And it begins...

Today marks the beginning of track season for most teams...not ours (we actually began in December), however due to Ace's arrival he and I are sideline watching from the comfort of our couch. It's a bittersweet moment for me because in 6 years this is the first meet I have missed! I truly love track season...even among the most tiresome of days, it's simply what both my husband and I live for. He is holding down the fort and keeping me posted play by play and I am results watching for the other meets across the country. It actual works well because if something big happens elsewhere, he will know ASAP as well as vice versa with his meet. Next week I plan to be back in action...weather permitting due to the drive I will have to make. Needless to say...I'm excited for the season...for the great things the team and our post collegiates will do...and to show off our little prince in the process. 

The Ultimate Win

2013 was a riveting year indeed.  In it I experienced a host of ups and downs...good and bads...but through all the trials I'm proud to say both "seasons" of my life ended in the ultimate triumph. Triumphs so amazing, I'm still in awe of how God would chose me for such amazing blessings. 

Soooo...let's recap. 

As we all know, I'm a collegiate track coach. So essentially December to June is a nonstop organized chaotic mess of track season. Some weeks I spend more time sleeping in a hotel than in my own bed...and that awesome thing that people with 9-5 jobs have called "weekends"...are totally nonexistent. Track coaches work 7 days a week...sometimes upwards of 18 hours a day. Now how's that for a selfless, unglorified and did I mention under paid position. Don't get me wrong; I love my career and I love my life. I'm also blessed  enough to do it alongside my partner in crime, my husband. 

We spent the last two years at Marshall University working with the SHEherd's finest. To say it was a roller coaster ride is  the world's biggest understatement BUT amidst every hardship is a glowing rainbow at the end. We started our indoor season with a bang and were poised to do something the program had never seen. My husband recruited the best recruiting class the program had ever had and the overall mentality was making a shift toward the positive. And then we hit a bump. Ok it was more like an earthquake split the road in half and we were beyond puzzled as to how to get to the other side. We went to the conference meet ready to make a statement...or at least we thought we were. And then we bombed...we faltered...we absolutely fell apart. We finished dead A** last in a 12 team meet. Never in my life have I been so disappointed. Simply put...my feelings were hurt. We expected more and we didn't produce. That 8 hour ride back from Birmingham had to have been one of the longest rides of my life. 

Moving on...after the failed indoor season we had the biggest come to Jesus meeting with the group. We had to express our disappointment in them because we prepared them the best we could...and numbers don't lie. We challenged them to find the heart of champions as we were starting anew for the outdoor season. And boy did they flip the script. In almost every outdoor meet we set at least one school record (most times multiple ones). We were riding on cloud nine. We arrived at the outdoor championship prepped and ready to go (you've heard this before, right?). This time was different. This time the air of the team showed confidence. This time...we finished 5th (the highest finish ever in the history or Marshall Track and Field inConference  USA). We were the highest ranking team that would remain in c-USA after the new realignment in the 2013-14 season. We had conference champions in 3 events...a host of all-conference performances...the performer of the meet...the field athlete of the year...and some other accolades I cannot recall off hand. We came and we conquered. And this was only the beginning. 

We sent athletes in 7 different event groups (that we coached) to the first round of nationals and 2 to the final round in Oregon. Those two...Crystal Walker (long jump) and Vanessa Jules (heptathlon) finished 5th and 6th respectively in their events to earn first team All American. There are 3 All Americans in Marshall school history and I just named two of them! In addition, Ness also was named the Mideast region athlete of the year and my husband was named Mideast region coach of the year. We didn't just do it...we did it big. Ness also qualified for USAs and finished 12th overall in the country. To say we had the greatest turn around is an understatement. Those athletes earned every thing they achieved. It wasn't easy but we came together as a team and we did it. The theme for the season was to BELIEVE together. And when they did...well the results speak for themselves. In total we set and reset (on multiple occasions) school records in 17 events between the indoor and outdoor season. I think it's safe to say we re-wrote the record book. AND to top it off...the team had over a 3.0 GPA also garnering the USTFCCCA Academic All American award! I am all about the total STUDENT-athlete. 

 

Now to cap off the national championship...we found it fitting to share with the team that they would need to make room for their little brother! That's right...we were expecting our first child...just days before the new year. In a short amount of time...God chose to bless us tremendously...and it was at this point we felt things couldn't get any better. 

Well in mid summer we faced a new decision. To spare all of the details, my husband and I stepped out of faith and moved a couple hours west to Western Kentucky to join the hilltoppers. I say faith because it was a one person job (when we previously had two full time positions) and I was 22 weeks pregnant. Again God's favor prevailed as doors began to open. I was able to get back into teaching (I'm almost done with my PhD) at the university and I was able to still volunteer coach. We were thrilled to be back with men and women. In addition , the family friendly environment has been more than welcoming. 

We made it through the fall semester and the first Indoor meets (with much success!) and I continued to get bigger and bigger. Oh I forgot to mention, we took on a new task of post collegiate coaching! So far so good. I will keep you all updated on that as the season progresses. The major goal right now is a successful indoor season through USAs. 

The last few weeks of the year were just a waiting game for baby boss to make his arrival. No short of the dramatics...he made his grand debut at 7:12pm on Christmas Evening. World...meet Ace Dominik Johnson. 

Needless to say...where there are downs, there is a major upside just waiting to reveal itself. God has been crazy faithful this year. It hasn't always been pretty but it has been more than worth it. I'm beyond in love with my husband, my kid, and our new lives in Kentucky. 2013 ended oh so sweet and I cannot wait to see what 2014 has in store. 

Happy New Year

This is my attempt at reconnecting with the world through my blog. So much has happened in the last 2 years...and I have a feeling that my life is only going to get more exciting in the near future. Because I am a deadline person, I will post AT LEAST once a week to hold myself accountable. When I treat things like a competition, I find I am much better with following through soooooo here's to a new year...and a new goal of 50 posts in 2014! 

Next up...my 2013 recap. 

Happy New Year...from my little family to yours 😉

All love,  

LCJ 😘

Let's get this party started!

Sooooooo it's that time of year again. Our track season officially started back in December, however after a month-long hiatus, the wheels will really start spinning this weekend. I'm super excited for a couple of reasons. 1) We started off well in December and even after not seeing our athletes for a month, I was happy with where they stand, and I am eager to start taking down some personal and school records. 2) Heck, it's just track season...absolutely my favorite time of year. There is nothing like watching fast running, far and high jumping, and crazy throwing. I am truly a fan all around, regardless of what event...I love it all!

If anyone is interested, the Marshall Lady Herd will be competing at the University of Kentucky both Friday and Saturday. We have worked hard, so now it's time to show everyone what we are made of.

Starting over again

Soooooooo...it's been almost 2 years since my last post and I promise I'll do better this time around.

A huge update is necessary. I'm no longer a MISS...and instead I finally got my MRS degree this summer lol. So yay me...4 months in and we are still kicking. I've relocated AGAIN - definitely a product of being a coach AND a coach's wife. I'm now a member of the SHEherd at Marshall University and I'm super excited to be a part of the new change that is about to run amuck within this program. I'm also an Asst Professor in the school of kinesiology. Honestly I couldn't be more happy right now. I'm finally getting to live my dream in being with my love, forming a dynamic duo in the track coaching world with my husband, and being able to be a college professor. Right now life is just grand...well minus the West Virginia weather which I'm still getting used to.



This is my first full Thanksgiving vacation in years and I'm taking this time to re-evaluate some things and get ready for the season...oh and write 4 papers in a week so that I can officially be half way done with my doctorate. Right now I'm happy and I'm grateful for the space that God has placed me in...life really is a blessing and I hope that each day in can bless all that I come in contact with as much as God has been blessing me.

Pleasantly surprised...

HALF OF THE GROUP




SFA JUMP SQUAD ON TACKY DAY


As we are approaching our 2nd weekend of meets (3rd meet in total), I am sitting in the office reflecting back on how my group has progressed over the past 5 months. The entire dynamic of the jump squad has dramatically changed from just over a year ago. Last year I had a seasoned group of seniors with two freshman; now I have 2 5th year seniors and 6 freshman and sophomores...my my how the times have changed. This year has brought me back to a level of coaching that goes back to the basics. Last year I taught a little but mostly refined what I had inherited. This year it is strictly teaching, mentoring, and even a little babying from time to time. Sometimes I get extremely frustrated as to why they do not understand something but I was once told that every great coach should be able to relay information in THREE different ways...and this had definitely been put to the test this school year.

I have an entirely new set of personalities, and even though they are different I most definitely would not trade them for the world. The fall semester was frustrating at times, but they have progressed so much that it makes me smile on the inside. In our first weekend of meets, I was more than pleased with where we stood. Coming back off of Christmas Break, my athletes together probably jumped a total of MAYBE 10 times...yes, that is all 8 of them combined together. When they returned they most definitely looked like they hadn't seen a pit in decades. However that weekend, they came alive and put on a decent show. I guess it's true that once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget...sometimes you just need a moment to knock off the rust.

Right now we are sitting nicely on the conference list, but as everyone knows, I am never satisfied until we are number 1 in everything! I'm proud of where my group has come from and I look forward to BIG things from each of them. We have endured a host of obstacles, but if it's one thing I know...Coach Lacee' don't raise no punks...and each obstacle is simply a test to learn to rise above it all!

Life of a Coach...

Every time I get down on myself or feel even an inkling of temporary unhappiness, GOD so quickly reminds me that my place in this world is not simply to make sure that I'm happy, content and taken care of. The sun does not rise and set on my behind...nor does the earth spin around me, at a speed convenient for me and only me. Instead I have come to realize that I am not just my own rock but that of my athletes. They lean on me for so much that I often question myself wondering if I am servicing them in a way that GOD would want me to. There is a quote that I like, "the house does not rest on the ground but upon the woman," that speaks volumes for how I am learning my role in life to be defined. GOD made women to be strong creatures...to be able to handle stresses of childbirth...rear the child...AND keep the house in order. While I do not have any biological kids, coaching entails getting a new set of "grown kids" (as I like to call them) every year. My goal is the same for each of them; I want them to be not only great students and athletes but also outstanding people. So I guess if I have to be their rock or their house until they can fully get their two feet under them, then so be it. I have been abundantly blessed and that is more than enough reason for me to want to share that greatness with them.