The Privilege of Sports: Near and Far

When it comes to sports, numbers are important. From those in the win-loss column, to those on your jersey or the scoreboard, numbers define who we are and what we do. At the St. Ignatius Athletics Department end of the year dinner, the athletic director proudly proclaimed some impressive ones. With 67 teams (26 sports that have boys' and girls' teams), over 1,000 of our students participate in at least one sport. The athletic department handed out 1,400 different uniforms and oversees 130 coaches. We had a number of WCAL and CCS league championships and countless PRs. One stat that was not mentioned however was how many miles these teams traveled.

The Athletics Department last Friday honored seniors who have been recruited by colleges for their athletic prowess.

As part of a unique athletic league, the West Catholic Athletic League, our teams travel as far south along 280 (the WCAL highway) as 50 miles for a game. For some CCS competition, our teams have traveled even further. As much as I wanted to support our boys varsity volleyball team, I could not drive 110 miles south to Seaside for their first round CCS playoff match. And, several teams had the distinct privilege of traveling out of state to compete against some of the best teams in the country. Over spring break, our girls' lacrosse team went to Denver and our boys battled it out against schools in Wilmington, DE and Alexandria, VA. Our rowing teams head to the San Diego Crew Classic the first weekend in May every year. Such opportunities may feel like "the norm" for high school athletics today, but I hope we can remember they are the hallmarks of being people of privilege. 

Truth.

This past Saturday marked the 155th Commencement Exercises of St. Ignatius College Prep. I hope this remarkable day for students, their families, teachers and administrators is one I never take for granted. Indeed, it is an event that indicates we are in fact "people of privilege." Every member of this class earned their high school diploma and will be pursuing higher education—the majority of whom will enroll at a four-year institution. They will travel on athletic scholarships across the country to Boston College (lacrosse) and Harvard (football/lacrosse/track0, up north to Washington State (basketball) and University of Washington (rowing), down south to USC (soccer) and down the road to Santa Clara (water polo). Thinking about their futures—new opportunities, teams, coaches is exciting. On graduation day, anything seems possible.

And that is the spirit of commencement at its best... but the numbers also point to another truth. The reading of 350 names takes a solid 45 minutes; I wish I knew every person that crossed the stage and earned his or her diploma but I don't. To help the time pass a little faster, I sneak some light reading into the black graduation gown all faculty must wear. This year, what I read made me stop and look up at my students.  The story Raven Saunders as reported in the June 2, 2014 issue of Sports Illustrated reminded me of our privilege and how important it is to appreciate every opportunity we have. Graduation day is as great a day as any to do that.

In "Crowdfund Goes Wild" SI reports

In March, Raven Saunders (FACES IN THE CROWD, Jan. 13) set the national high school indoor shot put record, at 56' 7 1/2". In April she broke the outdoor mark, with a 56' 8 1/4" heave. The only distance it seemed the senior at South Carolina's Burke High couldn't cover was the 2,434 miles between her hometown, Charleston and Eugene, Ore., where junior nationals will be held in July. Her mom, a single parent, was unable to fund the trip, so Raven sought donations on GoFundMe.com. Her fundraising languished at $255 until rival schools heard about her predicament, and with a $1,000 boost from Bishop England High track team, she soon topped her $5,000 goal. The support means a lot. "I'm representing something bigger than our school—it's my country, my region, my state," she says. "It's a while lot bigger than me." —A.F.

Sports Illustrated reminded me that the miles we travel aren't a given. They often come with challenge but also with opportunity. I'm inspired by the response from rival schools and even more by Raven's resourcefulness and desire to fulfill her dream—and who she is carrying that for.

No one knows miles more than runners. And one of the great lessons the girls' cross country team has taken to heart is the simple truth that participation in a sport—any sport—is a privilege. The now deceased, legendary University High School cross country coach Jim Tracy was all the evidence that they needed. He coached as long as ALS would allow him to—first with a brace and much later with a full motorized wheelchair. Today, an unofficial motto of our team is one we learned from him: "We run because we can."

Thank you Lord for the privilege to run freely, for the miles that have humbled me, shaped me and challenged me. Thank you too for the miles our student athletes travel to compete near and far. And thank you for the lesson I have learned from the miles Raven will travel.

Photo Credits
skiier
Saunders
SI Seniors

Running for Jim: Love in Action

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This year, my favorite unit to teach in the Foundations of Ethics: Morality and Justice course was on human sexuality.  That's because a few minor adjustments made the conversations and subject matter--although challenging--much more truthful, open and engaging.  One change was beginning with the classical definition of love.  For juniors in high school, defining love should seem unnecessary, but the world today defines it differently. According to Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, to love is "to will the good of another."  Notice it does not say anything about oneself, there are no "I" or "me" statements to be found.

My students read it, but it didn't stick until I gave an example I learned from my sister.  Anne Frank was sent to the concentration camp with her mother Edith and sister Margot.  Edith did not eat so that her two daughters could get enough food.  She willed the good of another--her two daughters.  She loved them to her death...and theirs.  

An example of men and women who love in this way are necessary.  Fortunately, I found an extraordinary one in Jim Tracy, the boys and girls cross country coach at University High School in San Francisco and the subject of a new documentary "Running for Jim."  

Jim's story came to public attention when one of his athletes Holland Reynolds completed the 2010 California state cross country meet in a very dramatic fashion.  She suffered severe dehydration and collapsed but a few feet from the finish line.  Her sheer will to win for her teammates and for her coach, secured University's 8th state championship title.  This documentary chronicles the effect that desire and determination has had on other athletes; Coach Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants showed it to his team who went on to win SuperBowl.  

But "Running for Jim" also tells the tragic love story of a man and running.  It shares his  upbringing that exposed him to the sport in a unique way, how it shaped his life-the friendships he made, the path is forged in high school, college and beyond and how it was slowly yet surely taken from him by Lou Gehrig's disease.  Well, almost.  

As said in Outside the Lines: The Finish Line, Jim Tracy never married.  His athletes are his children; his team is his family.  This family has not left his side as his illness has progressed nor has his sense of humor and optimistic spirit.  Today, he coaches from a motorized wheelchair.

And you better believe he coaches them.  Several of his runners repeat his motto: We train farther than we race, so the race seems short; and we train faster than we race, so the race seems easy. He challenges every athlete with immediate and authentic feedback.  One athletes recalls having a bad race; she said "that might not be one of the best times you've had, but at last you got a good workout."  In that moment, athlete and coach know the truth.  The only thing to do is be honest and stay positive.  Jim does both.

He never boasts about the relationship he has with his runners. He loves them in the way that St. Paul describes in his first letter to the Corinthians (3:14).  Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  In a humorous scene  Jim says "I figure they get enough love from their parents and teachers.  So I don't give them much.  Rather, I push them harder."  The audience knows he's lying.  

And we know they love him because as St. Ignatius of Loyola says "love is shown in deeds."  Much to his chagrin, Jim's athletes discover and decide to celebrate his birthday.  They sing to him, bring him a cake and are overjoyed to celebrate a life that is now battling ALS. He doesn't want the attention.  He smiles, gives thanks and says that everyone gets to have his cake and eat it too.  As the scene unfolds, the voice over from Jim reveals a very personal testimony.  "When they achieve what they have set out to do, when they improve, when they realize what their true potential is and when they excel--I feel good."  Even though it's his birthday, nothing in the scene is about Jim.  

His remarks shouldn't be counter-cultural, but they are.  Too often I hear (and it may be true) "When I improve, when I excel...I feel good."  This is valuable and worthy, but that feels much different than what I was looking at and taking in from the movie screen.  I saw a man who has found through his life's work to "will the good of the other."  It doesn't get more loving than that.

John Paul II said time and again "Man finds himself only by making himself a sincere gift to others" (Gaudium et Spes, no. 24).  The world might see all that Jim Tracy has lost with his disease, but to watch this documentary is to know and be a witness to all that he has found...and been given.  All of which has been made possible because of his two great loves: running and his athletes.  I hope you are able to see love made flesh, love in action: "Running with Jim." 

Photo Credits
Finish
Presidio Trail
Banner
Poster