Good article for college freshmen to read

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-971 ... orts-local

Humbling lessons come fast for McCorory
A disappointing collegiate track debut yields valuable lessons for Hampton University sprinter Francena McCorory.

BY MARTY O'BRIEN
247-4963
December 6, 2006
NEWPORT NEWS -- Twenty meters from the finish line of the 200 dash Francena McCorory suddenly looks bewildered. She looks left from lane 6, sees Hampton University teammate Yvette Lewis five strides in front and a St. Augustine's runner three strides ahead.

The realization strikes her: I'm not going to win. She drops her arms and jogs the final 10 meters discouraged, finishing fourth when teammate Shalaiyah Sommerville passes her.

Her meltdown spills into the hallway outside the Freeman Center track at Christopher Newport University, where the rare loss overwhelms her. She bursts into tears.

McCorory, the 2006 prep indoor track and field national Athlete of the Year, lost only four races at Bethel High at national meets that her coach took her to for experience. She won a national title as a senior, setting the girls' high school indoor American record in the 400 (51.93 seconds). Her time was faster than the winning mark at the NCAA Championships the same day.

But on her first afternoon of collegiate track, McCorory finds herself 0-2. Earlier, she lost the 60-dash final when Lewis out-leaned her at the finish line.

"I'm not used to losing," McCorory says. "That's no excuse, but when it hits me I can't take it. That will progress in time.

"You have to lose sometime, and I'd rather it was to my teammate because we train together."

No one expects McCorory to lose very often, Lewis and Hampton women's coach Maurice Pierce included. Both, in fact, said McCorory, 18, is capable of winning the NCAA 400 come March.

Pierce is just as sure that McCorory will view her performance last Sunday in the CNU Holiday Open as a necessary learning experience. The lesson: Practice hard every day, regardless of your talent. Lewis gleaned that wisdom two years ago on the same track.

"The same thing happened to Yvette in her first race," Pierce says. "She didn't like training as hard as she needed to and she stunk up the track at CNU."

Lewis has since become a workout demon. Last March she became Hampton's first NCAA Division I champion in any sport, winning the indoor triple jump in 45 feet, 11/2 inches.

McCorory entered Hampton in August with a better reputation for work ethic than Lewis did three years ago. And no one denies that McCorory is working harder than at any time in her life, on the track and in the weight room. By all accounts, she has been diligent in rehabilitating the pulled hamstring that kept her from competing in the Group AAA outdoor state meet last spring.

HU hurdler Chandra Pulliam recalls McCorory blowing out everyone on the team by running 38 seconds on the fifth 300-meter interval in a recent workout. Not bad considering McCorory won the prep state indoor meet 300 for Bethel in 37.67 last March.

The problem, Pierce says during the CNU meet, is that McCorory has yet to comprehend that she must practice hard every day. Sometimes she'll throw in a 42- or 43-second 300 at practice, when she should be running under 40.

"Have you ever seen an athlete with so much talent that it drives you nuts at practice?" Pierce says. "She'll say, 'I'm running the time you told everybody to run.' And I'll tell her, 'You're not everybody.'

"She has to understand why there is one time I want everybody else to run and a faster time I want her to run. If I don't push the envelope as far as I can push it, I'm not doing my job with this great recruit."

Going into the CNU meet - featuring 13, mostly Division II or III, teams - McCorory figures she's worked hard enough to win her two open races. And the afternoon begins well as she wins her 60-dash heat in 7.59 seconds.

Moments before the 60 final, Lewis and McCorory dance and laugh together. Think Steve Martin and Dan Ackroyd doing their "Wild and Crazy Guys" motion with a hop or two.

"Yvette calls it the 'Get-Hyped Dance,' " McCorory says. "It was fun. It really relaxes you and takes your mind off of the race for a second.

"It lets you know we're here to win, but still have fun."

McCorory bolts from the blocks quickly in the 60 final, unlike her slow start in the heat, and leads Lewis by a step only 10 meters from the finish. Then she makes a big mistake, easing up slightly and crossing the finish line upright.

Lewis surges, leans significantly and wins in 7.48 to 7.49 for McCorory. Minutes later, Lewis and McCorory joke about the race but beneath their humor is a layer of seriousness.

"Gosh Yvette, you stole my shine," McCorory says, referring to her moment in the spotlight.

Lewis says: "You need to finish fast and dip (at the line). In the 200 you need to get out fast and dip."

McCorory responds, "Since you're stealing my shine, I will."

Pierce says Lewis is quick to share advice with McCorory, even if it means she might lose their next duel, because "greatness recognizes greatness."

"I know she is faster than me," Lewis admits. "I want to do good but I want my teammates to do good, so I'm going to tell them what it takes to get better."

Unfortunately, McCorory doesn't follow Lewis' counsel in the 200. Starting from lane 6, unable to see the other three runners staggered behind her, McCorory starts slowly.

As the runners round onto the back straight, less than 100 meters in, it is obvious Lewis is making up the stagger from lane 4 at a furious rate. By the time they reach the front stretch, Lewis already is five strides ahead of McCorory and on her way to victory.

"Speed isn't going to catch speed at that point in the race," Pierce says. "I had a gut feeling that Francena was going to make all kinds of mistakes today and it would show. It proved a point to me and gave her a wake-up call.

"This is the perfect time for this to happen. It was the perfect little local meet. Now Francena will understand everything I'm telling her in practice."

McCorory recovers quickly from her post-200 depression. She runs a solid sub-58 second 400 on Hampton's winning 1,600-meter relay team that includes Lewis.

Moments after the relay, the big smile returns and already she speaks like a collegiate veteran. She talks about changing her mindset, taking practice more seriously and not taking for granted that she has a race won before stepping onto the track.

"Now I've got to step it up and bring my 'A' game every time I come to the track," she says. "Not just some days and not just the big meets. I'm not going to die.

"This was my learning meet and I won't forget it. Next time, I'll know what to do."