Caution…Girls at work!
Commentary by: M.T. Arnold
Diva La Sports Media Consultant
It was a late summer (early fall) afternoon in 2004 with a heat index of 110 degrees in the shade. I was on my way back home to Evansville from a business trip in Nashville and had gotten a late start, so I had pushed it fairly hard all the way back. As I drove along Evansville’s beautiful riverfront, I noticed steam rolling off the street in front of me. It had been one of Indiana’s hottest days of the year, but I was “as cool as the other side of the pillow” driving in my air-conditioned rent-a-car. As I shifted into lower gear, my mind suddenly turned to where I was going.
My youngest daughter, Mary, was running in her first city cross country meet that was due to start in twenty minutes…it was extremely too hot to be walking, much less running the nationally ranked University of Southern Indiana Cross Country Course, especially for a 12 year old. As I hurried to negotiate my way thought the heavy downtown traffic, I noticed that the drivers all seemed to be on edge, perhaps it was the heat, or perhaps it was just my sense of urgency. As I came upon the backed-up traffic at Fulton and Lloyd, I knew I was running out of time, so I unmindfully decided to take a short cut and go west on Ohio street, suddenly realizing full well that it was a chance that a CSX train could very well block my path and endanger my mission of getting to see my daughter run.
As I approached the rivers bend, I could see the RR crossing, “great," I thought, “no train"…but, getting closer I noticed that the traffic was backed up. In the distance in front of me I could see what appeared to be two men, one holding a flag and the other leaning against a sign that read “caution/men at work." At this point, I could only sit there and hope that the traffic would soon start to flow.
It wasn’t long until I was at the front of the line, ready to make my break-away and put the ’ole pedal to the medal. As I came upon the men working I was surprised to notice that the men were not men at all, but two young women not more than twenty-two or twenty three years of age. It sort of hit me funny I suppose, but I thought to myself, why don’t they just use a sign that reads, " Caution! Girls at work!," and it really got me thinking about how uncomfortably hot these girls must have been out there working in 100 degrees, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks…that my daughter, and other girls her age, were going to be running in this same scorching weather.
I couldn’t help but think about how everyday for the last two months they had trained in the heat of the day, and I thought to myself...the girls at the railroad crossing must have been trained and conditioned for their task as well, and that’s when I realized that any athlete, male, or female, is either properly conditioned and ready for play,or they are not…that when the heat is on, performance is all about being ready, being prepared, being conditioned…both mentally and physically.
So, being free of the traffic, my mind turned back to the fact that I had only a few minutes until Mary would run for the city championship…I was almost there! I spotted her immediately as I drove into the USI parking lot, she was nervously pacing and stretching, no doubt wondering, “where is my dad?” With a huge smile and a great burst of energy, she acknowledged me. As she came running toward me I could see that sweat was already covering her muscular lean legs, and her long brown hair was soaked from the heaps of water that that her friend Taylor kept pouring over her head.
So, being free of the traffic, my mind turned back to the fact that I had only a few minutes until Mary would run for the city championship…I was almost there! I spotted her immediately as I drove into the USI parking lot, she was nervously pacing and stretching, no doubt wondering, “where is my dad?” With a huge smile and a great burst of energy, she acknowledged me. As she came running toward me I could see that sweat was already covering her muscular lean legs, and her long brown hair was soaked from the heaps of water that that her friend Taylor kept pouring over her head.
A friend standing nearby kept trying to talk Mary out of running, saying that they had a Junior High School soccer game immediately following the race and that Mary would be spent if she ran this long race. I asked Mary if she was ready and she gave me two thumbs up. She had been trained, had worked hard and was in great condition, she could do it!
It was late afternoon, but the sun still blazed down on the USI Hills as the runners were now ready to show what all their hard work had been for…they had been prepared, they had been conditioned, and they were ready to run!
Over 130 female runners crossed the finish line in 100 degree heat that day and I’m proud to say that my daughter gave it her best effort (even though vomiting the last 100 meters) to come in 6th place; But I’m even more proud that she, and the other young female athletes, realized that it’s not easy…that to be competitive means to work hard, to work really hard, and so they do…millions of young girls nationwide are learning that it takes hard work, discipline, and preparation to compete in today’s arena of women’s sports…That to give only 90% isn’t good enough, not nearly good enough, it takes 100% effort, not only during the games, but each and every time you lace ’em up! (Diva Power!!)
So, we finished the awards ceremony and off we went to compete in the Middle School Soccer League game being held five miles down the road. About 10pm that night, as I was unpacking my car from the Nashville trip, I came across a note from one of Mary’s friends. On the dirty, sweat soaked sheet of paper was written, “Great job Mary, see you tomorrow at conditioning," and so, another day was in the books.
(For more information on the fitness and conditioning of female athletes go to any of our sports links on this website…also, click on the “Her life depends on it” article from the Women's Sports Foundation Link).
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