~:[CH7 - Day 342]:~ The Right Traction

~:[CH7 - Day 342]:~ The Right Traction

These are my boys who took on the challenges of this year's National Junior Olympic race. They worked their way through the two qualifying rounds and made the trek up to Reno. It wasn't cheap by any means and attending meant that they had almost a full month more of training to do and for the alumni, they had to train period. In the end, they couldn't get their footing along the mud-soaked course and deal with the frigid temperatures too well (as you could see that even posing for a picture was a challenge, however, they battled and didn't give up. While we didn't have an All-American, we had a group who may not have won by stepping onto a podium, yet they won through their effort and these moments they created while on this trip. We ended the evening at a buffet and they went to a trampoline park and played laser tag, dodge ball and literally just jumped around and at some point after getting knocked out of dodgeball, I just laid there and saw the joy on their faces and smiled. They couldn't quite get the right footing on the course, but they certainly found the right traction in life. Sometimes when you win you lose and often when you "lose" you actually win. There can only be one champion in many cases, however, there are many that can win at this thing called life. No, it's not a millennial perspective, rather it's seeing that life encompasses more than the trophies and medals that line your mantle and walls. Today, I found out that our school lost a former teacher and coach who was nothing but amazing when I met him. While I never had him in class or as an athlete, I encountered him many times even after he retired. His smile, his genuine greetings, and his love for the things around him demonstrated that he had the right traction in life. It is in sadness that we mourn his death, but in celebration that we were able to travel this road along with him. I have no clue how many awards or championships he collected in his lifetime, but it matters not, as it was him, as a person that demonstrated that he truly won at life. I hope my athletes can see that. They battled these frigid and muddy conditions as I was brought back to laying down in the dodgeball trampoline area defeated after being knocked out, I couldn't help but smile, because once again, these athletes helped me find another victory in life.