It's the shorts for St. Pius junior Shelby Ashe.
In the span of a year, Ashe has gone from a relatively unknown athlete who failed to qualify for Georgia's state championship track meet to one of the country's more promising stars.
Earlier this month, Ashe set the high school record for the weight throw with a toss of 65-4 1/4 at the 27th annual National Scholastic Indoor Championships in New York.
And she was wearing the gold-colored shorts while doing it.
“I guess you could say that they are special," Ashe said with a laugh. "I don't know if the shorts contain any confidence-boosting powers, but wearing them makes it all the more fun.
“It's not really worth all the hard work and effort if you're not having fun. Getting dressed up or dolled up in the gold spandex makes it that more fun."
Two years ago, Ashe joined the track team at St. Pius and showed a lot of promise in the discus and shot put. She finished second in the region in the shot put and qualified for the state meet but did not place. Last year, Ashe didn't make it out of region in either event.
“It was very disappointing for Shelby, but it really seemed to motivate her," St. Pius coach Chad Garrison said. "Since that time ... wow ... she has gone through some major changes, and it has led to some big things."
Last spring, Ashe decided to train year-round, and joined the "Throw1deep" club team. She studied under coach Mike Judge, who set school records in the javelin and shot put while competing at the University of Georgia.
“Mike told me that I had incredible potential and I could really go places," Ashe said. "For me, it was a little bit of wishful dreaming, but it was a nice thought. However, it got to be tangible somewhere in the middle of the [club] indoor season. I got rolling."
Ashe learned how to hurl the 20-pound weight farther than any other high school female in the country. Before the nationals, Judge had presented his prized pupil with a gift.
“I wasn't sure about them at first," Ashe said. "Sometimes, you have to look good to feel good. And nothing looks good like metallic gold spandex."
Ashe re-joined the school's track team last week and finished first in the shot put in her first meet -- the Coaches Classic at Georgia Tech. Of course, she was wearing her newfound lucky shorts.
“I just love her to death because she is such a good girl," Garrison said. "She is concerned for others, wants others to do well, and is competitive as anyone I know.
“Shelby got some great instruction [from Judge] and put in all the hard work. She just took off in the sport, and it has been a rapid rise."
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