Breaking Windows and Barriers
5/8/2024 9:55:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
On my first throw, I broke a window.
Yes, you read that right.
I was a freshman in high school, and it was my first day of practice for the discus.
My high school coach approached me and said, “Gabby, I think you should try throwing the discus.”
I thought about it and figured I’d give it a shot.
The first day of practice was nothing short of a disaster.
On my first throw, I broke a window of our school.
My coach just laughed at me and said, “That’s what happens to all the great throwers on their first day of practice. They either get hurt, break something, or injure someone.”
And that’s when I officially became a thrower.
Finding a new path
Honestly, I don’t even know how I got started in track and field. I just remember switching extracurricular activities almost every single week when I was in primary school.
I’d join the spelling bee club, then switch to the Brownies for girls. After that, I’d try gymnastics.
The list goes on, and my mom wasn’t exactly thrilled about my inability to stick with something.
She said, “Gabby, you need to find a sport and stick with it.”
But as a kid, I just never knew which sport that was — at least not until our annual sports day in primary school.
They asked me to run, and I had no idea I was pretty fast at the time. I won three races that day and was recruited to the track team.
That’s how I got started in the running portion of track and field, but that wasn’t the event I’d ultimately stick with.
In high school, somewhere between the 7th and 9th grade, I lost my passion for running.
Like any other teenager, I just wanted to hang out with my friends. I didn’t want to be stuck at practice while they were out socializing.
The more I saw them leave after school, the more I fell out of love with running.
I didn’t want to quit the team, though, so I had a conversation with my coach.
I told him I didn’t think I wanted to run anymore, but there were a lot of other events I could try in the realm of track and field.
He suggested I try the discus, and we all know how that went on the first day.
But to my surprise, he told me I was a natural thrower.
Climbing the ladder
I guess you could say the rest is history.
I even made the national team for Jamaica. And the first time was in 2017, and I still remember it like it was yesterday.
When I was told I made the team, I didn’t think we were actually leaving Jamaica to compete against other people.
When the coach called me and said, “Gabby, you made the team,” I was like, “Oh, okay.”
And then the morning of when we were supposed to be traveling, I was still at home because in my head, I thought this competition was being held in Jamaica.
When in fact, it was being held in Curacao.
So, I wasn’t prepared at all.
It was just terrible.
They had to come to get me from my home, and I was like, “Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best first impression.”
As far as the competition goes, I was kind of surprised. I was mostly amazed by the fact that I was representing Jamaica.
Admittedly, I didn’t really perform my best.
I think I ended up finishing fifth in the discus, which was disappointing considering my performance record throughout the season building up to the meet.
It was a learning experience, and I was determined to do better next time, which was in Peru.
And luckily, it was better.
We went up against a lot of big teams like the United States and Canada.
I got my first real taste of exposure and the realization that I was probably going to have to work way harder than I thought I was at the time.
All these girls from the US and Canada were throwing close to 200 feet, and I was throwing 150-160 feet.
I was definitely far behind the pack as far as performance standards, but I still placed fourth.
I think I started to view my future possibilities in the throwing world differently after that.
When I graduated high school, the opportunity of getting a college track and field scholarship in America was never really in my thoughts.
I didn’t think Jamaica was a country that people would look to recruit from.
But when I went to those meets and found out that this was actually doable, I was excited.
I wanted to go to Clemson because my former training partner went there, and I felt like we worked well together and pushed each other to accomplish our goals.
But my high school coach didn’t think that was a good idea.
He suggested Kent State.
A former student of his and Jamaica native, Danniel Thomas-Dodd, threw here.
With the great coaches and program, the decision to come to Kent State was pretty easy.
My time at Kent State
Four years into my career at Kent State, I can proudly say it was the right decision, and I’ve achieved quite a lot.
I’ve been to the NCAAs four times and have won a number of team and individual awards.
I’d like to think I’ve followed in Danniel's footsteps and had a successful throwing career at Kent State.
It’s funny to look back on my first NCAA experience.
I was completely starstruck.
When I got there, I saw all of the people that I would normally see on TV.
Arriving there was a surreal, pinch-me moment. It felt like a dream come true.
But, like I said, I’ve come a long way since then, and we still have a lot to achieve moving forward.
Not Finished Yet
I’m hopeful that I can have a bigger impact on the team this year and help us win the MAC Championship here in a few days.
I think we have a really good shot at it.
I’m not one to stand up in a crowd and talk to everybody, so I’d say I lead more with the results of my performance than anything else.
But even with that being said, I always encourage my teammates to take every experience as an opportunity to learn and grow.
I’ve learned to take my losses as a chance to get better for the next competition, and I can only hope to have that same impact on my teammates.
At the end of the day, we all have the same goal, and I just want to help us achieve it.
I couldn’t be more grateful for my time at Kent State, and I hope I can help us win the conference title.
That would be the perfect way to end my Kent State career.
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