Katie Bruckmann prepares for the next heat during the 2010 NJDC. Photo courtesy Katie Bruckmann.

More than Just a Sporting Event

For many athletes its all about the victory. For one Massechutes athlete a victory comes on many levels

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For many of the athletes who compete at the National Junior Disability Championships, their foremost focus is competing in their sports, and the friendships and other things that come along with it are just considered extra luxuries.  For me, this experience is the opposite.  Although I consider and take my athleticism very seriously, what really matters to me about these games are the friendships that are made because of them, and the fact that I get to travel to places familiar and unfamiliar. 

The 2010 NJDC took place in Deerfield, Ill., close to where I lived for two years when I was little, and where I made some awesome friends who I still keep in close contact with today.  When I heard the competition would be held there, I was excited for the pure reason I would get to see these old friends. This is just one example of how NJDC not only allows people of all abilities to compete in sports; but also reunites old friends and brings a new light to disabled sports, which, in my opinion, are often shoved under the rug and not mentioned in everyday conversation like they deserve to be.

This was my third year competing at the National Junior Disability Championships, and it was also my favorite.  Not only did I get to see old friends, but I also did unexpectedly well in my events!  I swam in four races - the 50 meter freestyle, the 100 meter freestyle, the 50 meter backstroke, and the 100 meter backstroke, and came in first in all but the 100 m freestyle where I was third.

I was in first in my heat, not just classification, for the 100 m backstroke.  Finishing in first is the best feeling in the world, and it is also one that I do not get to experience too often, since I swam on my high school team against able-bodied athletes for three years and on my town team against able-bodied athletes since I was 8.  In fact, I actually thought I came in last once again, until I looked behind me and saw the rest of the talented athletes in my heat swimming their hardest to make it to the end of the pool. There really are no words to describe how incredible it feels to finish first and to hear your name called over the loudspeaker as this occurs.  It is as if all your hard work has finally paid off.  It has taken me years to come to this point, as I am sure it has for the rest of the athletes too.

What made this year’s experience that much more special was the fact that people I knew were there to watch it, people who normally do not get to see me perform or play or swim or do any of these events.  For me, the most important part of NJDC really is the people, and to be able to share that moment of placing first with not just my family and friends from nationals but also my friends from Chicago was absolutely amazing.  NJDC really is the only place where I have been able to experience that type of feeling, and I am truly grateful for it.

Katie Bruckmann swims the backstroke during the 2010 NJDC. Photo courtesy Katie Bruckmann.

I am also grateful for the friends NJDC helped me make. These friends are not only great athletes and competitors but also awesome, fun people who I can and do keep in touch with throughout the year, even when I’m not at NJDC!  I can also share problems I might be having that friends without disabilities, although they try their hardest, might not be able to understand.  It was great to see my NJDC friends this year and reconnect, considering I do not get to see most of them that many times throughout the year besides at nationals, and there are others I only get to see at NJDC! 

The other competitors participated as friends as well as inspiration and motivation.  Several of them have competed at past Paralympics, and many plan to be at the Paralympics in the future.  Seeing them give 100 percent makes me want to be a better athlete and has also taught me sportsmanship.  Seeing athletes of all physical abilities has made me realize I can do anything, and I should not put any limitations on myself because of my disability.  I can do anything I set my mind to.  The athletes who train all year round in order to perform at NJDC are an example of this mindset; one I intend to take with me when I continue on to the University of Arizona this fall where I will play wheelchair basketball on the wheelchair women’s team, the Wildcats! 

I am excited to start this new adventure in my life, and NJDC has definitely helped to prepare me for it.  I have met friends who go or have gone to the University of Arizona, or others who I will compete against in basketball for college.  Also, I think just seeing the level of competition at NJDC has prepared me for how competitive college sports will be. NJDC has made me more excited about going to school and more excited to compete and train for my sport and become the best athlete I can be.  I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me, in general, and in the world of sports!

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