Waracka should be a motivational speaker
May 18th, 2008 by WesIn addition to throwing 44 strikeouts in three days, Kamehameha pitcher Amber Waracka also hit some runs in front of the microphone, delivering one great quote after another.
“I’m so happy, I feel like I should be a motivational speaker,” she said, in reference to her being cut from the intermediate softball team five years ago. “In seventh grade, I was crying my eyes out (after being cut), and now to end my senior year on top feels so good.”
Whether she was half-kidding about being a motivational speaker, I don’t know, but it actually sounds like a good idea. What an inspiration to all the other kids out there who might have experienced the same heartbreak of not making a team.
I was one of those, having been cut in the seventh and eighth grades and again for a summer league team after ninth grade. At that age — 12, 13, 15 — being cut can be devastating and yes, make you want to cry. Somebody is literally telling you, “Sorry, but you’re not good enough for us.”
It can crush your confidence (see April 18 post) and damage your self-esteem. Even make you want to quit and give up the sport.
Or, it can motivate you to pick yourself up off the floor, dust yourself off, and get right back up on that pony. It can provide the drive to improve, the desire to succeed. It can make you a stronger, better person.
But the key is how you respond. Obviously, Waracka eventually got over the disappointment of being cut and improved to the point where she not only made the varsity, but became an ILH all-star first team selection as a junior.
And now, her three-shutout, 44-strikeout performance will go down in state tournament history as one of the greatest ever.
I recovered from my three-cut heartbreak and made a comeback I am proud of, although it was nowhere near on the scale of Waracka’s. But I used the lessons learned from that experience in college essays and even on a job application, and I still refer back to it now and then whenever I suffer disappointment and need inspiration to bounce back.
It helps me, but I’m sure Waracka’s is a much better story to share and can inspire many more people, especially the youth of Hawai‘i.
I hope she does share it with kids someday, as a motivational speaker.
May 18th, 2008 at 6:38 am
exactly…that’s why responsibility is more about “response-ability” or the ability to respond when others tell you to quit…it’s about mental toughness & warracka (& her teammates) had the mental toughness & responded with an unbelievable performance in this year’s tournament…
May 18th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Good Afternoon
Even in my own life I can relate to how Amber felt when she didn’t make the team in seventh grade. As a tenth grader, once, I had tried out for the varsity baseball team. And fast forwarding through the the practices and games came to the announcement of who made the team. And standing outside the coaches office for an eternity searching frantically for my name on the typewritten list of the members making the team, I still, to this day, remember the coldness and emptiness of not seeing my name on the list.
When I look back at the impersonal nature of how the coach posted the names. And not one word of solace. Or comfort. Or words of encouragement, like hang in there. Or try out next year. Yet, sadly, what I had, was, instead, a glimpse of piece a paper saying I wasn’t good enough. And the coach never approached me. Or say anything, which to a 16 year old kid means a lot. This is life changing, and from a psychological standpoint when I look back at that moment of my life the only fortuitous bounce I wish upon was not of making the team. But words of salvation from the coach, any words, would have been very encouraging. Having total silence from that coach was terrible..
To all the coaches out there that have pangs of guilt of having to cut someone from the team. And have the empathy to show a little manhood and suggests other options have my admiration. For someone 16 years old to endure the tears in total silence isn’t good. How hard is it for the HS school coach to have said sharpen your skills, play in the summer leagues, or even try out for other sports instead of posting a piece of paper ridding him of any guilt to look in your eyes and say your not good for the team.
For Amber I applaud her for bouncing back. And for her support group for encouraging her along the way. We don’t know from reading the article if the seventh grade coach that cut her had said to her to continue and manifested her desires to excel and succeed. But it would be forthcoming. And logical if that person had. Good article Wes!!! And a note of interests, concerning Warrior football, Coach Mack I have read is very forthcoming with the members of the team he has to cut, saying things, “like hang in there…and try out next year”.
May 20th, 2008 at 7:11 am
This is one of the best stories I have seen in sports!! This young lady showed great perseverance and it looked like she was having fun. Congrats to her and her family. I was so happy for her. Good luck in the future.