My athletic accomplishments

So As I read the media guides at UConn I can't help but notice how many UConn athletes hold some sort of record at their high schools in their own sport or track or both. I'm jealous, can't lie about that. I wish I was as good as they were. I devote so much time talking about them and pro athletes that I decided to turn the tables and talk about my athletic accomplishments.

Good news, this should be a short post.

To be fair, my dad could care less about sports which never helped my development in athletics. He'd honestly rather watch Irish dancing than the Super Bowl. Before I was around he probably did. He can't catch a ball. As a matter of fact he's afraid too. I've never played catch with him. He was in the military so he did go for a lot of jogs, but that was the extent of him and athletics. I must say it is tough to be a good athlete when your parents and family could care less about them. I was also easily intimidated when it came to sports because I wasn't from one of those athletic families that every city seems to have. I also was one of the younger kids in my grade.

But I did play and still do whether it's intramurals or with friends. I love playing sports and I exercise a good amount too.

I played soccer. I don't remember too much about it, other than for some reason I didn't like it when people cheered for me when I was young. I'm not sure if I ever had an assist or goal either. One of my favorite part of soccer was taking off my shin guards in the car because I remember it being so freaking hot after games. One of my coaches thought I was pretty good and could have been a good defender. I wish I hadn't stopped playing. I hated soccer for most of my life. I didn't like it until I got to UConn. I actually think that my coach was right. I think I would make a good defender, with a lot of practice. There is no way I can see myself being flashy on offense, but I do know how to take the ball away from someone, kick it out of bounds and with practice be able to actually take and get to a midfielder. I wish I actually played soccer, never thought I'd say that. My proudest moment in soccer came at UConn actually. There was a volleyball sitting on the ground on the basketball court. I aimed for one of the cubbies on the opposite end of the gym. It was the lowest cubbies and those are maybe 2 inches off the ground. I made it in and got the ball to stay in the cubby. I'd like to see a soccer player try and do that. I wonder if the Tree Hill Ravens will offer me a scholarship to play after that one. I also recently started bouncing the ball off my thighs to loosen up my legs from cycling.

I had a love hate relationship with baseball. I could be really really good at times and at others be really really bad. I was either the best hitter on the team or the worst. I was too smart for hitting. I over-thought everything. I've had some really impressive hits in my life and some really unimpressive at bats too. I was a great defensive first baseman. I always was. I could really scoop it at first and make great back handed field plays. I even had a couple of diving catches at first. I was never thrown out stealing a base either. I was also 2-2 against the best pitcher in our league, both in-field hits. I always had an infield hit, every season. I remember having a game winning hit once and game tying it with two strikes. I remember telling my team that after we were down 12-0 in the top of the first inning that if they could score 12 runs then so could we. And we did. It was 12-12 after one. We ended up winning 24-20. My proudest achievement in sports came when I was on the pitching mound in little league. I walked the bottom 3 in the line up to start an inning. I got to a couple 3-2 counts with the top of the line up hitters, and drove my coaches insane. But I struck out the side. 3 walks, 3k's 0 runs, 0 hits. I remember having a triple with the bases loaded once. I was a pretty good pitcher but I scared my coaches in my last baseball season because I hit 3 batters in two innings. They never gave me another chance after that.

I always got killed by neighbor Pat McGrath in wiffleball. He owns me, literally. I think I am 2 and 100 against him. The two games I won are probably under protest. One because there was a disagreement over whether or not one of my hits was over the second branch on a tree. Over the second branch is a home run, under is a double. The other revolved around the foul pole. I hit a walk off home run. It was a fair ball, but it officially ended in argument. The Evergreen tree is in fair territory, it is not the foul poll. The foul poll is what actually determines a home run. My home run was in fair territory. If only we had instant replay. To be fair Pat was recruited to play college baseball. I'm an average wiffleball/baseball player. I just think too much for that game

I owned all my friends in football because I was bigger and more powerful than they were. I didn't have breakaway speed, but I was basically impossible to tackle. I wish I played High School football. I really should have. Had I met the Head Coach at my high school a year sooner I would have. My proudest moment in football could have been any one of my numerous diving catches.

Basketball is one of my better sports. I am not a great ball handler or really effective at creating off the dribble but I can be pretty good on defense, I always hustle, and I usually end up with a lot of rebounds and loose balls. Historically I have been a good shooter. Not amazing but pretty good. I'm good once I get warmed up. I've made 3's several times in a row before. Someone asked how I did it and I had no answer. I think my game high points wise for a youth game was 6. I never put up tons of points, I just played defense and got rebounds. I am a beast in 21/rush because of my hustle. My proudest moment in basketball was probably getting trapped in a corner and making a 3 pointer behind my back. I am great at making awkward off-balance shots that really no one has any business taking. I love basketball, I even shoveled my neighbors driveway while it was snowing so I could play. I really want to work on my ball handling and passing. I want to be able to hit people cutting to the basket like Kaili McLaren does.

Bowling isn't really a sport, its a game. I have a pretty good average, probably around 150. My best is a 203.

I'm also pretty good at mini golf. I've won a lot of free games by getting it in the clowns mouth.

At real golf I suck, although I've never really played. When I go to the driving range I hit it far but they always and I mean always slice. I've sliced them over the nets on the side before.

Cycling is by far my best sport, as are probably other endurance sports. I wish I know how many miles I've biked in my life but I've probably gone at least half away around the world. That sounds like a lot but in cycling standards its not that much. An average pro cyclist goes around the world once a year mileage wise. I started at 7 miles a day in 8th grade, then 11, then 16 and now I go 22 miles a day when home in Stamford or Ashburnham and there is not snow/ice/salt on the road during the winter and it is above 28 degrees. I went 30 miles when the heat index was 110 once. The longest I've gone in a day was 60 miles and I could have gone further. I've gone 20 miles an hour for an hour in New Hampshire. I think I've sprinted to about 30 mph. The fastest I've ever gone is 44, which was going downhill in New Hampshire...and I had the brakes on. I hate the winter cycling though...it's cold and when I'm at college I don't get to go as often as everyday, so it takes some time to get back to where I was in the summer. My proudest moment in cycling was catching and passing a car on its left while it was going up a hill. I was pushing myself, and the car wasn't going the speed limit, but still just imagine someone on a bike catching up to you and passing you on your left hand side as you drive up a hill.

I also enjoy running now. I have no idea how fast I am because I kind of really only started. I should have run track or cross country in high school...again I regret not doing that but I enjoyed coming home and cycling. More on that in a second. I've done a mile in about 6:20 I think. I haven't checked in years. It should be better now. I recently started to incorporate running into my life. I usually go about 3 or 4 miles a several times a week. I hope to get down to a 5 something mile.

I'm pretty strong, not unbelievable but I can atleast bench press my own weight. I am the only women's basketball reporter to my knowledge that can do that and run a mile or two at a moments notice. I have bench pressed 215 pounds in my life. Right now I am just getting back from school, where I do still workout but I don't have the same amount of time as I do when I am home, so I can probably do 175-185 now. I won an award from my high school for my hard work and dedication in weightlifting. I also was amazing at calf raises. I put 4 45 pound weights on the machine and did that 10 times.

In general with all sports, I work hard and I am coachable because I don't have the natural talent to be any good with out hard work or coaching.

As for cycling because I said I would speak about this, this I think will be the most interesting thing as it relates to my blog. A lot of my neighbors know me because of my cycling. I guess you could say I am sort of a celebrity in my neighborhood because of it. For some reason people always compare me to Lance Armstrong...which folks isn't happening...ever. Plus I like having two....Ok I won't go there. (It's ok to laugh) A kid asked me for an autograph which I thought was funny...Some guy came up to me and said that he had been watching me ride my bike for the past year...someone else told my sister they had been watching me for about 6 years. I heard some kid is obsessed with me, or wants to meet me in the neighborhood...who knows. If for some reason someone's dream is to meet me, I will definitely do two things. Make a dream come true and also show people that dreams are much better than real life. Someone else had a dream about me riding my bike and falling off on a hill, while they past by me in their car. Two weeks later, I fell off my bike for maybe the first time in 4 years. It was on a hill and a car past me. So basically, when I post stories about athletes, or talk about stuff they write in the media guides, or see them doing something funny/stupid worth mentioning I have no problem doing so. Because you know what, it's happened to me. What goes around comes around. These athletes at UConn have actually worked for almost their entire lives at their sports and have become elite athletes. They deserve and should get more attention than some kid who decides to go cycling in his neighborhood every day. I appreciate everyone who supports my cycling and I love talking with my neighbors about cycling but I wish the other student athletes who have really had to work hard got recognition. I enjoy being a role model for people in my neighborhood, but I think they can find even better ones.

I thought I couldn't write that much about myself. I guess I can. Maybe I should go in that swag list.