On Wednesday, I participated in the Seahawks Media/Influencer combine and let's just put this out there right away... I am not a land sport person and I am out of shape! We ran, we "jumped" and we caught footballs at the VMAC in a light-hearted and fun attempt to put local media and influencers through just a few of the tests NFL hopefuls are put through each year at the combine.
You may be wondering why I put "jumped" in "quotes;" and the answer is simple, I am Ashley and I. Can't. Jump. Not even a little bit. I stepped up to the vertical jump contraption and my first question was, "has anyone ever missed the whole thing?" Their answer, "we can lower it if we need to." Luckily for me, they didn't need to; unfortunately, my husband's estimate of my 13" vert may have been a little overzealous. I started feeling pretty good about my 7'4" hops, until I remembered I had to account for the length of my arm... yeah, it was bad.
Next up was the broad jump and that's just a mean thing to make anyone do. The hashmarks make it look so close, but let me let you in on a little tip, it's not. Two 4-year olds went before me and my only goal was to jump further than them... let's just say we may have tied.
From there we went to the gauntlet, definitely my favorite because I may not run and I may not jump, but I can catch (thank you water polo!). What I didn't account for was seeing video of my performance and realizing I was not as gazelle-like as I felt in that moment. I also didn't account for the weird faces I make when trying to catch a football. I caught 6 of 7 and it was the last pass that took my middle two fingers and bent them in a different direction. Yes, I injured myself. I sent my husband a text to tell him I destroyed my fingers; his response, "how? you don't need a finger to run or jump." He had a point.
They saved the 40-yard dash for last and that was a treat. I got into my stance wincing as I touched my fingers to the turf, my eyes fixed on the finish line 40 yards ahead. The flag dropped and about a second and a half later, I was off! Apparently I am not what they call "quick out the gate." (In fact, the sloth next to me got a head start.) I finished my 40 in 8.4, I like to blame the extremely slow start... and my lack of speed... that has to be accounted for as well.
It was a fun day, I laughed at myself (A LOT) and I thank the Seahawks for having me out... and my coworkers for not stepping up to take the challenge, leaving me as the only option. Thanks guys!
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