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Out with the Old and In with the New

For Jada Caldwell, learning a New Technique Can be Harder Than Throw Itself

Twenty-one-year old Jada Caldwell has been tasked this season to learn a new technique. A technique that she has never done before. Caldwell is a self-taught thrower, that found herself in love with the game.  That love has been tested with this new challenge and has not been the same for her since.

“A star is only made when the person believes they are one, I don’t believe Jada truly believes in herself the way she should. That’s why I think she can’t master this technique, because she doesn’t believe that she can”, (Nate Brown, volunteer throwing Coach).

Within her three-year throwing career here at Ball State, junior Jada Caldwell admits that this season has been her worse by far. “This year takes the record for being a pain in my a**” says Caldwell. She continues, “anything that is anything went wrong for me this season. I can’t get this technique, and everyone thinks I’m not applying myself, sometimes I think why I should even try at all”.

Caldwell put in twenty hours a week with both practice and the required workouts. Throw out the season, she and Brown worked on her new technique. The technique is in the way she throws and where in the throw she must apply pressure. This has been difficult for Caldwell because up until now, Caldwell has her own way of throwing. She’s been throwing her way since she started her interest in track in field back in high school.

Caldwell has been a thrower since her freshman year at Westfield High School in Indianapolis, IN. While there she developed her technique that helped her earn 4 letters in Track and Field.  Now she is being forced to change up what help her get the Athletic scholarship to Ball State. But why? Why change what works?

When asked Brown said, “Today’s Athletes must challenge themselves. They often get cocky and mess up when they continue their same routines. I want Jada to push herself. People, athletes, get better when they challenge themselves to get stronger”.

That didn’t happen for Caldwell; however, she feels that it held her back and kept her from performing well this year in both the indoor and outdoor season.

“If I’m being honest, I don’t even feel the need to continue this season. The only reason I am is because my mom told me I shouldn’t give up. I’m a legacy for her sorority, and one of our notable poems is how we shouldn’t quit no matter how hard it gets. That’s what kept me going until now”, says Jada Caldwell.

When Caldwell says now, she is referring to the cancellation of the season due to the outbreak of the corona virus. Caldwell said that she was willing to push through for the rest of the season, in hope of making it to the MAC championship. However, now none of that seems worth it anymore.

“Many of us were heart broken by the cancellation, but no one took it as hard as Jada”, say Caldwell’s teammate Princess Carter. They both are throwers for Ball State and she worked closely with Caldwell as she was changing her technique. Carter continued with “Jada gave this season her blood, sweat, and tears, just too see all that hard work get sweep away by this outbreak. She’s not just may teammate, she’s my sister and I hate seeing her so discouraged”.

        The recent outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has cancelled a variety of sports and their current seasons. This outbreak canceled both collegiate and professional sporting events and practices. Quite a few professional Athletes have even tested positive for COVID- 19 and officials fear that many more would have if the seasons continued according to plan. The country is going into a state of emergency, and due to that so has our sports. The National Basketball Association followed in the suit but canceling the entire season.

Caldwell says that she still won’t give up, although this virus now stands in her way, she’ll use this time away to prepare herself. This entire summer she is dedicating herself to getting back to original technique. She says that the only person she needs to prove herself to is herself, she knows her limits and she knows what works for her. Caldwell stands by not letting anyone else come in between what she knows she’s capable of. Caldwell, said she fell off from herself and that won’t happen anymore.

Since the conclusion of this interview, Caldwell notified us that the volunteer coach Nate Brown will not be returning for the next season. It is unknown where he is going next or why he has decided to leave.