Hall joins track as junior, moves on to CIF finals
June 2, 2023
As spring sports began, track and field set in motion and London Hall (11) was a newbie, even as a junior.
Though she was surrounded by students who had joined the sport as freshmen, Hall had no experience.
However, with dedication and hours upon hours of intense practice, Hall worked her way from a beginner level to becoming one of the best athletes in her main event of long jump.
Her skills took her all the way to the CIF finals, May 20.
Despite this year being her first participating in track, she improved her jump by two feet, taking it from 14’ to 16’ over the course of a few months.
Hall said that she credits some of this improvement to her coaches and teammates who were there to help her get started from the moment she began learning the basics of long jump.
“The seniors and the people who have been there longer than I have answered my questions if I had any,” Hall said. “They accepted me as soon as I came and I’ve definitely made friends on the team because we’re together all the time [for everyday practices]. The coaches are nice too, so it was easy to learn [from them].”
According to Hall, attending these practices has been essential to her growth in the sport, as the more experienced members of the team and the coaches can teach her the basics.
With practices nearly every day after school, she had the opportunity to consistently improve her skills and was easily able to pick up the techniques necessary in order to successfully perform sprints and long
jumps.
“I definitely would say I did get the hang of long jump [quickly],” Hall said. “I went to most of the daily practices [from the beginning].”
Aside from her main event of long jump, Hall has also competed in several sprinting events this year, including the 100 and the 4×100 relay.
Similar to her long jump progress, she has seen improvements in her race times thanks to the support of coaches and teammates.
Most notably, Hall was able to improve her race times with practice; at the Palomar League Finals, May 6, she successfully beat her PR in the 100 sprint for a faster time of 13.66. As she built up strength from over time, Hall said she believes her sprinting has helped her record for long jump distance improve.
“My sprinting practice definitely helped me gain the stamina [I needed] for long jump,” Hall said. “I progressed really quickly and I beat my PR at almost every meet I jumped in.”
Even though Hall progressed rapidly with the physical aspects of the sport, she also had to prepare herself mentally for each event. She said one of the hardest things to adjust to was the idea that not every run would be her best.
Over time, she said she has been able to overcome this mental block, and that one of her favorite parts of the season was being able to see her personal growth in this specific area.
“Track is a really mental sport and you can get disappointed easily if you don’t PR or don’t do as well as you think you should have,” Hall said. “So seeing the hard work pay off is probably the most satisfying part [of track].”
Overall, Hall said her first-year track experience was successful, as she was able to make significant improvements through the course of one season. She was able to reach the lettering requirements even though it was her first year, which she said she hopes can inspire other upperclassmen to join sports without the fear of coming too late to improve.
“I lettered my first year because I jumped 15 feet,” Hall said. “It just shows that if you’re older and you’re too nervous to do sports because you think you should have joined as a freshman, track is definitely a sport [you should try].”
Next year will be Hall’s second and final season of track, as she plans to continue the sport. She said she hopes to be able to improve her PRs for sprint times as well as for her long jump distance.
“[This season has been] really good,” Hall said. “Hopefully next year I’ll be able to break 13 [for the 100 sprint] and 16 [for long jump].”
