Bucknell University Athletics
Trosch Shares Her "Lasts" with Bucknell Softball
3/2/2010 7:00:00 AM | Softball
March 2, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell softball student-athletes will be checking in throughout the season as the team begins its drive for a Patriot League Championship. Here is the next installment of the student-athletes' journals leading up to the 2010 season from senior outfielder and Spanish major, Lauren Trosch.
Although to the rest of the world it seemed like any other normal Friday, Friday the 26th was a day to be remembered. This day was an important benchmark in my Bucknell athletic career and had profound impacts on both my mental and physical health and sanity. This day marked just another one of the many “lasts” in my Bucknell career. Senior year has been full of these bittersweet “last” experiences including the last first day of classes, my last fall season, and thankfully my last round of preseason testing. But this “last” definitely had the most profound influence on my life: my last 7 a.m. lift.
One would think that after 3 1/2 years of 6 and 7 a.m. lifts my body would have somehow adjusted to these early morning iron pumping sessions. Unfortunately, no such adjustment ever occurred for me. When my alarm went off at 6:45 a.m., I had no idea where I was or what was happening. As soon as my senses came to me I realized I was in my bed and it was early in the morning. Why am I up so early? I don't have early morning class do I? Wait….right…I have lifting.
I ran through the motions, brushing my teeth, pulling my hair back and putting on a pair of snow boots. (Getting ready for lift thankfully requires very little time and effort.) I had to start my car and use my scraper to clear the snow off my windshield. It was a bit chilly, to say the least, but scraping the snow off my car in the below 30 degree weather really has a way of waking up my tired mind and body. Being awake and alert in the weight room is very important because accidents in the weight room are not only unfortunate and painful, but also embarrassing. Trust me, I know from experience. Let's just say my experience with driving barbells into my chin during military press and sending fellow teammates to the trainer due to bleeding makes me very knowledgeable on the subject of weight room injuries. One might consider me a connoisseur of weight room incidents.
I drove through the light falling snow to the fieldhouse, parked the car and jogged to the fieldhouse to prevent losing a finger to frostbite. It was 6:55 as I walked up to our locker room. From outside the locker room I could see a group of women's lacrosse players waiting outside the weight room. When I got into the locker room to change into my standard Bucknell issued gear, my fellow teammates were chattering about the whereabouts of Jerry Shreck. I soon found out that Jerry had not yet arrived to unlock the weight room. WHAT!?!? Throughout my entire Bucknell career Jerry Shreck has never been late. Everyone was developing theories about what could have happened and whether or not we would be lifting. Among all of us there was a general concern that something was wrong and maybe there was an emergency. But all rumors were squashed in the next 10 minutes when one of the strength coaches showed up late due to horrendous traffic.
We then hit the weight room. (I will not disclose the intricacies of our program because I would not want to unlock the secrets of how Jerry has shaped us into the strong, fast and agile athletes that we are today.) After I finished lifting and walked out of the weight room I knew that this was the last time I would be leaving the weight room at 8 a.m. It was like the end of an era. In some strange way, I think I'm going to miss waking up unaware of where I am or what I am doing at 5:30 or 6:30 in the morning. I am going to miss heading to the gym before the sun comes up. Morning lifts are just one of those things that truly define you as a crazy Division I athlete. It's one of those things that “normal people” just don't understand and think you are insane for doing. It's part of who you are and what you do.
Friday the 26th was a very bitter sweet day. The day was sweet because it was my last early morning lift, but also bitter because it is just another step on the journey to becoming a normal non-athlete. Although we all may complain about the hard work we do, working and playing hard is all part of what we love. I can speak for my team when I say we sincerely love being members of the Bucknell softball team, including the early morning lifts that come with the package.
