Courtney McCool during her sophomore season
When the 5' tall beaming athlete approached I was immediately struck by her charisma. She was all smiles, incredibly outgoing, and assertive. I liked her instantly. Over the next two seasons I had a total of 6 photo sessions that included McCool. I didn't even mind when she took control with her own ideas or told me she didn't like a picture. It was always refreshing to photograph someone that really contributed to the shoot. Of all the athletes I've shot Courtney McCool cares the most about creating the best image we can.
Today I set up for the shoot, bouncing around the squishy mats and floor for the last time, until an enthusiastic McCool bounded towards me wanting to know what we were doing. We did two shots. The first is the opening pose of her floor routine. For the second I asked her to do one of her leaps. We got lucky in the first couple of tries and got the shot, but McCool wasn't done. She ran to see what we had after each attempt and insisted on going again and again trying to perfect something that already seemed perfect to me.
When it was over it was sad to say goodbye. She gave me a hug and demanded I can't go. I got to tell her how gymnastics has been my favorite thing I've covered during my time at the Athens Banner-Herald. I will face many more sad goodbyes in the next two days as my two weeks notice comes to an end. One wonderful thing about saying goodbye is learning that you truly will be missed and getting to tell people how you really feel about them.
Today I set up for the shoot, bouncing around the squishy mats and floor for the last time, until an enthusiastic McCool bounded towards me wanting to know what we were doing. We did two shots. The first is the opening pose of her floor routine. For the second I asked her to do one of her leaps. We got lucky in the first couple of tries and got the shot, but McCool wasn't done. She ran to see what we had after each attempt and insisted on going again and again trying to perfect something that already seemed perfect to me.
When it was over it was sad to say goodbye. She gave me a hug and demanded I can't go. I got to tell her how gymnastics has been my favorite thing I've covered during my time at the Athens Banner-Herald. I will face many more sad goodbyes in the next two days as my two weeks notice comes to an end. One wonderful thing about saying goodbye is learning that you truly will be missed and getting to tell people how you really feel about them.
Georgia senior gymnast Courtney McCool
Read Roger's story HERE.
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