"In a race, we are not opponents, but seekers after a common goal." -George Sheehan
So here we arrive at the last meet of the season, the Championship. Everything we have done up to now is to be put into the grand total of the ultimate performance on Sunday afternoon. Our common goal is to do the very best we can. This is why I asked the team on Thursday to pledge to their teammates on either side that they would do their best. This oath will make them resist the urge to slow down before the finish. When the "little voice" pops up and says: "This hurts, slow down," they will resist because they have pledged their word of honor to do their best. All of these kids have shown the commitment, courage and character to be great runners, now they have pledged their word.
But what is "great?" The race, George Sheehan once observed is "a synergistic society - a society in which everyone can be a winner." When your runners get out there on Sunday and toe the starting line, whether they run the 3/4, the mile or the mile and a half, they will learn that winning and losing is a process inside themselves. In that process, greatness emerges whether it is in the strength to fend off a late race challenger sprinting to the chute, or in the will to "carry on" even when you still have a half mile to go and everything inside hurts.
Becoming an athlete is special, especially for children because they learn that they can't expect anything for nothing...without training, your distance is limited. The personal control you gain from that knowledge is invaluable. It is a discipline that carries over into all aspects of life. I am always thrilled to see the numbers of our runners that make Principal's List and Honor Roll. I would like to believe that the discipline gained from conquering the personal ghosts on the training field and the race course help lead them to these academic heights.
The purest expression of the athlete is his or her performance in the contest. "Contest" has a Latin root, "contestere" which means "to seek together." When the starting horn sounds, each of those runners departs the chalk line and enters a new world, fresh with possibility and pulsing with urgency. They are seeking a common goal...they are no longer opponents, they are witnesses.
Godspeed to all!
So here we arrive at the last meet of the season, the Championship. Everything we have done up to now is to be put into the grand total of the ultimate performance on Sunday afternoon. Our common goal is to do the very best we can. This is why I asked the team on Thursday to pledge to their teammates on either side that they would do their best. This oath will make them resist the urge to slow down before the finish. When the "little voice" pops up and says: "This hurts, slow down," they will resist because they have pledged their word of honor to do their best. All of these kids have shown the commitment, courage and character to be great runners, now they have pledged their word.
But what is "great?" The race, George Sheehan once observed is "a synergistic society - a society in which everyone can be a winner." When your runners get out there on Sunday and toe the starting line, whether they run the 3/4, the mile or the mile and a half, they will learn that winning and losing is a process inside themselves. In that process, greatness emerges whether it is in the strength to fend off a late race challenger sprinting to the chute, or in the will to "carry on" even when you still have a half mile to go and everything inside hurts.
Becoming an athlete is special, especially for children because they learn that they can't expect anything for nothing...without training, your distance is limited. The personal control you gain from that knowledge is invaluable. It is a discipline that carries over into all aspects of life. I am always thrilled to see the numbers of our runners that make Principal's List and Honor Roll. I would like to believe that the discipline gained from conquering the personal ghosts on the training field and the race course help lead them to these academic heights.
The purest expression of the athlete is his or her performance in the contest. "Contest" has a Latin root, "contestere" which means "to seek together." When the starting horn sounds, each of those runners departs the chalk line and enters a new world, fresh with possibility and pulsing with urgency. They are seeking a common goal...they are no longer opponents, they are witnesses.
Godspeed to all!
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