At one point in everyone’s lives, they have a coach. A coach is someone who teaches a person right from wrong, and how to do things a certain way. A coach is a leader, and a teacher.  Steve Cacchione was my gymnastics coach for seven years. To me, Steve was more than just my coach. He was a friend, someone I respected, and someone who respected me. Steve encouraged me to be the best gymnast I could be.

Steve Cacchione always had a positive attitude and made the gym have a fun and relaxing atmosphere. He was a person who loved his job. He loved to coach gymnastics and to work with the twenty girls that were on my team. Every day he would make sure we practiced to the best of our ability that day.

It’s hard to say goodbye to someone who has made a life changing impact on your life. But upon entering high school, I had to do just that.  I joined the high school gymnastics team, leaving behind my coach Steve and all my other teammates. It was sad, but definitely worth it. At first, I hated high school gymnastics, but now I love it. Although Steve has changed my life, the CHS gymnastics team will leave a greater impact on my life.

Walking up the stairs to the Westosha Central High School Gymnastics Center, I get nervous but relaxed at the same time. This is the place I have known since I was four years old. The familiar faces and equipment make the gym feel like a home away from home. I always love going to practice.

Gymnastics has thought me a lot about myself and about life. I have learned how to overcome fears and how to be committed and dedicated to something my whole life. “If you think you can, then you can,” has been drilled into my head by coaches over the years. That saying has become a way of life. I learned that nothing is impossible and how to reach for my dreams. You can never have a goal to big, and nothing is ever impossible if you work hard enough. Gymnastics has taught me self-discipline. I have gained the courage to explore unique talents, the confidence to set goals, the creativity to reach them, and the discipline to achieve. Gymnastics has thought me lessons such as the value of dedication and perseverance. Gymnastics has greatly influenced the person I am. It is a growing experience, learning more every day.

Gymnastics has made me grow up fast. I learned how to balance everything. Gymnastics taught me how to be good at planning and organizing. I learned how to be serious when needed. Gymnastics has taught me life lessons I carry over to other aspects in my life. I look for a solution until I find it, especially in school.

Gymnastics has influenced my life in several ways. Although I can feel the end of my gymnastics career coming close, I still get the same feeling walking up those maroon stairs up to the gym. With hard work and dedication, I can be the best at whatever I choose.

“Certainly there would be sadness- Aunt Gloria was a widow, my father was suddenly, like me, an only child, Grandma’s tears would fill a rain barrel- but this grief would pass. Once the mourning period passed, we would have our lives back, and if they would not be exactly what they had been earlier, they would be close enough for my satisfaction.” (Watson 161-162).

Larry Watson was the author of Montana, 1948. The narrator, David Hayden, was the son of an officer named Wesley Hayden and his wife Gail Hayden. Frank Hayden was Wesley’s brother and also David’s uncle. Gloria Hayden was married to Frank, and she was David’s aunt. This quote is the quote of the novel because it explains what happened in Watson’s book, Montana, 1948, and how they Hayden family feels about it.

“Certainly there would be sadness…” (Watson 161). Everyone in the Hayden family was sad over their loved ones death. Uncle Frank took his own life when his secret actions were revealed. He feared of the consequences of his actions. Uncle Frank should have had the courage to stand up for himself even though he knew what he did was wrong. He should have thought about how others would feel about the choice he made about suicide.

Uncle Frank did not realize how much he was loved by his family. If he realized that he might not have taken his life. Everything is all right in the end, if it is not all right, it is not the end. Uncle Frank should have realized that everything will be better in the end. This quote explains how much he was loved and how miserable everyone was about Uncle Frank’s decision. “…Once the mourning period passed, we would have our lives back, and if they would not be exactly what they had been earlier, they would be close enough for my satisfaction.” (Watson 161-162). David Hayden hopes that once everyone stops showing their sadness, everyone will forget about what Uncle Frank did and all their lives will go back to normal.

This quote of the novel explains what happened in Watson’s book, Montana, 1948, and how they Hayden family feels about it. Someday, everyone will forget what Uncle Frank did to the Indian girls. When that day comes, everyone will be happy again.

“Mercer County is the farthest northeast corner of Montana, and Bentrock is barely inside the state’s borders. Canada is only 12 miles away, and North Dakota 10 miles. Then, as now, Mercer County was both farm and ranch, but with only a few exceptions. On the western edge of the country was the Fort Warren Indian Reservation, the rockiest and the sandiest, roads were unpaved, and many of its shacks looked as though it could barely hold a breeze.”

RELATIONSHIP: PAGE 16

“But not my father, he was 4-F. When he was 16 a horse kicked him, breaking his leg so severely that he walks with a permanent limp, and eventually a cane. His right leg V-ed in, his right knee perpetually pointed to the left.”

METAPHOR: PAGE 65

“Had I any sensitivity at all I might have recognized that all this talk about wind and dirt and mountains and childhood was my mother’s way of saying she wanted a few moments of purity, a temporary escape from the sordid drama that was playing out in her own house. But I was on the trail of something that would lead my out of childhood.”

NOVEL: PAGE 163

“Certainly there would be sadness- Aunt Gloria was a widow, my father was suddenly, like me, an only child, Grandma’s tears would fill a rain barrel- but this grief would pass. Once the mourning period passed, we would have our lives back, and if they would not be exactly what they had been earlier, they would be close enough for my satisfaction.”

He doesn’t know what it takes

To learn from his mistakes

Sneaking around

Hoping he doesn’t make a sound

He prays his secret won’t be found

His brother Wes is a sleuth.

And when he gathers enough proof

Wes finally reveals the truth

Frank tries to be sly

And cover up his lies

And in the end he dies

Frank is a snake

Not realizing what was at stake

Leaving people with heartache