Imagine being the only person in your position in a sport, not having anyone to lean on and do drills with. This is a reality for junior Allison Curth, as she is the only girl who runs hurdles on the Kaneland track team.
Allie has been doing hurdles for a few years, but this is the first time she is running this event alone. She has a great team around her to keep her going and succeeding.
“Hearing my name so much just feels so special because my team knows how much it means to me,” Curth said. “From being the only hurdler, they kind of know that it means a lot to be supported since I don’t really have teammates who do it with me.”
There are many things that the track team does to get to know each other better. After some meets that are farther away, the team will stop the bus to get food.
“I like to hang out with the team,” Curth said. “When we have parties and when we go out to eat together, just like team bonding stuff, is like my favorite,” Curth said.
Allie was recently taken out of a meet due to some personal issues. She was not happy with her coaches’ choice, but she knew that it would be in her team’s best interest.
“She’s very hard on herself, but I feel like as athletes, we need to be,” track coach Lindsay Giardino said. “I think for her health too, she needs to do what’s best for her. There is also a time where you can push yourself and take a step back. Allie has the right headspace where she can do anything.”
Even when Allie has something going on, her coaches are there for her and are ready to be on her side. Curth has learned plenty of valuable life lessons from her experiences in track.
“Don’t give up, you’re gonna fall, you’re gonna have bad starts, your legs might be messed up when you’re going over one [hurdle], you’re gonna get slow times, you’re gonna misstep,” Curth said. “But it’s just keep going until you get it right, because honestly, when I used to run in middle school, I was really slow. I was one of the worst on the team, and now, last year I was a varsity hurdler as a sophomore and I was in Sectionals. Just like, keep going, you know? Just keep motivated, keep going.”
She is always there to keep people going and help anyone who needs it. Allie does everything she can to lift others up. Even when she does not do her best in a meet, she is still there to cheer on the rest of the team.
“She always has a smile on her face,” Giardino said. “She’s like a little ray of sunshine all the time. After her meets, she is always looking for me and it’s nice to talk to her, and we face the next race. She’s always happy.”
There are plenty of days where the whole team is tired and just wants to get practice over with, yet when Allie is there, it puts some pep in their step. She is always there to put a smile on someone’s face and make someone’s day better.
“She’s always ready to work,” Giardino said. “We say, ‘We’re running 150s,’ and she’s saying, ‘What about 300s?’ I think she would get everybody to run 300s. Allie is always smiling and always ready to work and do the workout.”
Being on the track team has helped Allie create different relationships that will help her in an aspiring teaching career. She is taking some classes through the Fox Valley Career Center that is helping her become a teacher. She has to work on balancing student teaching, school and track.
“It gets hard sometimes on Wednesdays,” Curth said. “I have to go from student teaching and then drive back to the school for track, so I just have to make sure I let my coaches know. And I make sure I get my lesson plans done. I also have to do things during homeroom because I know that realistically after school, I don’t have time for a bunch of homework.”
She has been creating some connections with the students and teachers during her student teaching experience. She knows exactly what she wants to be for her students and what she hopes to do in her career.
“I want to be a teacher that people can trust and go to for educational purposes, but also someone who they can talk to, who they know will love and listen to them,” Curth said. “I want to make sure that when I am student teaching, I give it my all. I show them why I’m here and help these kids know that I’m only gonna be there for eight weeks, but I do care about you while I’m here. And my mentor teacher will know that too.”
There are many people who know how great of a teacher Allie will be and see the qualities that make her stand out against other students.
“She’s very passionate about learning and motivating, so I think that will take her far,” French teacher Cristian Hernandez said. “She just likes to be helpful, either to other teachers or other students or her friends. I think that the want to help people is a very good quality of a teacher.”
There are many things that Allie does that keep people going through each day, which will help her be a good teacher in the future. Track also helps her prepare for teaching as she lifts people up when they need it.
“I want to be a teacher because I just want to help children who are struggling,” Curth said. “You never really know what’s going on at home. I have a passion for teaching and helping people and making people happy, and I’m gonna use all that for teaching. I try to help the [track] team out. When we’re warming up and stretching, I’ll help with drills and I’ll get the stuff that we need for workouts and help the coaches out. It’s just all about helping people and keeping a nice spirit with the team, and I will use that in teaching one day.”
Allie has plenty of people who are there for her, including her mom and her best friend. She always has a reason to keep going and never quit.
“I just remind myself why I’m doing it,” Curth said. “I have medical stuff that’s been relevant in my life recently, [but] remembering that I do have support, whether I always see it or not, I do have people who care about my progress and really love me. And I want to show them what I can do, so I just keep going.”
