Braheme’s Blog
Braheme Days, Jr., an 18 year old senior at Bridgeton HS in New Jersey, has the formidable look and bearing of a competitor. Unlike NSAF's other blogger, the diminuitive Erin Finn, Braheme's build is unmistakably athletic and powerful. He's conservatively listed as 6-1 and 299 pounds on Wikipedia. Football, some may immediately and incorrectly conclude, is the sport of choice for Braheme. Nope. Braheme Days, Jr. is a track and field man through and through, making his biggest mark on the sport in the shot put and earning notice for his exemplary work ethic.
Braheme won the shot put bronze medal at the 2011 World Youth Championships in France. His launch of 70-8 won the Eastern States Indoor Championships in 2012 and now ranks him #7 all-time in high school history. He went on to win the 2012 NBNI shot put title, but had his outdoor post-season shortened to heal up a knee issue. Back at full strength, Braheme shared his sense of humor and his college choice with this Facebook post on December 22, 2012: Two tidbits of good news today. 1. I survived 12/21/12 2. I'm a Florida Gator. That is all. This indoor season, Braheme recently earned US #1 status and NSAF Athlete of the Week honors for his 69-0 put. Not bad for a guy who had a 42-foot PR in the ninth grade (see work ethic above!).
We at NSAF thought it would be fun to follow along with Braheme as he prepares to defend his NBNI title. It is our absolute pleasure to introduce to you national champ, World Youth Bronze Medalist, and the typical 70-foot shot putter next door, Braheme Days, Jr.!
Blog Entry for February 13, 2013
Training: This past week went by at about exactly 872,485 BAFRILLION miles per hour! However because I am Braheme all work was completed in a timley fashion and by that I mean with little to no time for sleep or training; the 2 things I like the most. Weight room time was essentially non-existent and thus Coach and I compensated by finally implementing a wind into my throwing form, admittedly a task well past due. This week’s practice relied heavily on many throwing repetitons and little weight training.
School: Finally, the first semester is OVER! ½ way through senior year and I’m already ¾ tired of high school. Anyway, I was given my new semester courses and met all my new course teachers at which point I was pleasantly surprised with my instructors.
Competition: This week’s competition was very good and firstly I’d like to say congrats to Nick Pulli of West Deptford who came up with a big toss to upset Joshua Awotunde of Delsea. I have to say stuff like that excites me, it’s a reminder of the fact that track & field still has the competitive quality which is sometimes lost. About me, I tossed 68’8’’ after a week of technique tinkering and frankly Im excited about this upcoming week’s competition.
College: In the a grand finale style, my week ended in a BIG BANG fashion ……….
I SIGNED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-LOS ANGELES!
Blog Entry for February 3, 2013
This week was FINALS week! Nothing more intense than teachers dangling 1/3 of your semester grade based on one test that they probably have been making and revising throughout the entire semester to be virtually unpassable. Of course, because the big guy is "down" with all my respective instructors, they were questions I had already seen and thus the hardest question posed was, "How do I spend the extra 54mins of this period pretending like I'm not done?"
Training:
In terms of training, this was a very light week; in fact the only thing that weighed heavily on me was the shot put.
Competition:
This week’s meet was very exciting and the direct reason for that was the solid and consistent competition present. Any time I’m pitted against stiff competitors like Kofi Yamoah, James Plummer, and Joshua Awotunde there’s a bit of excitement that fuels a tense competition.
For athletes, competition is like battle, an institution born from a respectful challenge. Every meet we challenge each other to not only to win medals but to win respect. After nearly every throw there was quietness present when each of us entered the circle. The quietness---an acknowledgment of respect for the possibility of a new competition-leading throw. Luckily, after a series of shot put battles, I was able to go home hoisting my shield (medal), wanting nothing more than to come back better and compete for it again.
