Champion.
[cham-pee-uhn]
–noun
1. a person who has defeated all opponents in a competition or series of competitions, so as to hold first place.
2. anything that takes first place in competition.
3. an animal that has won a certain number of points in officially recognized shows
4. a person who fights for or defends any person or cause
5. a fighter or warrior.
If you ask 10 people what the definition of the word is, I think you will receive 10 similar answers. Try it. They'll all sound like the definition I've provided above.
Just don't make me one of the ten people you ask.
Not anymore.
A small and very special group of 10 to 12 year old student athletes and a soft-spoken man I had never met erased the definition of a word I thought I knew.
Certainly our Hastings Gophers fulfilled the definition, as listed in the dictionary, in its entirety this past weekend at the 2009 Hastings Squirt Invitational Tournament. They defeated 3 tough hockey teams in consecutive games, including defeating a team that had owned them all year.
The Gophers were all over their arch-rival and nemesis Wolverines. They were up 6-1 until their opponents scored with less than 2 seconds remaining in the game. They played brilliantly as a team, and never once did I get the impression in the days leading up to the game, that they felt they would not emerge victorious. They defeated the Wolverines with the type of play that earned them the conference’s 2nd best record during the season. It was teamwork, passing, tough defense, great goaltending, constant hustle, and a never quit attitude that propelled them to tournament glory. Whether it was Sunny and Jonathon or Woody and Blake masterfully patrolling the blue line, their superior efforts were crucial in maintaining possession of the puck in the zone. Brett, Payton, Anders, Kannon and Garrett played a great offensive passing game and were always present on the backcheck as well. Zach and Joe traded off handling the center iceman’s position, and once again dominated face-offs, a trend repeated in virtually every game this season. They really put it all together for three periods and played their little rodent hearts out! (yes, just one more rodent reference!) I saw Anders throw himself on the ice, sliding headfirst into the boards just to defend a shot and keep it from getting through to Jake! This type of effort exemplified the Gophers’ play Sunday.
The victory qualifies our Gophers, by any measure of the working, established definition, as "Champions".
But what I witnessed this past weekend gave me pause to reconsider that definition as I see it in my mind's eye.
Winning the tournament made them the Champions of Squirt hockey in Hastings for 2008-2009. That is something that will never be taken away from them now, and is a moment that will live forever in the hearts and minds of these boys as they continue to grow into young men.
I know it will also live in mine for just as long.
Rewind…
Let me tell you a personal story before I continue...
It's the story of a boy.
He is a quiet, attentive, thoughtful, bright and athletic boy. This boy had never played hockey before this winter. Beyond that, he had only laced up skates and attempted to stay standing while on ice a mere 8-10 times prior to deciding he was going to go out in front of all his classmates and friends and willingly endure falling down through three days of evaluations.
After the first day of evaluations, this boy was dejected, frustrated, and felt very alone. His friends, afterall, were almost all accomplished skaters and hockey players already. In fact, after the first hour of evaluations, while I helped him remove his dripping wet, snow and sweatsoaked practice jersey and socks, one of his closest friends who was sitting next to him on the bench, whispered to him,"Was this your first time skating too?"
I swear I saw that boy's internal spirit nearly spontaneously crush right before my eyes. But he quietly shook his head no, and continued undressing. He must have felt as though he was peeling away layers of his soul, baring the most sensitive layers for all to see. He couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
The quiet car ride home was interrupted by his ten year old voice. He looked at me and said, "Dad, I thought I'd be better." and his voice broke on the last word to escape his trembling face. I was forced to look out my own window as I spoke to my son, fearful he would see the tears of sympathy well up in my own eyes as I recited to him the last two stanzas of a poem called "Don't Quit!" I memorized that has carried me through more than one hard time over the years.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out—
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
I'm not sure how much of that he absorbed, or whether I spoke the words for his benefit or my own at that exact moment; but our eyes locked as I spoke the final stanza of that poem. When I was finished, I told my son that the decision was his, and I would support that decision regardless of what it was.
My son told me he wasn't quitting.
End of personal story and fast forward…
Sometimes when people come into your life, they don't merely brush anonymously past or pass silently through your life, they truly touch it. Perhaps their generosity and compassion make them virtually unaware of the depths their positive influence touches. Coach John Dale drafted my son to play on the Hastings Gophers in the fall of 2008. It was one of the most thrilling moments of my boy's life. He was going to be a hockey player. He was on a TEAM!
As my son played with this great team of boys over the winter, subtle changes took place in him. He was happier and had more self-confidence than ever. He practiced his new favorite sport nearly every day of the week for hours on end, and he even worked harder in school. He spoke of his coaches and teammates often and looked forward to each and every time he would get to see them. He was driven to be the best he could be so he wouldn't let them down. He refused to miss a practice and even to arrive late was unacceptable to him.
But my son merely being selected and coached by John isn't what touched our lives. It was the way in which he coached; the manner in which he taught, and the sensitivity to each player's psyche, that touched our lives. I believe that all of our boys probably have a greater sense of teamwork and class than before, due to their coaching.
When the final buzzer sounded on Sunday evening at Hastings Civic Arena, and the Gophers had emerged victorious, equipment flew into the air, hands were thrust upwards in elation, and the boys celebrated together by hugging and mobbing their goaltender. They then stood and honored their opponents as they received their second place medals.
As the coaches, John, Brian and Todd stepped forward to receive the 1st place Championship trophy, the Gophers players all moved instantly, and in a coordinated fashion, into the traditional Minnesota Gopher Stick Salute.
This was an awe-inspiring sight for me!
These young men, with not even so much as a teenager among their ranks let alone an adult, showed me something that night. Class, honor and integrity topped that list.
No sir, Mr. Webster. "Champion" as you define it, does not match what I know of the word.
Being a Champion is an attitude. It's a way of living life. John Dale, Brian Tuin, and Todd Sundheim are Champions and they helped a dozen fantastic boys have the time of their lives this winter and achieve a common dream through hard work and perserverance.
I have never been so proud of my son as I was on Sunday, March 8th 2009.
On that day, his team of Gophers became Champions.
[cham-pee-uhn]
–noun
1. a person who has defeated all opponents in a competition or series of competitions, so as to hold first place.
2. anything that takes first place in competition.
3. an animal that has won a certain number of points in officially recognized shows
4. a person who fights for or defends any person or cause
5. a fighter or warrior.
If you ask 10 people what the definition of the word is, I think you will receive 10 similar answers. Try it. They'll all sound like the definition I've provided above.
Just don't make me one of the ten people you ask.
Not anymore.
A small and very special group of 10 to 12 year old student athletes and a soft-spoken man I had never met erased the definition of a word I thought I knew.
Certainly our Hastings Gophers fulfilled the definition, as listed in the dictionary, in its entirety this past weekend at the 2009 Hastings Squirt Invitational Tournament. They defeated 3 tough hockey teams in consecutive games, including defeating a team that had owned them all year.
The Gophers were all over their arch-rival and nemesis Wolverines. They were up 6-1 until their opponents scored with less than 2 seconds remaining in the game. They played brilliantly as a team, and never once did I get the impression in the days leading up to the game, that they felt they would not emerge victorious. They defeated the Wolverines with the type of play that earned them the conference’s 2nd best record during the season. It was teamwork, passing, tough defense, great goaltending, constant hustle, and a never quit attitude that propelled them to tournament glory. Whether it was Sunny and Jonathon or Woody and Blake masterfully patrolling the blue line, their superior efforts were crucial in maintaining possession of the puck in the zone. Brett, Payton, Anders, Kannon and Garrett played a great offensive passing game and were always present on the backcheck as well. Zach and Joe traded off handling the center iceman’s position, and once again dominated face-offs, a trend repeated in virtually every game this season. They really put it all together for three periods and played their little rodent hearts out! (yes, just one more rodent reference!) I saw Anders throw himself on the ice, sliding headfirst into the boards just to defend a shot and keep it from getting through to Jake! This type of effort exemplified the Gophers’ play Sunday.
The victory qualifies our Gophers, by any measure of the working, established definition, as "Champions".
But what I witnessed this past weekend gave me pause to reconsider that definition as I see it in my mind's eye.
Winning the tournament made them the Champions of Squirt hockey in Hastings for 2008-2009. That is something that will never be taken away from them now, and is a moment that will live forever in the hearts and minds of these boys as they continue to grow into young men.
I know it will also live in mine for just as long.
Rewind…
Let me tell you a personal story before I continue...
It's the story of a boy.
He is a quiet, attentive, thoughtful, bright and athletic boy. This boy had never played hockey before this winter. Beyond that, he had only laced up skates and attempted to stay standing while on ice a mere 8-10 times prior to deciding he was going to go out in front of all his classmates and friends and willingly endure falling down through three days of evaluations.
After the first day of evaluations, this boy was dejected, frustrated, and felt very alone. His friends, afterall, were almost all accomplished skaters and hockey players already. In fact, after the first hour of evaluations, while I helped him remove his dripping wet, snow and sweatsoaked practice jersey and socks, one of his closest friends who was sitting next to him on the bench, whispered to him,"Was this your first time skating too?"
I swear I saw that boy's internal spirit nearly spontaneously crush right before my eyes. But he quietly shook his head no, and continued undressing. He must have felt as though he was peeling away layers of his soul, baring the most sensitive layers for all to see. He couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
The quiet car ride home was interrupted by his ten year old voice. He looked at me and said, "Dad, I thought I'd be better." and his voice broke on the last word to escape his trembling face. I was forced to look out my own window as I spoke to my son, fearful he would see the tears of sympathy well up in my own eyes as I recited to him the last two stanzas of a poem called "Don't Quit!" I memorized that has carried me through more than one hard time over the years.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out—
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
I'm not sure how much of that he absorbed, or whether I spoke the words for his benefit or my own at that exact moment; but our eyes locked as I spoke the final stanza of that poem. When I was finished, I told my son that the decision was his, and I would support that decision regardless of what it was.
My son told me he wasn't quitting.
End of personal story and fast forward…
Sometimes when people come into your life, they don't merely brush anonymously past or pass silently through your life, they truly touch it. Perhaps their generosity and compassion make them virtually unaware of the depths their positive influence touches. Coach John Dale drafted my son to play on the Hastings Gophers in the fall of 2008. It was one of the most thrilling moments of my boy's life. He was going to be a hockey player. He was on a TEAM!
As my son played with this great team of boys over the winter, subtle changes took place in him. He was happier and had more self-confidence than ever. He practiced his new favorite sport nearly every day of the week for hours on end, and he even worked harder in school. He spoke of his coaches and teammates often and looked forward to each and every time he would get to see them. He was driven to be the best he could be so he wouldn't let them down. He refused to miss a practice and even to arrive late was unacceptable to him.
But my son merely being selected and coached by John isn't what touched our lives. It was the way in which he coached; the manner in which he taught, and the sensitivity to each player's psyche, that touched our lives. I believe that all of our boys probably have a greater sense of teamwork and class than before, due to their coaching.
When the final buzzer sounded on Sunday evening at Hastings Civic Arena, and the Gophers had emerged victorious, equipment flew into the air, hands were thrust upwards in elation, and the boys celebrated together by hugging and mobbing their goaltender. They then stood and honored their opponents as they received their second place medals.
As the coaches, John, Brian and Todd stepped forward to receive the 1st place Championship trophy, the Gophers players all moved instantly, and in a coordinated fashion, into the traditional Minnesota Gopher Stick Salute.
This was an awe-inspiring sight for me!
These young men, with not even so much as a teenager among their ranks let alone an adult, showed me something that night. Class, honor and integrity topped that list.
No sir, Mr. Webster. "Champion" as you define it, does not match what I know of the word.
Being a Champion is an attitude. It's a way of living life. John Dale, Brian Tuin, and Todd Sundheim are Champions and they helped a dozen fantastic boys have the time of their lives this winter and achieve a common dream through hard work and perserverance.
I have never been so proud of my son as I was on Sunday, March 8th 2009.
On that day, his team of Gophers became Champions.
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