Champions

What is a champion?

What makes someone a champion?

Here are some definitions of the word champion:

1.a person who has defeated all opponents in a competition or series of competitions, so as to hold first place: the heavyweight boxing champion. 

2.a person who fights for or defends any person or cause: a champion of the oppressed. 

3.a fighter or warrior. 

It's number 3 that I focus in on because that proves that each of us is a champion . Although we may have different goals and dreams, we are all champions.

We all  live for something different yet no one has a more important reason than anyone else. We are all champions in our own endeavors.

I am a champion because I keep pushing myself harder and harder to achieve a level of physical health that is better every year.  My physician will tell you I am doing this quite well, in fact, he says I am "an interesting and unusual subject".

My son (above), is a champion because he plays lacrosse 24/7, is on three different teams at once and even traveled to Canada this summer to play the Canadians! (Yes that is blood on his chin).

There are some people who are finally able to walk without the aid of a cane or a walker who are champions.

An Olympic athlete winning a medal is a champion.

My husband is a champion for the award winning wines he makes.

A child winning a spelling bee is a champion.

My father, who just underwent his first chemotherapy infusion on Monday is a champion. He is fighting hard for something many of us will never be able to even imagine, and it is far more difficult than anything I have ever done.


You are a champion. Don't let others tell you any differently. Whatever you are fighting for, believe in yourself, believe in your ability, believe in your right to achieve success, remember that YOU ARE A CHAMPION and never give up.

Below is an inspirational video that brings tears to my eyes each time I hear the speech. I have posted  this same speech before, but it was to a group of high school football players, it was a much different setting.


If you are an email subscriber you will need to navigate directly to the blog to view the video.

Which Wolf are you Feeding?

 

How do we keep our young people on track? How do we keep them off drugs and out of trouble? 

I think sports are an incredibly valuable tool, not only to keep them physically fit, but team sports build a lot of camaraderie and support groups and teach  self esteem.

This is my son (front, center red head with the mouth guard that makes it appear as though his front teeth are missing) and his lacrosse team this summer. He was invited to join this team, he only knew one player but after the weekend, he had made several great friends. We had spent the weekend at Treasure Island, I have not seen such a large outdoor lacrosse tournament ever!

My son pays lacrosse year round, and lives for the sport. We find ourselves shuttling all over the state, writing checks for equipment and tournaments all the time. He went to Canada this summer and he and David are heading to Huntington Beach on the Labor Day weekend for yet another tournament.

We spend a lot of time in the lacrosse world, but that's OK. 


I am very happy my son has found a passion, something he is willing to work hard for. A day doesn't go by that he is not out in the backyard shooting at the net, or out with friends playing lacrosse. You see, if we were not so supportive, he might be doing other things. He might be laying around watching TV all afternoon; he may be cruising around in cars, bored and finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time; he may be disenchanted with life in general, and have nothing to work for at all. 


I have heard from some parents that they cannot believe how much time and effort we put into this lacrosse business, but I can, because I can think of all the time and effort I might have to put into other, less pleasant things he could be involved in.


I think lacrosse is teaching him the difference between right and wrong, how you can succeed if you put your heart and soul into something, how you need to stay focused and set your sights high. 


He is planning on going to a Division III lacrosse school, he says they don't have football, so they really support their lacrosse players. He has it all figured out, he is focused.

There is an old Indian folktale about how a Chief of a small village was giving a talk to all the adolescent boys.  The Chief said, "Every one of us has two wolves in our lives.  One wolf lives on your left shoulder and this is the black wolf.  The black wolf is constantly telling us to procrastinate, put off the hard work until later and go out and have fun now.  The wolf that lives on our right shoulder is the white wolf.  This is the one that is always telling us to work tirelessly towards our goals.  The white wolf tells us to make time for visualizing and goal mapping.  The white wolf is the one that keeps us up late at night and wakes us up even earlier when all others are sleeping.  Others call the people that listen to the white wolf crazy, obsessed and fanatical.  The strange thing is that people call the people that listen to the black wolf normal." Some of the boys asked which one wins out, which one will we ultimately listen to?  The Chief replied, "The one that we feed the most."

Which wolf are you feeding?