Gracie McDermott. Jam the Gym means this...
With most all of last years seniors already headed out of town, and into their bright future, I enlisted the last one here, Gracie McDermott, to "tap out a few paragraphs" about what Jam the Gym means. She blew me away with this response. Thank you Gracie, best of luck at West Chester!
With only a little bit of time left before I start my years as a college student, I've spent the past couple of days stuffing my life into suitcases. One of those (to my mother's discontent) is filled to the brim with T-shirts. These tightly folded layers of colorful cotton don't seem like a big deal, but they define my high school career. A peek into the suitcase would reveal a navy shirt with white angel wings, a white one that shows a woman in a teal shirt, and a few that advertise three words: Jam the Gym. Since I'll be going to a school so far removed from the big KA, I can already assume that new friends will be asking what my shirts mean. "What's a Jam the Gym?" "Who's Jaime?" "What does this all mean?" As a proud KAVB alum, I'll say just what those three words mean to me. And it'll sound a little something like this:
Jam the Gym means purple and orange ribbons tied into my best friends' ponytails. It means teams from all over the area joining mine on the court for the National Anthem. It means support; it means community. Jam the Gym means being recognized for our struggle, and more importantly, our relentless fight. It means remembering Jaime, our inspiration. It means remembering Jenna, our faith. Jam the Gym means bleachers full of peers letting us know we aren't alone. Jam the Gym means Ellen Toy, the survivor. It means cancer doesn't stand a chance against our coach. It means being brave. Jam the Gym means heartfelt opening remarks by Tim Toy. It means gazing into the stands and nervously squeezing the hands of my teammates. It means swallowing our tears, taking a deep breath, and waiting for that first whistle. Jam the Gym, no matter the outcome of the game, means that we're stronger together than we could ever be apart. And that's absolutely beautiful.
Gracie McDermott was the 2014 winner of the Jaime Vick Moran Scholarship