The University of Mississippi Athletics
The First Shot
2/16/2017 | Rifle
The First Shot
Before I signed with Ole Miss I wasn't sure where I wanted to go. I know what you're thinking, almost every high school senior doesn't know where they want to go, but I took it to a whole other level.
I stressed about it for longer than I can even remember. I wish so badly I could go back in time and tell myself to calm down, that I was wasting my senior year, and that everything would work out. It took everything in me to stay focused on shooting and not the future. I worked everyday to be better than I was the day before to try to put myself in the best possible spot to be able to compete at a school I loved.
After I visited Ole Miss, it was abundantly clear that this was the school for me.
My freshman year has been more than I could ever have expected. I've had the opportunity to travel to every match, which puts me on the road in a new state every weekend. And lately I have been able to contribute my scores to the team's aggregate. When I first came in my scores were just average. I consistently shot around 560 in smallbore and 575 in air. Now, I have continued to better my smallbore and have broken my career high by 15 points in air. I attribute this success to my teammates and coaches.
Our beloved senior, Ali (Weisz), is a big reason behind this. It helps to get pointers from one of the best, but to be able to shoot next to them all year long…now that's something really special. I am constantly wondering what is going through her mind while she is shooting. I joke that if I could just get in her head for a second I could understand it. But more importantly she's a good teammate and one that has made my freshman year go as smoothly as it has. She is everything I hope to be by my final year here.
I know I won't get there though without the rest of my Ole Miss support system. If I ever need anything I know I can reach out to anyone for help. Not that that is so much of a change from high school, but the depth to it, how far it goes, is something indescribable.
Not to mention the team atmosphere here is phenomenal. Everyone is so supportive and our coaches really want to see us succeed. I can feel it when I am shooting. It has helped to not only boost my scores, but how I compete and how I train.
My academic support system is another area that I think recognition tends to slip. I have been able to keep my grades up and when I was named student-athlete of the month in December I was ecstatic.
I called my parents right away and was like, "guys, guess what!"
It was proof my hard work was paying off.
The balance of it all hasn't been as hard to manage as I thought it would be. People told me that would be the hardest thing as a freshman, but with the support Ole Miss provides for it's student-athletes, it's not that difficult.
While my first year of college athletics is slowly coming to an end, I am already getting ready for next year. I feel like I am almost on that next level of where I want to be. I am putting in all this work right now and want to keep that consistent over the next three years. I want to keep not only my scores up, but my grades up. I know there are so many little ways I can pick up points on both.
I have completely bought in and dedicated myself to my sport and my school. I don't think I would see the success that I am having if I didn't do that from the beginning.
Players Mentioned
