SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - The Reagan
girls track and field team has been one of the top programs in San Antonio. The
Lady Rattlers have won the last six district titles and the last four Region
IV-6A titles. Last week, I had the opportunity to interview team leaders and
the head coach Jennifer McHugh to find out how they prepare for the
championship season.
The
Rattlers are once again favored to win the District 28-6A title and will be
among the favorites for the Regional title. "We definitely feel the pressure
now that it is championship season to try to uphold what the girls before us
have done and to uphold that legacy," said senior Allie Snelgrove.
McHugh
had a little different take, "I don't think it is added pressure necessarily, I
think there is expectation of pursuing our best and meeting our potential," she
said. "Every year is different. We are a very process-oriented team."
McHugh and her
coaching staff try to get the team to focus on executing the little things that
will help in their individual events. They know if the athletes focus on doing
things correctly, that over time they will build into a team that can be in the
championship conversation. "Just to have the opportunity and the privilege to
be out on the track and be in these girls' lives at this time in their lives is
a privilege," said McHugh.
This
year's team has three outstanding relay squads along with excellent individuals
in nearly every event. They boast the top hurdler in Region IV-6A in Isabella Dagrosa as well as top 200m/400m sprinters, Mackenzie Dagrosa and Josephine Zink.
Their distance group is led by Kira Dietrich who is seeded as the top 3200m
runner in the district. Mariana Salazar is the top shot putter in the district
and the Dagrosa sisters are also outstanding jumpers.
After
speaking with five seniors on the team; Snelgrove, Bailey Akers, Zink,
Kayla Beach, and Jody Van Horn, I began to understand that two of the main
things that make the Reagan program so good year after year is that the girls
on the team have respect for each other and they give great effort individually
to help the team. The team also holds each other to a high standard in workouts
and one of the most important things according to Akers is being able to say, "Walk
off the track being a better person than when you walked on the track."
Snelgrove
did the best job of explaining why and how the Rattlers continue to perform at
a high level and have few let downs. "Coach (McHugh) only asks us to do the
best that we can do. This race isn't everything as long as I do my very best."
Van
Horn said, "Pressure is a privilege."
McHugh
reiterated the same thing that Van Horn said when I talked with her by saying
that the quote was the team's mantra. "We do not look at pressure as a bad
thing," said McHugh. "We look at pressure as something that is refining and defining
us. We try to put ourselves in pressure rich situations even before we start
competing just to be able to feel that feeling of stress and nervousness, so we
know how to manage and deal with it."
Beach
spoke at length in her interview about always being calm and relaxed when she
competes. This likely comes from the confidence that the team gains throughout
their practice sessions and meets. The team does a lot of visualization to
mentally practice what they will do in stressful situations. Beach can take the
nervousness and stress of competition and is able to problem solve to find the
best way for her to succeed, something that McHugh encourages and tries to
instill in all her girls.
While
the Reagan program is known from the outside for some of the outstanding
athletes that have come through the program like Jasmine Montgomery (now at
Florida) and Taylen Wise (now at Arizona), McHugh's emphasis is on helping the
girls to develop as a whole person and be ready for life after high school. The
coach's focus has been instilling character and developing confident and driven
young women while trying to help them be the best they can in track and field.
The
focus for McHugh and the rest of the program is on the team. They believe that building
the legacy of success cannot happen unless everyone is focused on the team
rather than themselves. The big idea that McHugh and a few of the girls
mentioned to me was that they wanted to, "deflect praise and give credit to
others to highlight the contribution of another person."
I
only think that the Rattlers will win District 28-6A and likely win the Region again.
However, I am confident that the team will put their best foot forward and that
the girls on the team will be supporting each other whole-heartedly.
I have noticed
that the team generally performs their best during the championship season and McHugh
had one final thought, "The idea of being process-oriented helps because we never
say, 'you got to win,' said the coach. "We just say, 'what do you have to do in
this moment to ensure that you are putting yourself in the best possible
position?'"
McHugh
would never say she thought her team were the favorites, but practices what she
preaches when she says there are "a lot of great teams around doing wonderful
things."
I would expect nothing
less.