Measuring Success

His dream was quantifiable and attainable.
All it would take was another two inches plus a smidge more, and he had plenty of time – two years – to get there.

Seems simple enough, don’t you think? Well…yes. And no.

Ever since Alfred Stratford shifted his athletic focus to track and field, you see, the Collegiate senior has had his sights set on, one, surpassing the school high jump record – six-feet, eight inches – set by David Shannon in 1982, and, two, winning championships to provide 10 all-important points to his team’s total.

They’re lofty aspirations, that’s for sure, for someone who almost by accident happened upon this small-margin-for-error event that requires a combination of speed, strength, athleticism, technical proficiency, and mental discipline.

“Lacrosse was my first love for a sport as far back as I can remember,” said Stratford, a midfielder. “Played Geronimo, travel teams, Collegiate teams. I wanted to play in college.”

Along the way, he’d also played football and basketball, but his freshman year he went out for winter track to get in shape for lacrosse.

“My sister (Grace) was on the (track) team,” he said. “She did hurdles and high jump. She was very good. About halfway through the season, I’d competed once in the (JV) 300. Got a mediocre time. I was fine with that.”

In preparation for a late-season meet, program leader Beth Kondorossy, as is her wont, reached out to athletes about events that had entry vacancies.

“One of them was high jump,” Stratford said. “I told Coach Kondo I’d be interested. Had one practice. It came naturally to a degree, but I still wasn’t going all-out.”

In that competition at St. Christopher’s, he cleared 5-8, a noteworthy and encouraging accomplishment for a novice with minimal training.

“I thought, OK, if I keep doing this, I might get my first varsity letter,” he said, “so I stuck with high jump and started to focus on it.”

At the end of that season, he placed third in the Prep League at 5-10 to earn six team points. A week later, he finished eighth (one point) in the VISAA championship meet at 5-8.

The next winter, he doubled in JV basketball and varsity track and cleared 6-0 in his first meet. He improved his PR another two inches by the end of the season, finished second in the league and third in the state, and began to rethink in earnest his athletic priorities.

After a week of varsity lacrosse tryouts and much discussion and reflective thinking, he switched to track and never looked back.

That spring season started slowly, however.

“Jumped 6-0 in my first three meets,” he said. “It was discouraging.”

Then came the fourth meet, a multi-team competition, at Collegiate.

In the course of that afternoon, he cleared 6-0, then 6-2, then 6-4, then 6-5, then 6-6. While not unprecedented, an improvement of six inches in one meet is significant.

He went on to win the Prep League title (at 6-6). The next week at states, he cleared 6-2 and placed third.

“Didn’t jump well,” he said of his final meet, “but I was happy with the season and knew I’d made the right choice.”

Fast-forward to the winter of 2019-2020.

He started slowly again – his assessment – and cleared only 6-2 early on. Then, after working with high jump coach Deven Shakya and making the necessary adjustments, he improved to 6-5 and won both the Prep League and VISAA titles. In so doing, he contributed 10 team points that enabled the Cougars to finish second in the league and win their first-ever indoor state championship.

“Amazing,” he said of the team accomplishments. “We were really rolling going into the spring season.”

Then came COVID. There would be no spring season and no trip to the winter and spring nationals where he was scheduled to compete against the best high school jumpers in the country. The turn of events was a huge disappointment and a dream deferred, both for Stratford and his teammates who had every intention of duplicating their winter-season success.

When the world opened up a bit, Stratford started going to the gym at least five times a week. The opportunity rejuvenated and invigorated him. The future looked bright, even if he didn’t know when he would return to action.

“When I started, I was doing legs a lot and learned to balance it out more (with upper body and cardio work),” he said. “I’ve definitely noticed a difference. That’s what’s been pushing me to work harder.”

Though Collegiate’s 2020-21 winter season involved only team workouts, Stratford competed unattached in five meets at the Virginia Beach Sports Center. In March, he cleared 6-4 to place third in the Adidas Indoor Nationals.

The outdoor season began with promise. In the USA Meet of Champions in Myrtle Beach, SC, he cleared 6-4.75.  Meets on the Jim Hickey Track were finally on Collegiate’s schedule. League and state championship meets would be contested in May.

“I was beyond excited to compete at home again,” he said. “I couldn’t wait to be at practice every day, especially with the team there. I’d been competing in all these (out-of-town) meets, but I’ve missed having my team behind me.”

At 6-3, 170, Stratford has the physical tools to high jump successfully. His work ethic is strong, and he’s become a student of the event, but what added to his excitement was his burgeoning understanding of the mental aspects of jumping thanks to his training with Collin McConaghy and Jake McDonald, two of Collegiate’s mindfulness instructors.  

“Mindfulness has been a game-changer,” Stratford said. “It’s allowed me to completely clear my head, ignore all competition, and focus on what I’m doing. It begins when I walk into the meet. All nerves need to be cleared out. From there on, I focus on loosening up all the muscles in my body and getting ready to go. It’s been incredible to be able to use that skill.”

By virtue of consistent effort both on the high jump apron and in the weight room and a deeper understanding of the finer points of his specialty, he was once again pursuing his dream. If fact, realizing it seemed imminent.

“Six-eight has been a goal for a long time,” Stratford said. “Every time I’ve been fortunate enough to have an attempt at it, I’ve gotten ridiculously close. The ultimate goal is 6-8 and a quarter (which would be a school record).”

Alas, sometimes life doesn’t go as expected.  On April 8, when he was training over the hurdles (a secondary event), he caught his foot, took a tumble, landed hard on his right side, and separated his shoulder.

“My goal this spring season was to compete and win,” he said. “As soon as it happened, I recognized the gravity of the situation.”

With his arm in a sling, his competitive season went on hold. This week, he’ll learn if he’ll need surgery which would end his high school track career or, best case scenario, be deemed healthy enough to return to action in mid-May. 

In the meantime, he attends practice each day. As a multi-season captain who’s earned the respect of his teammates, he sees no other way than to set the example for younger athletes, encourage them to bring their best, and manage his disappointment without complaint or self-pity. If he can’t measure success with a tape measure, he reasons, he can do so with his positive impact.

“I’m trying to make the most of this time,” he said. “That’s what’s kept my spirits up. It’s honestly a relief to be out here. Why not find someone to take my spot? Or get as many teammates as I can to have that goal and push to achieve it?”
~ Weldon Bradshaw
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