Be In The Arena

THE MAN IN THE ARENA
 Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic", delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910 by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

This is one of my favorite Presidential Addresses, and Teddy Roosevelt is one of my favorite Presidents. Most people know of his cowboy persona, historian, founder of the Natioanl Parks, Nobel Prize Winner, and Medal of Honor. What some fail to remember is that Roosevelt was sick often as a child and had asthma. To compensate he engaged himself in rigorous physical activity, and when he went to college at Harvard he joined the boxing club. President Roosevelt's life can be characterized as one that consistently aimed for high goals that others thought impossible. I would like to think he did it to challenge the best of his abilities or at least to prove the nea sayers wrong. Either way his remarkable life was one of constant overcoming of obstacles.

When we as BSC Teammates set our goals in swimming we should set them as high as we can. These goals should serve to measure the best of our abilities and help us grow as people as well as athletes. Let's not be focused on what we or others think we can or cannot do, but rather be focused on the task at hand and what can be done to reach our goals. Each BSC Teammate needs to know what their best time is in every event. Each BSC Teammate should have a goal time in every event. Each BSC teammate should be able to tell anyone who asks; what their Best Time is and what their Goal Time is. BSC Teammates should be constantly overcoming whatever obstacles are in their way to achieve their best in and out of the pool. As in the excerpt at the beginning of this article, success or failure is not the focus, but the commitment to high achievement and total commitment to doing whatever it takes to get to that achievement.

BSC TEAMMATES BE IN THE ARENA!!

Amat Victoria Curam --Translation: "Victory loves preparation"

PRACTICE LIKE A CHAMPION TODAY!!

RACE LIKE A CHAMPION AT SECTIONALS, JUNIOR OLYMPICS and NATIONALS!!