- Jay Z ft. Pharrell "So Ambitious"
The downpour of rain had slowed to a mist when Adelaide Rossi began jogging her way to the high school track down the street from her house. The roads were slick and a lone car flicked its lights at her as it passed, but she kept her eyes trained straight ahead. Her iPod attached to her bicep and the earphones stuck in her ears, she was separate from the world around her. There was something about running this early, before much of the rest of her neighborhood was awake, that made her feel accomplished. The two miles to the high school track came quickly. It was the same track where she won the state championship just three months earlier for her school with her nano second win over her main rival. The same school where she had graduated from with honors. High school had always come easy to her. Well liked by peers and teachers, she barely had trouble with classes and dominated the track and swim meets throughout her four years. Her mother, Marnie warned her not to get complacent, not to expect that college would be as simple. Mom always worried: was there going to be traffic? would the rain ruin their shopping trip to Georgetown? will Starbucks have the pumpkin spice latte? Addie knew that she had breezed through high school and was more than willing to take on increasing responsibility and challenges.
College would be everything that Addie had dreamt it would be. The freedom to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. If she wanted to stay up until midnight doing absolutely nothing, she would. Hell, there was nobody to stop her. In late March, she had decided her next four years would be spent at Towson University, just outside of Baltimore, Maryland; a short hour car ride north from her home in Annapolis. She had chosen Towson mainly based on it’s location. The uptown area had plenty of restaurants and bars (for when she was of age of course), a movie theater and the mall. Downtown Baltimore held many more shopping choices and restaurants as well, along with an aquarium. A lifelong Orioles and Ravens fan, she was also closer to her favorite sports teams.
Another deciding factor was the sports teams at Towson itself. A four year letter winner on the track team, she had looked at Towson for their track and field program when her club swim coach mentioned that she take a look at the swim program as well. She had never thought of swimming in college, nobody she knew from high school or even her club team had made the decision to swim Division One; too much of a commitment, they all said. Addie decided to welcome the challenge. She competed in both track and swimming in high school, she could do the same in college. How much harder could it be?
Her research into the specifics of the two teams yielded some surprises. The track team practiced and held their meets in the brand new Johnny Unitas Stadium, a million dollar recently built football stadium with premium locker and training facilities. The grass for the field events was plush and the treatment the track team received was immaculate. The track team had also recently won their conference championship and had several girls who were already considered some of the best in the nation.
The swim team practiced and held their meets in Burdick Hall. A run down eight lane pool which looked as it if had seen better days. The ceiling above the pool was musty and blackened from dust, while there was a long crack going down the middle of one wall. Surely, there was an earthquake back in 1980 that caused it. The private locker room for the women’s team consisted of rusty lockers smaller than the ones in her high school and there was a window that was stuck permanently open. That would be interesting during a snow storm for sure. However, perhaps the window had been wedged open to attempt to rid the locker room of the mildew stench that permeated through it. The ventilation system was on the fritz.
Regardless on the status of the pool or the (smelly) locker room, it was the coaching staff in Burdick and the team which made her decision even harder.
Her visit with Coach Penny had been unexpected. It was the week before her graduation in late May when Addie and her mom went for a campus visit. They had decided to walk around and potentially get some Towson shirts for her father and brother when the campus would be less busy. After wandering through the University Union store with her mom, with numerous black bags in tow, they were walking out when someone nearly knocked them over sprinting out of the building.
In his mid thirties, dark brown hair, a five o clock shadow and sporting a white Towson polo, the man apologized profusely before stepping back. “Oh crap, I’m sorry. I’m in a rush to make a meeting and I didn’t even see you there.” Handing her the papers on dorm life, meal plans and class scheduling that she had dropped, he extended his hand as well.
“Mark Penny, head swim coach here and I’ve got a couple incoming freshmen and parents that I’ve got to get meet up with, but I don’t want you to think I’m a prick. You look like an athlete and I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot.”
“Swim team huh? Addie here is actually a runner, 400 and 800 meters and the 200 hurdles. But she swam on her club team all four years of high school. Nearly made Junior Nationals this past year. We’ve been trying--”
“Mom. Please. Let the man go on his way.”
“No, no. I’ve got time. Were you interested in trying out for the team, Addie, right?”
Thirty minutes and two diet cokes later, Addie had heard all about the women team’s quick rise from the bottom of the Colonial Athletic Association conference to losing the championship by a mere two points just months earlier. A rise which had coincided with Coach Penny’s tenure at the school. He talked about the team’s two a day practices in January when most college students were staying up late and sleeping in on their month long holiday. He talked about the one girl that he had make the NCAA Championships this past spring. He talked about how the team this past season was not expected to even compete for the conference championship, but how they came together the final day and made a good run at it. He talked about expectations and work ethic, and how he believed in open communication and that being realistic with someone was the only way to succeed.
“Your background in track could be a huge advantage for you in the pool. Swimmers are not known for their coordination on land, but someone who is active and cross trains will have an upper hand in the pool. Think about it and give me a call. We can work something out.”
With a handshake and a smile, Mark Penny grabbed his soda and walked away, but Addie was sure that it wouldn’t be the last time she talked to the coach.
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