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Athlete rises to the challenge
By TERRY JONES © St. Petersburg Times, published April 6, 2001 TOWN 'N COUNTRY -- When Jeannette Daniels was told she would be one of the captains for the Leto girls track team, she wasn't quite certain how to deal with the position. She was still just a junior and competed only in throwing events. But the 16-year-old Town N' Country resident didn't back away from the challenge. She got together with the other captains and helped form a plan. Starting in October, she encouraged all the girls who had been part of the team or wanted to be part of the team to start training every day after school. "I had never been the head of anything before and only did the shot put and the discus, so I wasn't quite sure what to do," she said. "So the other captains and myself, those not in other sports, got the girls together and started getting ready for the season. We ran laps, exercised and lifted weights. In the past only the boys track team got recognition and we wanted to change that." As a sophomore last year, Daniels qualified for the state meet in both her events. She placed fourth in the discus and ninth in the shot against the best competition in Florida. This year she hopes to have several teammates qualify with her and do even better in both events. She may even qualify in one or more running events this season. "Jeannette is a natural athlete who doesn't realize her potential," Leto girls coach Kent Underwood said. "Earlier in the season, we finally got her to branch out a little with sprints, helping in the 4 X 100 relay and the 100-meter dash. She resisted, because I think she had a fear of failure. Now that she knows she can run, she asks each meet if she can." Daniels admitted she was nervous about stepping out of her comfort zone as a thrower. But she has a strong drive to help support her team and finally made the plunge. "I kind of got scared, because I don't run all the time and I was afraid I wouldn't do so well, and the other girls would make fun of me," she said. "Because of asthma, I sometimes have a breathing problem too. I found out the breathing wasn't so bad with sprints, and my teammates didn't laugh at me. So now I want to help the team." Underwood said the Falcons didn't have a 4 X 100 relay team last year, because of a lack of sprinters. Daniels changed that this year, and the Leto girls are getting additional points in meets. The shot and discus are still her main events, and because of her success last year as a sophomore in the state meet some colleges have already recognized her potential. She has already received more than a dozen letters from colleges showing interest in her, although her dream is to compete at UCLA. She plans to improve in her throws and in her grades. This season her best distances are 36 feet, 2 inches on the shot put and 123 feet with the discus. She thinks a 40-foot throw with the shot and 140 with the discus should make her competitive for a state title and that would maybe get the attention of her dream college. The team is still very important to Daniels also. "We want to earn the same kind of respect for the Leto girls track team the boys have and we are getting better," she said. So are her grades, which had slipped a little. "I am back up to a 2.8 grade-point average, and I am working hard to get good SAT scores this year," she said. "I plan to study and take the SAT's until I get a grade high enough for admission in a good college."
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