For Ms. Bacon’s English class, junior Carson Reeves shared her story of “Cautious to Competitive Coach’s Daughter” and how literally growing up on campus has shaped her into the person she is today. It is a heartwarming recount of her love and appreciation for the Stratford community that has raised her.

Dressed in my plaid dress and matching headband, I was ready to go. The picture of my mom and me on my first day of 3K illustrates I was ready to start the next 15 years of my life at what was already my second home, Stratford Academy. I held my mom’s hand as she walked me into my 3K classroom and dropped me off, knowing I would see her in a few hours as my PE coach. At only three years old, I was used to being at Stratford all day, unlike my new classmates. I spent almost every day at school with my mom at her cross country and track practices. The Stratford track was more known to me than my own backyard, and I spent countless hours attached to my mom’s hip, probably getting in her way of doing her job. I spent my summers roaming the hallways barefoot and attending all of the Stratford summer camps I could. 

My mom, Coach Ginny Reeves, is the Stratford girls track and cross country coach and lower/preschool PE coach. As my mom has watched me grow up, she sees how I “have a family at school.” The coaches and teachers were all my second parents, and my mom’s players became my role models. Being a shy child, I was scared to talk to others, so I would tug on my mom’s shirt and squeeze her hand when people would try to talk to me. Everyone at Stratford knew me and helped me come out of my shell, shaping me into the person I am today. Once I was the bashful, chubby little girl who stayed at school until 5 every day because of my mom’s schedule, but I have turned into a competitive, determined teenage girl who stays at school until 7 because it is my turn to be a Stratford student-athlete, just like the ones I admired as a little girl.

Stratford has always been my second home, with the track holding the most memories for me. The older girls mesmerized me, and I wanted to grow up to be just like them. When asking my mom about them, she stated “they were like older sisters to you and taught you lessons about life and athletics.” As I walk around the track today, I can vividly see my younger self playing in the long jump pit, as if it were my sandbox, and finding a frog with Virginia Ann, one of my mom’s runners who I had decided was my best friend. I keep walking and see the high jump mat area. I can see myself standing next to my mom, helping her put the bar up and wondering when the track meet will be over so we can go home. I also see the box used to help with long jump form sitting in the grass., and I remember being seven years old and telling the older girls I was walking on air, when really I was just jumping off the box. I see myself as a middle schooler using the same box to learn how to long jump with my mom, who was my coach for the first time. I see the finish line where I once sat on the ground waiting to go home, but now, it has turned into a place where my mom is waiting to congratulate me on a good race as a high schooler. The track gives me a feeling of pride, as I know it has made me into the person I am today. 

After thinking about all of my memories in athletics, I realize how understanding and compassionate my mom is as a coach. I have also realized the ability to know and have relationships with her fellow coaches and co-workers has allowed me to not only become a better athlete, but also a better person because of their advice and counseling. I have benefitted from being raised at Stratford and the school being all I have ever known because my Stratford community has made me feel safe and allowed me to become my true self.