Activity 7.2

            Although I never considered myself the athletic type, in middle school and high school, I participated in various sports. My sophomore year of high school, one of my good friends persuaded me to try out for the track team. I had never run track before; the closest thing I had ever come to running track was racing my friends during recess or relay racing during gym class. Either way, I was excited to give it a try! My teammates and coaches were all very nice and fun to be around, but track practice was extremely intense, and I immediately became aware that I was nowhere near as competent as the majority of my teammates.

            Although the team was supportive and encouraging, I still felt a weak sense of self-efficacy. I was always the last one finished, felt like I was always extremely out of breathe, and one day I even pretended to be ill so I would not have to run. My self-efficacy beliefs about my track performance became even weaker the day I had to run the 3200 meter (2 miles) race.  I was extremely scared and anxious about running this race. Judging from previous mastery experiences, I was thinking I could not even run one full lap without getting winded; how was I supposed to run eight laps? Not only was I the last runner on the track, but I also stopped and started to walk on occasions. What made it worse is that some of the other runners that I knew from other schools made fun of me and brought the race up on several occasions.    

  

            Despite me feeling inadequate in regard to my track performance, I could not bring myself to quit. I had never been a quitter, but something else had also served as my inspiration. My coach pulled me aside one day and told me I was going a great job. She said, “You may not be the fastest runner, but I’ve noticed the effort you have been giving. I would put you out on the track before any of the other runners any day!” At the time, I was confused but very appreciative of her comment because it was very encouraging. Although, it was not until reading Parajares’s (2006) article that this comment really resonated with me. One of Parajares’s implications was to “praise effort and persistence, not ability,” and this is what my coach was doing and continued to do throughout the rest of the season. I already had intentions to stick out the rest of the season, but my coaches words gave me that extra push that I needed. I never became the “triathlon” runner that I pictured my other teammates to be, but I did build enough positive self-efficacy in order to participate in track and field my junior year.

            Although this particular scenario did not take place in an educational setting Parajares’s (2006) implication was still applicable and beneficial in improving self-efficacy. Generally, my interpretation of my mastery experiences in track led to low self-efficacy beliefs in my ability to perform adequately, but ironically, regardless of this belief I held, I refused to quit. Ultimately, there was an improvement in my low self-efficacy beliefs!