This past weekend was the High School State Championship Mountain Bike race that occured in Sierra Vista and we had another amazing weekend of fun, laughs and podiums.
Please take time to congratulate all of the athletes that raced.
What I want to highlight though has nothing to do with podiums or medals.
It has nothing to do with winning or even finishing.
And yet it has everything to with Youth Development and learing about who you are.
Liam raced this past season in the Freshman category. He had been meeting his goal of consistently placing in the top half of his group and was excited for this last race.
Well I rode the pre-ride with him on Saturday and he had a silly crash that tweaked his ankle. It was enough for him to potentially not race, but nothing serious. However it was enough for him to tell us that he was not going to race.
Liam wanted the chance to race. He slept on it and felt ok in the morning. He was able to walk and he and his father talked it through and decided he could try.
Liam got to the line and was having a great race. He was finishing his second of 3 laps when got a flat tire. At the end of the 2nd lap he was given the option by the race officials to stop and still be counted as a finisher. He was given the option by his teammates to stop and everyone would have understood.
Liam though made a different decision. With a not perfect ankle, and a bike that was limping along, he decided to put air into the tire and give it a chance. Liam had a choice and chose to continue. He chose to finish when the result he wanted was long gone.
We race to have these personal opportunities. We race because it gives us a chance to meet adversity and then learn how to react to it.
I now will forever talk with Liam different. We decided together that this would be the case. We decided that our code word would be LAP 3.
That from now on when things get hard for Liam we will go back to the moment that he chose to not give up. The moment that he decided to finish when everyone else told him it was ok to quit.
This is why we race.
TRAINING PLAN
For the next three weeks we are going to continue to train, however it is going to involve a lot more off the bike work. This is going to be our transition time. We are going to continue to work hard, but just change things up a bit. So please be aware of this blog and what the plan is.
Tuesday— Capture the Flag.
To play you must bring in your High School Jersey. You see what I am trying to do here.
Also please bring a bandana so that you have a flag.
Wednesday— Cross Training at the clubhouse. Bring PE style clothes.
Thursday— NO PRACTICE. Federal Holiday
Friday— Tucson High Students I am asking that you come by the clubhouse after school and help me pack for the Swap meet.
Saturday— Mt Wrightson Hike.
This is a huge hike that I just love.
We will depart at 6 am from the clubhouse. 2 Team Vans will head down to Green Valley.
7:30 am Trail Head on Madera Canyon Road.
Hike takes approx. 5 hours.
You will need a good pair of shoes. Not just a pair of Vans.
You will need at least 2 liters of water and I encourage 3.
You will need to bring plenty of food. 2 sandwiches, and some salty snacks.
Back in vans by 12:30 and back to the clubhouse by 2pm at the latest.
This gives us a chance to clean up and get to the memorial for Jeff Yockey on time.
3 PM at the Waldorf school on River Road.
Sunday— SWAP MEET
I will post a sign up tomorrow. We will need each rider to help out for at least 2 hours and please if you can bake some goodies that we can sell for a $1 a piece that would be amazing. Only home baked goods please.
