Q&A with Daniel Island-area athletes Lexi and Grace Buss
CHARLESTON, S.C. —聽A Q&A with Lexi and Grace Buss, who are athletes in the Daniel Island area.
Lexi (11)
- School: Daniel Island School (6th grade)
- Sports: Soccer, Track, Cross Country, Triathlons, Flag Football, Basketball, Tennis, Swim
- Years in Sports: Soccer (7), Track (4), Cross Country (1), Triathlons (1), Flag Football (1), Basketball (1), Tennis (5), Swim (1)
Grace (17)
- School: Bishop England (Senior)
- Sports: Cross Country, Track
- Years in Sports: Track (6), Cross Country (5)
- Past Sports: Softball, Swim/Dive, Basketball, Soccer, Water Polo, Triathlons
Interview with Lexi:
What are your personal goals within your sport/athletic dreams?
Lexi: I would like to play in college and professionally. And I鈥檓 really hoping to go to the Olympics.
What is your biggest challenge in your sport, and what do you do to manage this challenge?
Lexi: The nerves鈥攅specially in individual sports. In track I get nervous before a race because I wonder if I鈥檒l trip or embarrass myself. I manage it by saying 鈥淚 can do this!鈥� and taking deep breaths. Once the race starts, I don鈥檛 feel nerves at all and I race with my heart.
What was the best advice you were ever given?
Lexi: To never give up and to keep trying my best no matter what challenges I am facing.
What do you love about your sport?
Lexi: I love the teamwork and working together with my friends while playing the sports I love.
Do you have a pregame ritual you follow?
Lexi: I hydrate and listen to my hype playlist.
What do you like to do outside of your sport?
Lexi: I like to hang out with my family and friends, bake and cook for my family, and I love to sleep.
What has being a member of a team taught you?
Lexi: To always have good sportsmanship by being fair and honest, and if your teammates are feeling bad, always try to make them feel better.
What is the best piece of advice you received from a coach or mentor?
Lexi: My track coach says: race with my heart, believe in myself, work hard at practice, be a good teammate, and that strong is fast and fast is beautiful.
Describe a mistake you made while competing and how you overcame it.
Lexi: My biggest challenge is when I鈥檓 losing, especially in a tennis match. When I got down a few games I used to give up and try to end the match quickly. I鈥檝e learned that it doesn鈥檛 matter if I win or lose鈥攊t鈥檚 more important that I play my hardest the whole match. This has helped me fight to the very end and sometimes come back to win.
Anything else you鈥檇 like to add?
Lexi: If you have a dream, believe in yourself and work hard until you achieve it!
Interview with Grace:
What are your personal goals within your sport/athletic dreams?
Grace: Hopefully, I can place this year at state in both track and cross country.
What is your biggest challenge in your sport, and what do you do to manage this challenge?
Grace: The biggest challenge in running is staying motivated. There are hard races, hard workouts, hard runs鈥攂ut if you can get through the hard parts and stay motivated, you will succeed.
What was the best advice you were ever given?
Grace: To always put 100% effort into something if you commit to it. If you鈥檙e going to commit to a sport, you have to be willing to show up every day and put in all your effort.
What do you love about your sport?
Grace: I love the competitive nature of track. Once you step up to the line, it鈥檚 a race not only against the other runners but also against your own mind and body. Running is such a mental sport.
Do you have a pregame ritual you follow?
Grace: Before each race I always do my hair the same way and listen to the same songs. I also like to pray right before my race, giving me strength from God to go through the mental battle.
What do you like to do outside of your sport?
Grace: I really like hiking and climbing. Living in South Carolina there aren鈥檛 any mountains close, but whenever I can, I love to go.
What has being a member of a team taught you?
Grace: It has taught me how to work for something outside of myself. Even if I鈥檓 not feeling well, I know I have to give my best effort for my team so we can place well.
What is the best piece of advice you received from a coach or mentor?
Grace: To stop listening to my mind when I鈥檓 racing or doing a hard workout. Our brain often tries to tell us what we can鈥檛 do, but when we stop focusing on the 鈥渃an鈥檛,鈥� we can look ahead to what we can do.
Describe a mistake you made while competing and how you overcame it.
Grace: A mistake I often make is letting negative thoughts take over. It鈥檚 easy to tell myself I鈥檓 not fast enough or that I can鈥檛 do it, and then slow down. Lately I鈥檝e been working on staying positive throughout races and holding onto the idea that I can do anything.
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