I’ve had the unfortunate honor as a kid to lose friends suddenly.
Brad Gann in the 7th grade and Mark Wilhite in the 11th are the two I think of often. I know what it’s like to wander around trying to find a sense of direction and all you can see are other, puffy, tear-streaked faces looking for the same thing. Maybe that’s why I appreciate the tools of Mindset so much now. They give you a path forward when the world outside of you can’t.
Fennville, Michigan experienced the loss of an outstanding young man last week, and the response from all involved this week shows the strength of their collective mindset.
Wes Leonard was a star on the undefeated varsity basketball team. After hitting the game-winning shot to clinch a perfect regular season, he collapse on the floor, and later died of cardiac arrest. It was an enlarged heart that failed and ended his life too soon. You could just as easily say that it is the enlarged heart of his community and team that is carrying them on a dream run.
As an undefeated team, you would expect them to play well and win in their district games this past week. That expectation and all others go out the window when you consider the loss of Wes. How many people fold up and become completely ineffective in life when someone close to them dies? These are just kids after all… you can’t expect them to hold it together.
But they did. Fennville Blackhawks captured their district championship last night with a strength and resolve that most people never put forth. Last minute free throws are always tense, but Fennville made three of them in the closing minute to win the game and title.
Consider the conscious effort needed to keep moving. Imagine the focus and determination to stay a course and define the meaning of a tragedy. These kids, coaches, friends, and family weren’t running around acting like something horrible hadn’t happened. They took control of what they could and are making the best of what they’ve been given. Where can you apply that in your own life?
You can see more of the story here Fennville Wins District Title
Be your best,
PJ McClure
This story broke my heart and made me smile at the same time. He went out of this life hitting winning shots in the game and his team did not let him down. They took his energy and moved forward to continue winning with him in their spirit. Awesome story of the human ability to push past what we think we can not do.
It takes a strong leader to get people moving when they would often fall apart and the emotions will need to be dealt with at some time but action helps deal more than a vegetative state. And this is true responsibility. They learned to do what others often fail to understand and do. They deserve the respect for their ability to keep their word and do their best regardless of the circumstances
PJ, those kids–and the coaches and parents around them–learned a lesson it takes many a lifetime to learn. When you fall down, through loss or failure, you can either put on the victim robe… or get back up and use the event to move you forward. Thanks for pointing it out!
Thanks for highlighting this great result by the team, no doubt inspired by Wes’s previous performance.
What worries me is your comment “That expectation and all others go out the window when you consider the loss of Wes.” No disrespect to Wes, but one of the reasons I believe we have so many problems in Western society, is that we are too ready to provide excuses in anticipation of poor performance and then justify it afterwards.
I lived with war and terrorism for a large part of my life, regularly losing friends and family. But we just got on with it. Whatever one’s thought on the wars in Vietnam, Iraq & Afghanistan most veterans would agree that bad as losing comrades is, you must still do your best and excuses don’t save the rest of the team.
I believe that most people and especially young people are far more resilient than society gives them credit for.
Lets expect people to triumph over adversity, not succumb to it.
What a story of victory, in every sense of the word. I can say this because I’ve lived it personally. At the young age of 19 1/2 I lost my high school sweetheart to Leukemia. Nine months of pure hell on Earth, coping with continuing to work full time while my husband lie comatose in a hospital bed hundreds of miles away. I had two choices, curl up, refuse to believe what was happening and say poor me or deal with what I’d been dealt and move on the best I could. Thankfully I chose the second and although it took years, finally overcame the guilty feelings of doing just that, moving on. Although my husband died, I did not. We have inside of us a mechanism designed for that part of life, a coping mechanism. We all can recover some just choose to milk it for all it’s worth, to play the victim. It serves no purpose only to drag out the inevitable…your loved one is still gone and you still need to heal. With the love and support of family and friends we all can survive, even the death of a young one.
I’m wondering PJ how you can tell the difference between moving through adversity with strength and moving on without having dealt with the grief? Love to hear your thoughts.
People often wonder, in sharing their life story, how to process the grief … I believe what you said is true, PJ, that it’s best to process the grief and pain and it can be done in a positive way. You’ve shown us how … thanks!