A star is building within the walls of Alexandria City High School, and almost nobody knows about it. Senior Millie Bawcombe has had an outstanding several seasons with the track and field team. She started by throwing shot put and discus, but she eventually changed to hammer throwing. Hammer throwing isn’t offered in our school, but because of her talents and our coach’s experience she was offered to do it outside of the school’s program. She’s worked under two head coaches that have put her in a position to be great. Now sit back, and enjoy some one-on-one insight from Millie herself.
Bawcombe said she got into the sport because of her family.
“I started throwing shot put and discus because my brother’s two best friends were throwers, and my dad heard about it,” she said. “He thought I would be good too, so I told him I would try out, and I ended up really liking it.”
When I asked her why she picked throwing over other events, she had this to say: “I joined track specifically to do throwing, so it was never a question of whether I was going to do a track or field event. I always knew I was going to be a field thrower.” That’s pure dedication to her craft from the very beginning.I then asked about a coach or an athlete that inspires her, and she wanted to shout out both of her coaches, RJ Thorne and Rodney Johnson.
“They have both been great coaches and both of their perspectives have helped me grow as a thrower,” Bawcombe said. Our school’s sports programs are built exactly for this: to build great players and to inspire others.
I asked about how much she trains outside of school, and she said, “I train 15-17 hours a week between track practice and lifting.” — talk about getting out what you put into something. I then asked her what keeps her motivated while training, her answer was simple: “Knowing that there’s somebody else that’s probably training just as hard as me. If someone else is working hard and getting better then I have to be doing the same thing.” That competitive pressure is what creates diamonds in the rough.
I also asked about her most fulfilling achievement — it was “Being an All-American.” That honor is reserved for the top 8 finishers in individual events in track and field for each state. That’s an outstanding achievement that showed her hard work has paid off, and she has learned several lessons getting to that point.
“The most important thing I have learned since being on the track team is that you get out what you put in,” she said. “Track is so different from any other sport because it’s so individual, so there’s no one to hide behind. If you do badly, you can’t blame anyone but yourself.” I’ve been on the team, and I know that couldn’t be closer to the truth — if you commit yourself and put time and effort into the sport you can be great.
Bawcombe also had lots to say about her personal development.
“Track has definitely helped me grow as a person,” she said. “It has helped me change my mindset, [in terms of realizing] the more effort you put in, the better your results are. I’ve learned how important the effort that I put in really is.”
Those are some inspiring words from a great athlete. I then asked her what tips she has for people thinking about joining shot put or discuss.
“For people wanting to join shotput and discus, my advice would be to just try and stick it out,” Bawcombe said. “It can be frustrating sometimes but I think it’s very rewarding.” If you’re curious about joining, just sign up and try it out. Anyone can do it if you commit yourself to it.
Bawcombe’s commitment to the sport and the people who have inspired her is a truly great story. But her output in her events is the cherry on top. If she keeps building her strengths and working on her weaknesses, she will continue on a great path toward success and be a great athlete throughout her life. For anyone else inspired by this story, you too should commit yourself to your dreams, and you will get all the more out of it.
