Are You A Champion of Life?

Below is a modified piece that I just finished writing for the Illinois Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team who lost in the National Championship Game yesterday. Please keep in mind that the vast majority of the piece was written to a team that just had a major disappointment.

Before I begin I would like to congratulate first year head coach Jeremy Lade on winning the national championship. Jeremy is a year older then me so we had competed against each other for six years over the course of high school and college. Even though he was a far superior player to me he never belittled me. He is a gentleman and a gym rat. Even though I love orange and he loves purple we are both champions of life.


I would like to congratulate you on a valiant effort yesterday. My scouts in the crowd (my parents) told me I should be very proud of my alma mater. Sometimes having a winning attitude doesn’t always result in a win; it is one of those intrinsic challenges in life that so many don't understand.

This is a detour, this is a choice, are you going to allow this to make you bitter or better?

I ask that you take a couple days to answer this question. Flush out the emotions of disappointment first. I know there were times when I wanted to cry after a loss and forced myself not to. Emotions are not good or bad; they are just emotions. Something in your brain chemistry wants you to feel that way. When I'm sad or angry I like to think of it as little gremlins dancing around in my head. If I hit them or try to force them down they're going to get angry and stick around longer. If I hug the gremlin all the sudden it is subdued and leaves me alone.

The only way a 40 minute competition defines you, is if you let it. Be bold! Erase the bad elements of yesterday and remember the good ones. Set your mind for what you want today and everyday.

Have the courage to set your mind to what you really want and do not accept anything less. Boldly proclaim what you want and share it with whoever will listen! If you are consistent with your thoughts and TREAT PEOPLE WELL the universe rewards you so, so well. Don’t worry about what is cool; worry about what is right.

It’s up to you! Do you have the courage to lift up somebody else that other people perceive as weak? During my years in Champaign I had the lowest function on the team and it was definitely not cool to be associated with me. Many of my teammates would help me out when other people were not around, but only one person would help me out no matter who was around, Pat Anderson.

When I was a freshman I had horrible balance and a chair that was way to big for me. A typical day for me was six falls between missed transfers and hitting cracks in the sidewalk etc. In my first few weeks in Champaign, I fell while many of us were hanging out at the gym. Many laughed at me, some made wise cracks, but only one person helped me back up on that day. I thought to myself “Oh my God, why is Pat helping me? He has a gold medal.” Pat has gold medals because he is a great person, not the other way around.

Pat was also not afraid to be associated with me. Back in my early years at U of I we traveled in 15 passenger vans. They are a fine way to travel unless you sit in the middle seat in the middle row. Because of my low standing on the team I got that spot for many trips early on in the season. I felt like a sardine, but I was still an Illini!

My hips hurt badly sitting in this seat, but that is not what bugged me. What really bugged me was my inability to get my balance therefore making it very tedious to read. I have no idea what possessed Pat to do this, but one early morning at rehab as we were loading up Pat requested that I sit up front with him. That became my spot for the rest of the year. Pat's generosity allowed me to get at least an extra 40 hours of studying in during the rest of the season. What makes Pat special is not his physical attributes, but his tenacity, his practice habits and his confidence. Pat is the exact same person whether he's talking to a movie star or a homeless person. He offers himself to the world and doesn’t worry what others think.

Being positive and having true confidence are paramount qualities for a championship heart and mind. Know you can do it and raise the bar as high as you possibly can. If you set your mind properly the right things just seem to happen. Eating right, sleeping more and studying more just become routine, not obligation.

When you lose you tend to get angry. I ask that you never practice in anger, only practice in love. Love allows you to get better. Fear might work in the short run, but never in the long run.

Please learn from my mistake. I attempted to make Beijing in field events. There were long stretches of last year I worked out 10-12 times a week and I feel confident in saying there was stretches I was the hardest working athlete at Lakeshore for any sport. I had a fatal flaw though. I worked out angry and scared. I was jealous of fellow athletes. That had no bearing on my life, but I was weak and a BIG gremlin was born.

Since I worked out so angry it should come as no surprise that I hurt myself. I made myself train through it and ended up pulling my C7 vertebrae out of alignment. I hurt myself so badly it took 8 whole months to heal. I found out in June 2008 that I was not going to Beijing. There was part of me that was so defeated, but I tried as hard as I could to stay positive and work on other aspects of my life like writing. When people left Lakeshore to go to staging in Colorado I was relieved. As far as I was concerned Beijing was over. A couple of days later a member at Lakeshore asked me if I was going to Beijing. I said no and had to explain how I did not make the team. She asked me if I plan to go to London and instead of saying my typical response of hope so, I flat out said yes I am going to London.

If you want something bad enough set your mind for it. If you're consistently working hard and helping others I promise your dreams will come true!

Just to let you know I practice what I preach this is what I set my mind to everyday. I will be a successful writer who will eventually help millions of people. I will go to both the London and Chicago Paralympics with the highest aspirations. I will do everything in my power to continue the Lakeshore dynasty. To me it's not about being good, it's not about being great, it's about being legendary.

So you have a choice to make, are you a champion? It’s up to you. Can you keep your head up when something goes wrong? I know you all have the capability to be champions because you are at Illinois. You have the right stuff, but are you willing to set your mind right, to stop wondering and start knowing you are champions before it happens? I loved basketball and I love rugby even more. It is the vehicle I choose to express myself in, but it does not define my life. I know I am a champion in life because of how hard I work and how well I treat other people.

So I ask again, are you a champion? Are you willing to do the hard things when you know they're right? Are you willing to be nice to anybody, no matter who is looking? Being a champion isn’t easy, but man is it worth it! I am so proud to be an Illini! Winning games is fun, but it's not what's most important. Being a champion of life is what is most important. I know Illinois has produced more life champions than any other program. Please keep up the tradition. Don't wait until you graduate, start today! Set your mind, work hard and be good to everybody and the rest just sort of flows.

Life is beautiful, enjoy the ride!

Thanks for reading
Chris

My Favorite Team

Earlier in the week I wrote a piece for the Illinois Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team because they are preparing for their national championship competition this weekend. After they really liked what I wrote I decided to give something else a try. If you find this the least bit beneficial great, if you don’t like it just ignore it.

Looking back on my eleven years of basketball my favorite team to be a part of was the team when I was a freshman in college. We ended up winning the national championship that year, but that is not what made it my favorite team. What made it my favorite team was who we were and how we accomplished our goals. The University of Texas-Arlington had beaten us two out of three games during the regular season. The losses included a 50 point beat down (Missing several players from our team because of the Paralympics.) and only the second loss at Huff Hall in the Coach Frogley era.

They beat us in our place in February. What were we going to be able to change by March? I know we practiced harder in the weeks that followed, but the difference was marginal. Then the most intense week of practice I have ever been a part of occurred. Coach Frogley had us prepared in every way, but it was the players who decided to step up their preparation. I do not remember that week of preparation as stories. I remember it as a feeling; this intense certainty that we were going to win the game no matter what. We were set to overcome any obstacle; it was all about us. At 19 I thought this feeling was common. I now know it’s not. It’s something very special.

UTA shot 55% from the field that day. Illinois shot 63% and won the tenth championship in program history. I did not play in the game, but I was honored when my teammates decided that I should cut the first string of the net. When Coach Frogley cut down the final string it sunk in. With the net in hand, I realized we were champions! As Illinois goes for there 12th championship in program history, it makes me realize how blessed I am.

It also makes me realize how that is no longer my favorite team. My favorite team is the one I am currently on, the 2008-2009 Lakeshore Demolition!

I have found it is way harder to be a TEAM after college because of work and other life responsibilities, but we still figure out a way and this is because of the greatness of our coach Kevin Orr.

When you play for Kevin it’s not all about lollipops and rainbows. There have been times he has made me sad and times he has made me angry, but I know he loves me and all his players.

There would be no Lakeshore Demolition without Kevin Orr. He built our program on guts and determination. He had the courage to move over 700 miles away from his friends and family and over the years he built a dynasty from nothing.

I will ever be indebted to Kevin because he encouraged me to make the same 700 mile journey about fifteen years later after many were unable or unwilling to teach me the game because I had cerebral palsy.

Before I came to Birmingham I was the “most spastic player in college wheelchair basketball”. Over the course of two years, I became a wheelchair rugby player. I would not be a wheelchair rugby player without Kevin Orr. I would not be a writer if I wasn’t a rugby player first. I’ll let you do the math.

I enjoyed the other teams I have played with while I have been down here and really miss the friendship of Dan, Josh and Brandon, but this team has something special. The younger players have all stepped their games up while the veterans continue to give wisdom and perform consistently.

Kevin, Sulli, Bryan and Willard have been here since the beginning. They are legends for what they have created and are great examples of what is possible. Joel, Delvin and our newest player Kevin Kramer represent what is yet to come. With great athletes and great people anything is possible.

We begin our playoff run next week in Michigan and hope to continue it in Louisville in April. Our story has yet to be written, but I feel Lakeshore 2009 is more special then Illinois 2001. I love my team! I am hopeful we will find that feeling that Illinois 2001 possessed.

I wish everyone the best as the playoffs are going on this weekend and in subsequent weeks. I look forward to making my team better and wish everyone else the best of luck as they try to do the same.

Can I ask a favor? If you see fit could you please say a prayer for Illinois and Lakeshore. The power of positive energy is very real. I could have gone many places to play sports, but Illinois and Lakeshore gave me the courage to release myself from a net of fear and allow me to share my gifts with the world!

Thank You Frog, Thank You Kevin, Thank You Everyone!
Chris