NicoleRecently the high school cross country team I coach for had its season-end banquet. It’s a low-key potluck in the school’s middle school cafetorium (it’s a K-12 campus), although most everyone gets dressed up a bit. We recognize all the kids with participation certificates, the head coach says a few words about each one, and then we hand over the floor to the team captains who usually have a presentation and gifts for seniors. After that the head coach will say something brief as a final farewell motivation for the year and graduating seniors. I’ve always gladly taken a backseat role in these banquets, letting the head coach do most of the talking. But this year I asked to say a few words to the kids and their parents at the end.
I proceeded to briefly share my story. Unless the kids and their parents did a lot of social media stalking, they didn’t know I have MS. For some reason, it seemed like this was the right time to use it as a lesson for them. I briefly explained what MS is and how it affects me, and then I told them something like this: (This is what I prepared, but probably not the exact words I used.)
“So there I was, a triathlete, cyclist, runner, and professional coach, already dealing with a setback due to hip surgeries, and I get told I have a disease that any day could impact my ability to run or even walk.
Whoa. That’s some serious news! You can imagine that wasn’t a very good day. What did I do?
I had a choice on how to respond. On one hand I could have gotten bitter, angry, essentially crawled in a hole and have said “why me?” But that wouldn’t have done any good. Instead I chose to just keep going. At that point, all I needed to do is recover from hip surgery so I could train again. If the MS is not impacting my ability to coach, swim, bike, or run, there’s no need to stop. In fact, I appreciate even more that I can be out at practice every day with you, as not everyone with MS would be able to.
What can we learn from this? Every one of you has faced some kind of obstacle. How did you respond?
I guarantee as you continue on with high school, sports, college, work, and life in general, you will all face more obstacles. Some will be small, others significant. How will you respond?
You have a choice. So take the obstacle, regardless of size, simply as a challenge and keep on the path you want to be on, the path to achieve your goals.”
And then I finished up with this quote:
“Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have.” –Norman Vincent Peale
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After the banquet some of the kids came up and said thank you for coaching them, as usual. We get handshakes, some hugs, and take pictures with them. A few of the parents do the same thing, minus the photos. This year I got a lot of hugs from parents, lots of “thank you for sharing your story,” and lots of “your attitude is amazing” kind of compliments. I think the parents got the lesson, and hopefully the kids did, too. I had one parent tell me how he had a rough time in high school, and one teacher shared his personal story with the class, and that resonated with him and helped him get out of his rough situation and keep going. If what I said to these kids and their parents helps one person through a tough situation, I am grateful.
I am also thankful that
- I have the opportunity to coach great kids and hopefully make a long-lasting positive impact on them.
- Despite the MS, I am otherwise healthy and can continue to compete in endurance events, as well as get out and enjoy the beautiful state of Colorado.
- I love my job coaching athletes around the world in endurance “adventures,” coaching local athletes in the pool, leading group rides, and just being available to help endurance athletes achieve things they thought not possible.
- I am part of an amazing team at 303triathlon.com and 303cycling.com.
- I have an amazing support group of family and friends, near and far. I probably don’t tell them enough how grateful I am for them.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Nicole
