Photo By Sgt. Lennon Dregoiw | Amber Marchetta, youth sports coordinator, Marine Corps Community Services Iwakuni,...... read more read more
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The above-ground pipes clink and snap into place as water rushes through them at the break of dawn. As the pipes continue their morning chorus, a muffled phone alarm announces its presence. Alerted to the crisp sound, her eyes open with ease. It is the start of another day; another opportunity to push bodies to their limits.
Her typical morning starts with a spin class – lights off, loud music and lots of energy. High intensity lies in wait in her instructor bag, itching for the clock to hit exactly 5 a.m. Fitness students mount stationary bikes and pedals begin to rotate. The high intensity has found its next targets, she will aim it at those who are used to snooze buttons, stifled yawns, and lazy morning showers. High intensity is her domain, where fires are lit in the soles of her disciples.
The instructor- she is someone who always manages to push others and challenge them, to pick them up when they feel down. She is motivating. She is inspiring. She is Amber Marchetta.
“Life is against you,” said Marchetta. “To build independence, confidence, and the strength to continue moving forward, you have to believe in yourself. Once you have conquered your mind, you can conquer anything.”
And there is still an entire day left for Marchetta to conquer. Spin class ends, but her day is just getting started. It’s barely 6 a.m. and her next job begins; Marchetta is a mother and her two kids must be ready for school. Scrambling for time as she gets the little ones on their way, her regular day job is about to begin. Instructor of morning spin classes: check; full-time mom: check; youth sports coordinator for Marine Corps Community Services aboard Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, Japan: yes, that’s Marchetta as well. Check and check.
Highly active as a child, Marchetta continued her athletic journey at the college level, performing gymnastics as part of the Northern Illinois University cheer squad. After college and facing the rigors of new motherhood, Marchetta’s immediate priorities could have shifted, yet she continued to strive to make athletics a cornerstone of her life.
“I got back into fitness shortly after I had my son,” said Marchetta. “Like many moms, you lose part of your identity when you have children. I lost touch with a lot of things that made me happy and made me, me.”
Instead of throwing in the proverbial towel, Marchetta chose to find the balance between family and fitness, a testament to her unique drive and passion for pushing past self-imposed limits, especially to the benefit of others.
“When I think to myself, what fills my cup, I think back to the times when I was a competitive athlete,” she said. “Being able to reinvest time back into myself, active duty personnel, spouses, coaches and most importantly the youth athletes, that’s what fills my cup.”
In less than five years, Marchetta built MCAS Iwakuni’s youth sports program from the ground up, reinvented a pre-existing gymnastics class and other youth sports programs on the air station, personally trained base residents, and improved physical fitness for small groups and entire units alike.
Marchetta knows her time at MCAS Iwakuni is soon coming to a close. This leaves her reflecting on the past five years and the legacy she built here on the air station.
“Iwakuni has been home, “said Marchetta. “Home for my family. Home for my mind and my body, but mostly my heart. I hope something leads me back here to Iwakuni in the future.”
Marchetta used her roles as a youth sports coordinator and a fitness coach as opportunities to hone her skills, pass on her talents, and spread passion to a huge portion of the air station’s residents.
“These are the things I believe in,” she said. “To give back to the community that gave so much to me has been incredible, and I am so thankful and appreciative.”
After more than a year of separation from her husband, a U.S. Navy hospital corpsman who left Iwakuni to attend school, Amber Marchetta will find her family reunited at Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, at the end of 2021.
Although her cup overflowed here in Iwakuni, Marchetta is ambitious to start filling it once more in Yokosuka. Her skills, talents and passions will be on full display as she embraces a new community.
“You don’t make a life about what you get, but a life of what you give,” she said. “Give where you can, start where you are, and do God’s work with your hands. If you do good for your community, then your community will do good for you.”
| Date Taken: | 12.22.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.27.2021 20:33 |
| Story ID: | 411949 |
| Location: | IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JP |
| Web Views: | 820 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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