Jewelry

By Aaliyah Montgomery Athletes alter their body to accommodate to their sport.

Does jewelry play a big role in softball?

Junior Ashley Becknel has played softball at AHS for the last two years, making this year her third. In sports it is a common concern to be playing while wearing any form of jewelry. Most players remove their jewelry pieces (if any) before participating. It is a requirement for players to remove all jewelry from their bodies before participating in their sport. Many of the girls on the softball team have piercings and would rather leave their jewelry in during the games than to remove them.

Becknel feels restricted by this jewelry rule given that she has to remove all jewelry. She also has a hard time of timing when to get piercings to how long it will be before they heal so she can remove them from her body.

“Personally, I’d rather leave in my earrings than take them out every time we have a game, especially because I have recently gotten new piercings. It would be a waste for me to remove them. I want to be able to get piercings whenever I please but because of my sport I feel like I can’t get them until the season is over,” Becknel said.

Even though Becknel may not love the rule or agree with it, she won’t disregard it and have to be reminded to remove her jewelry. That doesn’t make her enjoy softball any less and it is not much of a deal for her to remove her jewelry.

“Although I may have to wait a while to get new piercings or take out any jewelry on my body I’d rather remove them than to not play. The adrenaline I get from playing is so worth it,” Becknel said. •

Photo Illustration | Aaliyah Montgomery

Photo Illustration | Aaliyah Montgomery

How are wrestlers affected by cutting wieght?

Junior Hallie Evans has been wrestling for six years now and she’s cut weight in order to fight in specific weight classes. Although Evans has much love and enjoyability for the sport she admits this can be a challenge.

“I guess in some ways I've altered my diet a bit to either gain or lose a pound or so. I’d rather it be one or two pounds than a couple. It can be a little complicated when doing so,” Evans said.

Evans has had to cut weight and gain in order to fit into specific weight classes. She has wrestled since sixth grade which makes this year her sixth year of wrestling. Evans does admit that cutting and gaining weight to fit into specific weight classes is not as simple as it sounds. She struggled with it at first but she has recently become better at it.

“There are times I’ve been a pound or two over which is not too bad. One way I change my body is by gaining a lot of muscle and I focus that in my legs and arms. Another way is I’ve had to cut weight in order to meet the weight class. Which does take a lot of energy out of my body but I try to counteract and make sure I was healthy at the same time,” Evans said.

Although Evans has had to put her body through difficult situations, she admitted that will never get in the way of how much love she has for wrestling. The feeling she gets after a great match is rewarding after all of the hard work of practice and weight managing she goes through.

“After a winning match all the effort you put in-sweat, blood and tears-into that match pays off. Knowing that you tried your hardest but you wrestled smart has to be my favorite part about wrestling,” Evans said. •