continue to work on “trusting the process” and looking forward and not back, under any circumstance. Mostly I know now that I am good enough and that I can accomplish anything that I put my mind to.
The one thing I will miss the most is when I compete, it’s like a whole other world to me. In that world, it’s nothing but me and you. Like nothing can stand between us. Just being able to stay with you and continue our relationship after high school is one of my favorite memories.
You deserve the credit for introducing me to my team. We have had lots of special times together. When I think about my team. I think “automatic family”. Some of us are close and we have our little groups we hang out with and talk to on a daily basis, but I know if anything happened or if we needed anything- I could always count on anyone on my team and they could count on me. Being a part of my Concord team makes me feel wanted and that I have some type of purpose. Every year Coach Cox’s parents invite the whole team to an end of the season dinner, they are so welcoming and make us all feel like an extended family. We do community service for Coach Cox’s church to pack foods to send to needy families, The Hunger Challenge. I also can’t forget our week-long spring break trips and Coach Cox’s friend who makes us dinner and feeds the team a few times during the week. These team traditions are memories that will not be forgotten.
The friends that you have given me have developed an unbreakable bond and they will be my friends for life. The coaches that you have introduced me to have taught me lessons that will stay with me after you are gone from my daily routine and when I am just driving past you thinking about our memories together. Coach Moore was always very proud, especially if we didn’t drop the baton. Coach Jackson from high school told me to always run through the finish line and if you have something left in the tank it’s okay to run a hundred more meters, without even yelling, he just had to clap his hands to a certain beat and while I was running I knew exactly what I needed to do. Coach Cox says, “If you give it your all, you lose nothing.” He always has a high five or a fist bump for his runners to let you know he cares about you and your performance. Coach RJ says to never be in a relationship during track season, but don’t you worry, I realized that our relationship, was the most important thing during our seasons together. Most recently Coach Adams, from Auburn University has helped our relationship become a lot stronger with helping me “trust the process” and learning to be more confident in myself as a runner. The coaches that I have had the opportunity to be coached by during our time together aren’t like any other coaches. They will do absolutely anything for their team. They will do the workouts with us, go the extra step to help us if we are struggling with classes. They cancel plans to go to practice and meets. The coaches I have had are one of a kind. I’ve been so fortunate. I consider myself to be blessed with the best.
Finally, this letter could go on and even though you have taught me to be disciplined, when it comes to telling you goodbye, it is very difficult for me. Friends, teammates, coaches, confidence, patience, self-motivation, unforgettable opportunities, to name just a few things that I am so grateful to you for giving me. Even after the last lap and the practices end, you will be a part of my heart and “sole” forever. This is the only time I won’t want to cross the finish line, when my journey as a college track athlete ends.
You have been my world,
Emilee Henry
Concord University