Forest. The weather in
North Carolina is a lit-
tle warmer that what
you will see up in WNY
during the spring.
Cold springs can lead
to injuries. It takes a
little longer for the
body to get loose and
warmed up. Athletes
try everything to stay
warm during the cold
and rainy track season.
Rybczynski was nev-
er someone who wor-
ried too much about the
weather.
Maybe it was her cross
country
background.
While the weather is hot
for most of the season.
The last couple meets of
the fall season can see
runners running in 40
degree temps and a lot
of rain.
“I’m really kind of
used to the cold. I have
learned to keep my body
loose, to do the warm
ups and cool downs,
and of course, the prop-
er attire - with outdoor
track, we spend our
days outside in all of
the elements,” stated
Rybczynski. “ Honestly,
there’s a risk for injury
with each season. Phys-
ically I’ve changed a lot
since seventh grade and
over the years I have
had to manage different
aches and pains. I really
have learned to listen to
by body, communicate
with my coaches, eat
right, and I work with
Impact Fitness Studios
on strength and flexi-
bility.”
Her flexibility and
fleet of foot might come
from the fact that she
was a dancer growing
up. In fact, Rybczynski
just stopped the whole
dancing thing this year
to concentrate on oth-
er things. But, dancing
is great for athletes. It
allows them to be more
flexible and nimble with
their feet.
You will see a lot of soc-
cer players have dancing
in their background. It
helps them make quick
NOVEMBER 2, 2018 | SportsUnion
turns on the pitch, and
it allows them to get
into position quicker.
Rybczynski
credits
dancing for where she is
today. She knows danc-
ing has helped her in
ways that others things
may not have been able
to do.
“Very important (when
asked about dancing).
With dance I learned at
a very early age how to
compete - which meant
both winning and los-
ing. I made some amaz-
ing friends from differ-
ent schools, and met
people from all over the
world,” stated Rybczyns-
ki. “Structure plays a big
role. Dance wasn’t just
dressing up and tapping
my feet. I practice mul-
tiple days a week, com-
petitions on weekends
and over holidays.”
She also is a little su-
perstitious, which isn’t
a surprise being an ath-
lete. To the naked eye,
a person in the stands
probably wouldn’t no-
tice the little quirk she
has for every race. If
you look closer however
you will notice that she
wears the something for
every single race.
We will just say that
pink is in when it comes
to race day for Rybczyns-
ki. You know it’s a big
day when her pink socks
make an appearance on
race day. It started sim-
ple enough a few years
ago. She wore the once,
did well, and the rest
you could say is history.
“The pink socks just
started by accident. I
wore them to a meet,
had a good day, and the
rest is history. I do have a
few pairs, but I wear the
same ones all the time –
my mom washes them,
of course. I don’t ever
wear them during prac-
tices, though,” stated
Rybczynski. “The only
superstitions I have is
wearing the pink socks
and when I have them
on my brain knows its
race day. When I forget
25
the socks I do worry to
be honest, but I do end
up pushing myself hard-
er because I won’t have
that “luck.”
Luck has nothing to do
with the talent of Anna
Rybczynski. She is a star
on the track and on the
cross country course.
She makes everyone
else raise their game to
her level. She makes ev-
eryone else push a little
bit harder on race day.
Other schools know
when Rybczynski lines
up it’s going to be a
rough day.
On this day, as Ryb-
czynski stands at the
starting line, the rain
starts to fall. There is
a chill in the air. Oth-
er runners have extra
layers on trying to stay
warm as the rain turns
into a steady mist. Ryb-
czynski says she doesn’t
use anything to get into
the other runners heads.
She doesn’t need to.
They know who they
are up against, that’s
enough pressure al-
ready.
As she steps up to
the line, waiting to get
this race underway, she
knows she is running
toward something. She
is running toward her
hopes and dreams. She
is running toward her
goals.
“During that time on
the line, that’s the worst
of my nerves,” Ryb-
czynski. “I do get very
nervous before all of my
races no matter what
the level of competition
is and for that little time
on the line I tell myself
to stay calm and fo-
cus on staying loose so
when the gun goes off,
my body and mind will
be ready.”