Cierra Gaudet - Being A Female Athlete

Being a Female Athlete

For the earlier part of my childhood, being a female athlete wasn’t something I had on my mind or even cared about. I spent most of my days riding my bike, running freely in the grass and climbing trees.

Sometimes I would go on adventures with my dad and younger brother in the woods, or go on walks in the neighbourhood with my mom. I just enjoyed having fun and being outside, but I wasn’t really thinking about athleticism, fitness or training. Being a goofy kid was just fine by me.

Grade 2 was when I started understanding what being a female athlete was all about and the differences between boys and girls natural athletic abilities. I had finally befriended a group of guys to play with during recess (yay friends!) and was stoked to just, well, play. The only real thing we did was play tag, but man, it was intense! My guy friends decided to make it a spectacle and so every lunch hour a group of them would line up on this little bridge by the playground and start challenging each other to races up and down this pathway that was probably 50 metres (so 100m if you went both ways).

At first it was so exciting watching them all run full speed down the path. I would always cheer them all on and yell and scream like a wild child. However, I soon became bored from watching and I desperately wanted to join in on the fun! I remember when I first asked if I could race, the guys all seemed very skeptical. I mean, what girl would want to race a guy right? This one did. Anyways, I finally got my shot and when they yelled “go”, I was ready. I burst away from the bridge, full steam ahead, like someone had lit my butt on fire. I was flying down the path. I could feel myself breathing faster and faster and adrenaline was surging through my tiny body frame. What was even more spectacular was that I was winning! I remember looking back as I crossed the finish line first and realized I had just beaten a guy. I was grinning from ear to ear. That day marked a very important day in my life. That was the day that I realized, I could hold my own with the opposite sex.

I went on to win many more lunch time races and in the end was undefeated on the playground. It really helped me build some confidence in myself as I was really shy beforehand and now I even had won the respect of most of the guys in my elementary class. I carried that positive energy forward and made a commitment to always be the quickest of the girls and to keep up (or beat) the boys. I became VERY competitive and this is where my days of wearing frilly clothes and dresses disappeared and instead I rocked those coveralls like any proud tomboy chick would. It became a game; to be the best. If we were having relay races in gym class, I had to be first. If we were climbing ropes in gym class, I had to be first. If we were changing in the locker room, I had to finish first. If we were running laps around the school at lunch time, I wanted to run the most. I wanted everyone to know, but mostly the guys, that I meant serious business. Yes, I was a scrawny little girl on the outside, but I was a force to be reckoned with if someone tried to tease me.

I carried this mindset with me right through junior high and high school. It was a bit harder now as puberty began to set in and the guys were getting bigger and stronger. Some of them began to surpass me in certain areas, but I always tried to keep up and be a competitor. If I couldn’t beat them, I at least wanted their respect. However, I still had high expectations to be one of the best female athletes and so I began training 5-6 days a week. I began to notice that I was putting on some muscle which was a nice change. I was getting stronger and this meant that I could keep up with both sexes. If there was a pick-up game of basketball going on in the gym, I could join in and the team wouldn’t be “at a disadvantage”…that was always the goal, not to be looked at as a nuisance, but to be looked at as a threat.

For the most part, I am very happy with who I am today as a female athlete. Obviously, there comes a point when I had to realize that genetics plays a bit of a role in my ability versus my male counterpart and so I had to settle with not necessarily being the best, but being respectable. However, this also presents a problem, because as females, we shouldn’t have to “impress” anyone, especially not males  when it comes to our natural athletic ability. When I’m in the gym doing squats, I sometimes see other men glancing at the weight I have up on the bar and looking slightly puzzled, as if they are questioning my ability to perform the action. When I successfully complete the set and re-rack the bar, it feels amazing. But even if they weren’t there to witness me do that, it would still feel amazing.

My main point is simply this; I won’t judge you, so why bother judging me? I mean, we’re all athletes, of various ages and abilities; we should respect one another for reaching new accomplishments and for taking the initiative to better our health. We don’t need to put one another down; we need to build each other up. When I workout now, I always carry respect with me, whether it’s a smile, a nod or a high-five, it’s important to pass along positive vibes and not negative ones. Women have come a long way in sport and I think that’s something that should be recognized. In the end, all I want as a female is respect, from everyone.  

Introducing Taylor Rogalsky - uOttawa GeeGee's Softball Player

            I like to think of myself as a motivated person with a passion for sports. That is why I have dedicated my last four years to studying and completing my undergraduate degree at the University of Ottawa in Human Kinetics. This program has allowed me to share my passion for sports along with learning a variety of new things that revolve around sports. These past four years have flown by and now I will continue to specialize my knowledge at Algonquin College in Sport Business Management, in hopes of having a career in that particular area of study.

            I am originally from a small town called Napanee, if you have never been, is about halfway between Ottawa and Toronto. I grew up there participating in almost every sport you can think of. As a child I tried soccer, gymnastics, swimming, track, softball, basketball, hockey, volleyball, and the list goes on. If there was a sport being played in the town, I played it at least once. I can’t thank my parents enough for letting me try all of those sports because it has allowed me to have a high degree of physical literacy and excel in many of them, in particular hockey and baseball. In my early teenage years, I specialized in hockey and softball and played elite level up until university. Once it came time to go to university I had to make a choice, which was one of the hardest choices I had to make, but I had to choose whether to pursue a university career playing hockey or softball. In my grade 12 year, I was scouted by the coaches of the University of Ottawa Softball Team at a tournament in Montreal. After meeting them, and hearing about their team and successes, I chose softball. Saying that, I played for the University’s Softball team all four years of my degree. During those four years our team experienced great success, winning a silver medal the last two years at the provincial championships, and one silver medal at the national championships.

            Outside of being an elite athlete and student, I also love to give back to the sporting world that I have long been a part of. I give back by helping out younger softball teams by giving catching or hitting sessions, and in the winter I referee hockey. I love that I still get to share my passion for two sports that have become a part of me, and at the same time pursue a career that lines up nicely with my passions.

 

            This year I did an eight month placement in the office of the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport), which is almost exactly what I want to eventually do. I worked along side the Manager of National Championships. Having that experience has confirmed that I made the right decision to attend Algonquin next year. While attending, I will continue to referee, and I hope to also help coach a women’s hockey team.

Guest Blogger Cierra Gaudet Talks About Her Experience As A Collegiate Student-Athlete

uOttawa Minto Sports Complex


I have had the absolute pleasure to get to know Cierra over the last few years. We have fostered a friendship over the mutual disdain of several course (sorry professors :P), in particular this last year. She is an extremely smart and hard working young woman. She gives a considerable amount of volunteer time. And, she is an accomplished athlete while doing all this. So, without further ado... Cierra's own words...

Since the land before time (or so it seems after so many years!), I have been devoted to furthering my education and dedicating a lot of my time and energy to sports. I was born into a loving family that has supported me from day one of my athletic career; however, I learned very early on that being a student-athlete came with very high priorities, a large amount of responsibility and crucial time-management.

Growing up, my mom valued education very much (and still does) and so she pushed my younger brother and I to achieve high grades in school. I enjoyed learning and so I would always strive to get the best grades in my class. When I was younger, I dreamed of getting a scholarship and so that was continuously on the back of my mind throughout my junior high and high school years.

My dad is a sports fanatic and he was a phenomenal athlete during his prime years. For as long as I can remember, Sports Center would always be blasting on the televisions throughout the house. He pushed my brother and I to train hard every day. My parents were really great role models (and they still are!) and I love them for everything they've done for me since I entered this world.

However, being a student-athlete wasn't all fun and games. A lot of the times it was very frustrating to say the least. I gave up a lot; birthday parties, movie dates, beach days, shopping sprees, house parties, outdoor concerts, junk food…etc. I had no free time to waste. I was in school for 8 hours a day, training two hours after classes and then catching up on all of my homework at night. In high school I became obsessed with my grades (probably more than I should have been) and so I didn't want anything less than a 90%. I spent countless hours at my desk studying and almost just as much time training. At some point I became very stressed and irritable. Nobody would want to be around me, let alone put up with me on a regular basis. Therefore, this led to further sacrifices, only this time I began to sacrifice my training if I was worried about school. It made me angry to do so, but at the end of the day, my mom reminded me that I was a student-athlete, meaning that being a student always comes first.

Eventually, during my senior year of high school, I realized that I wanted positive memories rather than negative ones. I realized that my family and friends shouldn't be getting pushed to the side. I began to make myself schedules for the week and I would plan activities in advance to have something to look forward to and keep me motivated to finish everything on time. My grades didn’t suffer and I began to realize that studying less was actually more. I looked at good quality studying over bad quality studying and began to realize that I could actually achieve what I wanted to in three hours instead of eight. I also realized that this was the same for my training. All of a sudden, I had more free time for myself to do what I wanted and my quality of life sky-rocketed! I graduated high school with top academic honors, athletic recognition and my scholarship!

Unfortunately, during my first two years of university, I was stressed all the time. I missed out on pretty much everything and lived as a hermit in my dorm room. I forgot about every lesson I had learned in high school and was frustrated with my grades, my training and my schedule. Fortunately, I had a good support system of family and friends and after taking a few excellent classes from a professor who specialized in sport psychology and quality of life, I began to fall back into my positive habits. I began to make time for myself, reconnect with old friends, strengthen relationships with my family members and pretty soon I noticed that my grades and my athletic performance were back on top. Again, I was just trying too hard and not focusing on the big picture. 

Now that I’m almost done of my undergraduate degree (only two exams left), I've realized that when things seem super stressful, they probably aren't AS stressful as they seem, but it’s all in how we perceive the stressor in the first place. In the last two years, I've realized that pushing myself to the point where I get sick is useless and that there are more important things in life then grades and sports. What we should strive for first and foremost, is being a good quality family member, friend, sibling, cousin, teammate, parent, coach…etc. There will always be time for learning and training, but life itself has an ending and so I want to share my time with everyone who’s helped me grow into the person I've become along the way. In my head, I always thought being a student-athlete was impressive, but now I’m realizing that being a student-athlete was just the foundation to instill a lot of good life skills, lessons and values that have served me well over the years. I've loved every minute of my career, but more importantly, I love the person I've become because of it. Now I’m ready to give back to others! 

Introducing Special Guest - Student-Athlete, and All Around Awesome Person, Cierra Gaudet

I am very proud to introduce the very first person to contribute content to my blog, Cierra Gaudet.

I have had the pleasure to get to know her over the last few years while we have both attended the University of Ottawa. We always joked that we were never paired up for group projects, sadly. We often saw eye-to-eye on a variety of topics, and were fortunate enough to finally do a group project together this past semester. It was a wonderful experience to work with another like-minded, and intelligent individual (if the other group members are reading this - you guys are awesome too!).

She is a dedicated, self-motivated, and inspiring young woman, both as a student with top marks and as a highly successful athlete. Further, she has also dedicated a substantial amount of time to her track club. In particular, she recently invested well over 100 hours into guide running, which I'm sure she will touch on down the road.

So, without further ado...

Biography Cierra