This weekend members of our cross-country team ran at the State Finals. Coach Winter asked me to address the team Friday, which I was happy to do. Among my many coaching experiences, I spent ten years coaching track and field. One of the things I always stressed to my athletes was running the middle of the race with a special intensity. Most runners can start with energy, and when the finish line is in sight, most can finish hard. Many, many races are won (and lost) in the middle.
As I told the kids, a great analogy is the school year. At the beginning of the year, everyone excitedly shops for the special school supplies that are going to keep them organized and on top of their classes. That special Trapper Keeper, the new laptop or tablet, the color coded notebooks and pens - all start to go by the wayside for many students when we enter the fourth or fifth week of school. Then, at the end of a grading period, every student puts on a frantic finish. They cram at the end of the goal or marking period, beg for extra credit, and try to squeeze every last point out of their teachers. Almost everyone starts well and finishes hard, it's the time in between that defines success.
As we reach the end of this year's first goal, it's a good reminder that we are entering the "middle" of this school year's "race". Now is the time for students to bear down, make an extra effort, and really become engaged in what is happening in each of their classes. Often, the race is won in the middle...
