Being A Champion Never Gets Old!

As a teenager, I was a thrower on my school's track team for a few years. A great experience for sure.

During the Skype interview for my teaching job here in Copan, the interviewer asked if I ever participated in school athletics as a student. When he found out I used to be a thrower, he told me the school's track team competes in the throwing events. He said it in a way that made me suspect I might be roped into helping out with coaching.

When track season began here last month, that is exactly what happened. And I want you to know that coaching young throwers has been pretty fantastic.

October 2013 - athletes from our school standing on the medalist podium at last year's national meet.
FYI: the Spanish word for winner is "ganador."

Track season is really short, and the big meet is approaching fast - next Thursday, in fact. For me, the anticipation has begun to make me wish I could step into the discus circle next week and compete!

Then today, when we started practice, my excitement reached a whole new level. I think the kids could tell.

I said to the throwers, “Okay, here we go. It’s almost time for the meet, and I’m excited. I feel like I did when I was where you are. And the team I was on - we were the best. We won the big meet. All we could do back then was be our best, and that ended up being enough to make us the best team. And that’s just what I want to see from you - be your best. That’s all anybody can do."

Now what's funny to me is I hadn't even planned to say any of that!

More photos from the national meet last year:

Here's Katia, and above is Victor - two throwers who are forced to receive a triple dose of me every day

for English class, Literature class, and then track & field!

The other week, one of the team captains read a famous quote at the end of practice. I knew I had heard it before, but this time, I seemed to FEEL it. And I haven’t stopped feeling it for several days now.

Here's the quote, attributed to Muhammad Ali:
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion’."