Page 21 - DEC2023

December 2023 NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM Page 21
If Emerald Briggs were a su- perhero, her superpower would be humility. Emerald has a quiet, unassuming way about her. Like a river in a thunderstorm, she is an unstoppable force that you hardly notice at first, but once you do, you can’t look away.
Emerald is the personification of the 3 D’s for Success: deter- mination, dedication, and disci- pline. Determination is defined as the firmness of purpose. Ded- ication is defined as the quality of being committed to a task or purpose. Discipline or, (self-disci- pline), is defined as the ability to push yourself forward, stay moti- vated, and take action, regardless of how you’re feeling. Emerald Briggs possesses these traits, but she is defined by herself. And she is only a sophomore!
When Emerald first came to the Newfound Cross Country team as a freshman last season, she was not running due to a knee injury, but she was Deter- mined to run again. The rest of the team was preparing for the season by going out for runs,
as Emerald spent each practice doing rehab workouts and walk- ing on the Mills Oval. She came to me after about a week of prac- tice and said, “Coach, should I even be coming to practice? I feel like I am just a distraction to the rest of the team”. To which I re- sponded, “Absolutely, you should be coming to practice Emerald.”
In my mind at the time, I thought that she needed the team to help her through, but I now see that it was the team that needed her. She never once showed an inkling of waiver in her routine. She did her workouts, showed progress, and showed the rest of the team what true determina- tion looks like.
According to Emerald's father, Kenneth, “Emerald is so Ded- icated to cross country, all she does is eat, sleep, and run, and not necessarily in that order.” Since Emerald came back from her knee injury, she has literally not stopped running. As her coach, I sometimes feel like a computer programmer. She is absolutely tireless in workouts,
and her ability to absorb infor- mation is simply incredible. It’s like writing code. If I give her an
done it to myself on several oc- casions. It takes a tremendous amount of Discipline to “stick to the plan” (which is one of our team mottos) and not run too much, too fast. Emerald seems to have mastered this skill. She adds mileage and intensity to her runs in steady, manageable incre- ments that help her advance her running economy while staying healthy and avoiding setbacks.
Along with discipline in her running, Emerald also practices discipline in her academics. She is ranked in the top ten in her class, and she also maintains a GPA of over 4.0. Her teachers have nothing but great things to say about her. Mr. Behre, her science teacher, says, “If all of my students were carbon cop- ies of Emerald, I wouldn’t have to teach anymore.” Her math teacher/math team coach, Ms. Warman, says, “She is a great collaborator and listener, espe- cially when it comes to topics that she hasn't been taught yet.”
Emerald had one of the best seasons in Newfound Cross
Country history this year! She began the season running second for us, but before long, she was able to move into the number one spot, and she never looked back. She finished 5th at the D3 State Championships. This is the third-best finish for a Newfound girl ever at States. She is only the second Newfound girl to finish in the top five (Emma Lundberg finished 1st twice). At the Meet of Champions (which is all of the best runners from divisions 1, 2, and 3), she finished 29th with a blistering time of 19:32! She only missed going to New Englands by four spots. She also finished 6th out of all the girls from Divi- sion 3 that day, which locked up her spot for All-State honors.
Emerald has simply worked hard, worked smart, and done it all quietly and humbly. She has shown the rest of our team and the rest of Division 3 what determination, dedication, and discipline can produce. And once again, as a sophomore, Em- erald is just getting started; stay tuned...
December Shining Star: Emerald Briggs
Sports
Newfound Nature Station Explores Evergreens!
HEBRON — Join the New- found Lake Region Association (NLRA) as we explore the world of evergreen plants during New- found Nature Station, a
free program that con-
nects youth and fami-
lies to the natural world.
This event will be held
at Grey Rocks Conserva-
tion Area at 178 N Shore
Road, Hebron, NH on December 12 from 1 pm
to 3 pm and December
16 from 10 am to 12 pm.
Plant survival in a wintery
world takes a number of forms- those plants that
don’t shed their leaves
in fall face the weight of
more snow & ice and have
to find ways to limit water loss. While we might think of pine trees first, these hardy winter companions come in all shapes and sizes. Join us as we take a closer look at the variety of ev- ergreen plants at Grey Rocks,
learn about their cold weather adaptations, and make a craft to take home. This program is free and open to all.
enjoy the natural beauty around them, learn more about the en- vironment and how to protect it, and fall in love with the New-
found Watershed. By connecting the people of Newfound to the won- ders around them, NLRA works to inspire the next generation of stewards and fulfill the mission of protecting Newfound Lake and its watershed. Along with programs like Newfound Nature Sta- tion, NLRA maintains Grey Rocks Conservation Area in all seasons as a place for people and wild- life alike. It offers walking trails, a picnic area, fish-
ing alcoves, and a non-motorized boat launch and is frequented by wildlife like loons, turtles, and bald eagles as well as people. Learn more about NLRA in- cluding other upcoming events at NewfoundLake.org.
instruction, she instantly imple- ments it into her routine.
As distance runners, it is very easy for us to overdo it and break ourselves. This is something I know quite a bit about, as I have
Photo of rhododendron in snow courtesy of the National Park Service
Newfound Nature Station, along with other family pro- grams and events, is part of NLRA’s year-round work to en- courage residents and visitors to