Lauren VanOmmen: Chasing Limits, Not Comfort.
By: Abby Atwood and Isaac Dykstra
For senior Lauren Van Ommen, the real race begins once you leave your comfort zone behind. Through hard work and courage, Lauren grows in strength as she values breaking limits, not just records.
Lauren has been doing track for four years, and her varsity track coach has left an immense impact on her life, while not only motivating her to keep running but to better herself as a person.
“Coach Pert has always encouraged us to reach for higher goals and strive to do our best, and put us in events we don’t normally do so we step out of our comfort zone as athletes.”
Pertner’s demeanor and love for the sport, but also for his team, is very reflective in how he encourages the girls to reach for greater things. He truly values attitude and mindset both on and off the track, pushing them to go past their limits.
Competing in new events is often nerve-racking for most athletes; however, Lauren emphasizes the importance of trying new things in the midst of your fear:
“Try new things, even if you don’t know if you will be good at them, because you might be good at them!”
This is an important thing to remember: stepping outside of your comfort zone often leads to unexpected strengths and personal growth on and off the field. Every new challenge is a chance to learn, build confidence, and realize what you are truly capable of.
Stepping outside of your comfort zone is not always simple and it can become easy to beat yourself up if you do not perform well. Lauren’s journey from freshman year until now, is very reflective of giving things your all, even when facing challenges. In this, Lauren has one key piece of advice for new players,
“Don’t give up if you don’t do good at a meet.”
There will be many obstacles athletes will encounter, you won’t place first at every meet and there will be days where you continuously mess up, but how you overcome them matters most in the long run. Lauren explains that persistence plays a big role in track. It is the quiet determination to get back up after each failure and working hard is the most important. Ultimately, it is strength and endurance that builds mental stamina on and off the field.
Recalling her early moments of track, Lauren says, “I wanted to quit in 9th grade when I had no friends that did it.” This shows the importance of community within a team.
Lauren had a desire to run, but because there was no one on her team that she was close with, she backed down from fear and it resulted in her not running during her freshman season.
Van Ommen has grown immensely from freshman year until now. She now values stepping outside of her comfort zone, and doing things even if she finds herself doing it alone. Lauren now says,
“I should have done it freshman year, looking back.”
Although she does not regret the decisions she previously made, she definitely has learned a lesson from them: even when she is afraid or alone, she dares to chase limits – because growth never lives in one’s comfort zone.
With this year being her last year, Lauren is more driven than ever. VanOmmen is determined to finish her high school track career with purpose. Her mindset is no longer about fear or looking back on past mistakes; instead, it is about competing with courage. Ultimately, she is striving to break limits and accomplish her personal records.