Nine months ago, when Ginger and I got the idea to twirl again, it was partially a joke.
We laughed at the idea of being nearly thirty, a few pounds overweight ;), and out of the "game" for nearly a decade, and still going out there on the floor and competing.
Then, the more we talked about it, the more we thought we could maybe actually...do it. Cyndi, our old coach, liked the idea, and so did two other older former twirlers, Brittany and Beth. We convinced Karissa, and then Crissi, to twirl just one more year. We begged Crissi especially- she wanted to retire after nationals last year- but she gave in at the last minute. Ginger had to drop out due to work obligations, but that was all in God's plan, because now she is pregnant and expecting her first child in the fall.
So, Karissa, who is 19, and us four "old ladies" (the last time we all twirled together was 1995-1996) decided to do this thing. Our music was "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince- because, let's face it, the idea of us doing this was a little crazy, a little nuts. Brittany had two children, I'd gained over 50 lbs. since the last time I competed, and people had responsibilities now- college, husbands, full-time jobs. But we came together and practiced every month. It took us a while to find our groove, but by February, things were clicking. It wasn't easy though. After we would do a full run-through of the routine, a few of us would have to lay down and catch our breath. One time, I even threw up. I personally struggled with tricks that I could do in my sleep ten years ago. My technique was less than impressive, and I dropped the baton more than I ever had before. We all had to take pain pills and nerve pills, and do a lot of praying. But each time we twirled together, we did a little better. Those toss cartwheels got easier, the exchanges became more second-nature, and it felt natural again.
But even though we were getting better, we still never in a million years thought that we, 80% of us being this many years past our prime, could pull off a win at State. We arrived in Dayton to find out there were 3 teams against us, and one of them had won the title for at least the past two years. NERVES. On Saturday, we did our individual events. Everyone from our studio did great- lots of first places and a few state titles. Although I am not the twirler I was a decade ago, I was proud of myself just for having the guts to go out on the floor and do solo events. The pressure was building and we would compete as a team on Sunday.
We did the best job we'd ever done. We had minimal drops, we all caught those cartwheels, and only had a few little fumbles. We weren't sure if we had done enough to win, not having seen the other teams. Everyone was nervous, but we were glad that it was over. We had done what we'd set out to do- compete as a team one more time. No matter what place we got, we were proud. We then did our parade corp routine, with Cyndi, our coach, as our 8th member- we didn't have any competition in the parade corp category, so we just went out there and had fun.
We got ready for the awards retreat, and took the floor.
Many teams from Cyndi's won state titles (Eleven in all). Finally, our category was announced. Even though I knew the results beforehand (I bugged Teresa into a partial confession, though she never outright told me if we'd won or not), it was still the most AMAZING moment when we heard.
"First place- CT'S Classics- Go Crazy!"
We did go crazy, crying and hugging. All 5 of us went up to get our plaque, instead of just sending the customary one or two people as a team representative. After so many years, we had done it. It was the final award that the studio needed to complete the set- every team and corp category at Ohio State had been captured at least once over the years by a team from Cyndi's.
Of all of my happy twirling moments- including making feature twirler at UK, winning so many titles with my old teams, competing on a world trials team with all of the extremely talented Infinity women, and all the rest- last Sunday, 4.26.09, might be my favorite. I never thought I would twirl again, and to get up there at age 29, with a less than athletic physique, and win that final award for the studio with my first team, was incredible. I think it may actually top the list of my memories.
I learned two very valuable things last weekend:
You are never too old to follow your dreams.
When you love something, you have to find a way to make it happen, even when it's difficult.
Thank you Cyndi, Teresa, Brittany, Crissi, Beth, and Karissa. Even though I just typed a bunch of them, there truly aren't words.
No comments:
Post a Comment