Serious People

A recent post was titled "Happy People" and featured smiling faces from the recent tryout session.  I explained that I had intended to feature serious people but was captivated by a particular smiling face and decided to look for more.  Today's post is a return to the original plan, a series of photos of serious competitors.  

I love the way sports get people reaching deep within themselves in an all-out effort to do faster, farther, better, more.  Facial expressions often reflect the effort.  Capturing those expressions is the intent of this post.  Note:  If I've posted a photo of you that you consider less than flattering, just let me know and I'll delete it (dstostad@att.net). 

If you'll recall the "Happy People" post, you know I started with a candidate name-tagged  "Q.T." - someone I've never met,  It was her happy expression that inspired the "Happy People" post.  I wondered if QT are her initials - but doubt it because I can't thing of any female name starting with Q (there's the male Quincy but no female name comes to mind).  Then I decided the initials are probably text-message shorthand for Cutie?  Fits. 

Can you call a football player "cute"?

That's QT, as if you needed me to tell you, wearing
#7.  I didn't get the name of her running mate.
This wasn't a race, rather a timed exercise, but I
suspect QT finished second - but had fun doing it.

It seemed fitting to include QT in my serious photos.  Not being serious.  To show the contrast. 

Running-for-time photos gave me several serious expressions.   As in the photo here, QT's running mate is serious, focused on getting down that track.  But QT isn't serious.  Rather being...Cute?  (I suspect she'll call and ask me to remove this photo.)


Running does bring out the  "serious" in most people. 

This is Ski.   More about her at the end of this post.

The sit-ups gave me some expressions I'd call serious.  You might have another term - like pained?  I suspect the ones I've included were close to the time limit when the sitter-upper was straining to get just one more rep.

The jumping drill called for yet another form of serious.  With one exception, the shots that follow were made as the jumper toed the line and prepared to launch.  I'm a big person (BIG) and jumping isn't part of my skill-set.  I can't relate with these jumpers because they actually expect to go airborne.  Wow.

This is quarterback Marisa Rivas.  We'll post a player
profile on her in the future - hopefully near future. 

The following (and last) serious photo is of Ski Tejeda.  I include it here not because Ski's facial expression reflects serious effort.  Actually the whole photo does.  Ski was in the line of jumpers earlier and she just wasn't satisfied with her distance.  So when the drill was over she returned and launched herself again.  With enough effort that she hit the ground and rolled.  I don't know for certain but I'll bet she bested her earlier jump distance.

Ski Tejeda, one of my favorite Outlaws because of her all-out blue-collar style of play.

If you've visited my blog posts you've seen lots of shots of Ski.  She is one of the players I admire most because of her all-out effort.  I have posted her making a tackle where the runner is hoisted high on Ski's shoulder from the force of Ski's hit.  I posted a shot of Ski flat on the ground grabbing the foot of the runner and holding her until other Outlaws arrived to finish the tackle.  I've seen Ski cover the entire field from her center linebacker post making tackles at the distant sideline.  Last season she intercepted a pass and ran it back to the end zone for a pick-six.  I've seen her get on the ground with another player who was running out of steam during tryouts and doing push-ups with the teammate, saying "you can do it, you can do it."  Inspiring the player.

Seeing Ski go back on her own to the broad jump sand and go all-out to improve over an earlier attempt inspires me.  She is serious about her performance.  She is inspiring.

I know she's an inspiration to the whole team.

Note:  An article about Ski published in the Hill Country News (Cedar Park) is linked in the links section of this blog.  Please check it out.