Sharrika Barnett enters this weekend's SEC Indoor Championships with the top 400 meters time in the conference.
Country Music Relaxes SEC Leader Sharrika Barnett at Indoor Championships
Friday, February 24, 2017 | Track and Field
“It calms my mind, and I just like how it sounds,” Barnett said. “I don’t like to be amped up. It gets me more nervous. I like to be calm before my race.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sharrika Barnett, a sophomore sprinter for the Gators and native of St. Andrew, Jamaica, calms her mind before races with music.
But the mellow, rhythmic sound of reggae, which originated in Jamaica in the 1960s, is not permeating through her earbuds. Nor is the pounding bass and pulsating up-tempo beats of hip hop and rap. Outside of competition? Most certainly. She even mixes in gospel music when enjoying her downtime.
Leading into a race, however, Barnett relaxes herself with country music.
Carrie Underwood's soothing vocals put her at ease, as do the soft drums, melodic banjo, and peaceful fiddle in The Band Perry's "If I Die Young", along with the array of emotions gracefully pouring out of Sara Evans' "A Little Bit Stronger".
"It calms my mind, and I just like how it sounds," Barnett said. "I don't like to be amped up. It gets me more nervous. I like to be calm before my race."
Barnett's teammate and fellow Jamaican Clayton Brown is quick to say none of his countrymen listen to country music. Longtime Florida head coach Mike Holloway, a mentor to several Caribbean islanders throughout his tenure, though, is not nearly as surprised by Barnett's pre-race playlist.
"What I've found about the islanders is they enjoy all kinds of music," Holloway said through a slight laugh.
Barnett's musical preferences are clearly working this season, as she enters Friday (Feb. 24) night's SEC Indoor Championships with the conference's top 400 meters time of the year (52.07). She also ranks fourth nationally, and makes became the fifth-fastest indoor quarter-miler in school history last month at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
Last year was a much different tune.
Coming off the 400 meters title at New Balance Nationals Outdoor her senior year at Orlando's Oak Ridge High School, Barnett arrived at Florida with high expectations. A preseason injury slowed her progress, and sidelined her much of the indoor season. She debuted at SEC Indoor Championships—as a member of Florida's distance medley relay after a team title was out of reach. The indoor campaign closed with Barnett running on the Gators' seventh-place 4x4 at NCAA Indoor Championships.
Outdoors, she improved and pushed for an individual NCAA Championships berth, but came up short, again only earning All-America honors running on UF's 4x4. And her fastest time from high school (52.25) remained her personal record by one hundredth of a second.
Barnett chalked it up to a bad year. She also admitted it took a toll on her, both mentally and physically. Losing was abnormal to her. Falling behind runners she beat in high school made it even more difficult.
Holloway asked Barnett to do three things entering this season: trust the coaches, trust the workouts, and trust your abilities.
"He challenged me to believe in myself," Barnett said. "He just pushed me and helped me to be mentally strong. I started believing in myself, and it happened."
Barnett's quiet confidence has returned. She is even breaking out of her shell and putting her bright personality on display, something she kept mostly to herself as a quiet freshman adjusting to college life.
"She's more comfortable. She's made more friends," Holloway said. "It's just a typical thing of a young lady who was trying to find herself (last year). The more she finds herself, the better she's going to be. I'm just really excited to watch her continue to progress as we move forward."
That progress continues this weekend in Nashville, where there will undoubtedly be some country music coming through the speakers of the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility. What a calming sound it will be.
Follow Barnett and the Gators this weekend:
But the mellow, rhythmic sound of reggae, which originated in Jamaica in the 1960s, is not permeating through her earbuds. Nor is the pounding bass and pulsating up-tempo beats of hip hop and rap. Outside of competition? Most certainly. She even mixes in gospel music when enjoying her downtime.
Leading into a race, however, Barnett relaxes herself with country music.
Carrie Underwood's soothing vocals put her at ease, as do the soft drums, melodic banjo, and peaceful fiddle in The Band Perry's "If I Die Young", along with the array of emotions gracefully pouring out of Sara Evans' "A Little Bit Stronger".
"It calms my mind, and I just like how it sounds," Barnett said. "I don't like to be amped up. It gets me more nervous. I like to be calm before my race."
Barnett's teammate and fellow Jamaican Clayton Brown is quick to say none of his countrymen listen to country music. Longtime Florida head coach Mike Holloway, a mentor to several Caribbean islanders throughout his tenure, though, is not nearly as surprised by Barnett's pre-race playlist.
"What I've found about the islanders is they enjoy all kinds of music," Holloway said through a slight laugh.
Barnett's musical preferences are clearly working this season, as she enters Friday (Feb. 24) night's SEC Indoor Championships with the conference's top 400 meters time of the year (52.07). She also ranks fourth nationally, and makes became the fifth-fastest indoor quarter-miler in school history last month at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
????GATORS TOP 10 TIME????
— Gators T & F and XC (@GatorsTF) January 28, 2017
Sharrika Barnett WINS the #RazorbackInvite title in 52.07!
No. 3?? nationally and No. 5?? on the ???? all-time list ?? pic.twitter.com/gUqZeshWP2
Last year was a much different tune.
Coming off the 400 meters title at New Balance Nationals Outdoor her senior year at Orlando's Oak Ridge High School, Barnett arrived at Florida with high expectations. A preseason injury slowed her progress, and sidelined her much of the indoor season. She debuted at SEC Indoor Championships—as a member of Florida's distance medley relay after a team title was out of reach. The indoor campaign closed with Barnett running on the Gators' seventh-place 4x4 at NCAA Indoor Championships.
Outdoors, she improved and pushed for an individual NCAA Championships berth, but came up short, again only earning All-America honors running on UF's 4x4. And her fastest time from high school (52.25) remained her personal record by one hundredth of a second.
Barnett chalked it up to a bad year. She also admitted it took a toll on her, both mentally and physically. Losing was abnormal to her. Falling behind runners she beat in high school made it even more difficult.
Holloway asked Barnett to do three things entering this season: trust the coaches, trust the workouts, and trust your abilities.
"He challenged me to believe in myself," Barnett said. "He just pushed me and helped me to be mentally strong. I started believing in myself, and it happened."
Barnett's quiet confidence has returned. She is even breaking out of her shell and putting her bright personality on display, something she kept mostly to herself as a quiet freshman adjusting to college life.
"She's more comfortable. She's made more friends," Holloway said. "It's just a typical thing of a young lady who was trying to find herself (last year). The more she finds herself, the better she's going to be. I'm just really excited to watch her continue to progress as we move forward."
That progress continues this weekend in Nashville, where there will undoubtedly be some country music coming through the speakers of the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility. What a calming sound it will be.
Follow Barnett and the Gators this weekend:
Preview ?? + ?????? Schedule#TheMissionContinues #GoGatorshttps://t.co/F6xUVP6gb6
— Gators T & F and XC (@GatorsTF) February 24, 2017
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