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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBerens said her day-to-day in the offseason is busy. The offseason runs for seven months, but that time is filled with training, learning, and – when she has time – leisure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA normal day starts with a sprinting\/ jumping workout two days a week followed by weights six days a week,\u201d Berens said. \u201cThen, I head to the elementary school to observe for my internships and\/or go to class. On days that I don\u2019t have classes or I don\u2019t go to my internships, I sub for the district. After that, I have practice. Then, I end my day with either some homework or hanging out with friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With everything that Berens is involved in, each day is a balancing act. Berens explains that the first few weeks of each semester prove to be a little difficult with trying to figure out how she is going to fit everything into her schedule and figuring the best fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter those first few weeks, then I get comfortable with knowing what needs to be done and when,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is important to prioritize homework early in the week, but that does not always happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another obstacle that Berens struggles with is the lack of an indoor competition season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs just a javelin thrower, I do not get to compete for the indoor season like all of the other track and field athletes. I love being a part of a team, but it is hard staying back to train while the rest of the team gets to compete,\u201d Berens said. <\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBerens goes on to explain that the months of December and January are especially difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy that time, I am itching to compete. Then, when competition season finally gets here, it seems to go by way too fast, just like all things seem to do in the spring,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One way Berens\u2019 teammates help to combat this struggle is by challenging each other to do their best and to push through the seemingly never-ending lull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUs throwers all get along and we have a good time while working hard,\u201d she said. \u201cThis definitely makes the offseason go by faster, and in turn, makes things easier.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another way that Berens is able to keep her head up during these months is with her participation in the community. Berens is involved with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization of Ellis County. Her \u201clittle\u201d is in first grade and they have been matched for a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI absolutely love hanging out with her. She is a ball of energy who loves the Arc Park and doing crafts. In more ways than one, she energizes me during those times that I feel lackluster,\u201d Berens said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Berens said she fell in love with javelin during middle school when her school offered track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Berens fell in love with javelin in middle school when her school offered track and field. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy dad was a good hurdler and I loved sports so I went out for track and absolutely loved it. I did the hurdles, long jump, 4×100 meters and the 200 meters. I guess I would classify myself as a sprinter,\u201d she said. \u201cFreshman year I decided to try javelin. I was not the best at javelin, but each year I got a better personal record. Finally, my junior year I made it to state and placed fourth. I was so excited and ready to improve yet again for my senior year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, Berens did not get a senior year season due to COVID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen looking at colleges, I really liked the small-town feel of Hays and I was fortunate enough to be able to throw javelin at FHSU as well,\u201d she said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure how to feel about it at first because I didn\u2019t have a senior season, but as soon as competition season came, I trusted my coach with all of the training and technique and that all paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Berens said her favorite thing as a track athlete is the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI believe that our conference (MIAA) is the most competitive conference in the nation. Last year at nationals, four out of eight All-Americans for women\u2019s javelin were from our conference. And seven of the 21 girls were from the MIAA,\u201d Berens said. \u201cThis makes competition throughout the season very competitive. It\u2019s nice seeing your competitors in the postseason.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Addie-Berens-2.jpg?resize=411%2C512\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBerens explains her favorite thing about this sport is how individualized it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI love that my results at the end of the meet rely on me. If I had a bad meet, then I don\u2019t place as high, but if I throw a PR, then I might place higher,\u201d she said. \u201cThe best part of that is that all of us girls get to score as a team. Each event that a girl scores in gets compiled and we get to score as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Berens also believes that a major benefit of being a student-athlete is the opportunity to see new places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy first two years I was fortunate enough to make it to nationals which was held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I had never been to Michigan, but that was such a cool experience and it\u2019s such a pretty state,\u201d Berens said. \u201cMy coach took my teammate and me to see Lake Michigan on a day that we did not compete and I think that is something I will never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Berens is incredibly proud to represent FHSU as an athlete and she states that Fort Hays State University has an absolutely wonderful track and field program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur team may be smaller than others in our conference, but every meet, someone comes back with a qualifying time or distance. With my time of being here at Fort Hays, there have been several athletes that have broken school records. Some athletes have even broken their own record. I think this is huge,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have very talented athletes who work hard and get the results they deserve. I love watching my teammates compete no matter what event, and our team really feels like a family because of the support we give each other.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BY JESSALYN KIRCHHOFF Addie Berens is currently a junior at Fort Hays State University majoring in Elementary Education. Berens regularly attends a Bible study class… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":72643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7349,4542],"tags":[14609,5792,13925,15214],"class_list":["post-72638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-track-sports","tag-addie-berens","tag-fhsu-track-and-field","tag-jessalyn-kirchhoff","tag-student-athlete-feature"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Addie-Berens-4.jpg?fit=2304%2C1536&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=72638"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72645,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72638\/revisions\/72645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/72643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=72638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=72638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=72638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}