By Terry Carter
In recent weeks, I have enjoyed the honor of bearing witness to high school achievement at the highest level — and a few overlooked sports miracles.
The Katy area and Houston in general are filled with impressive talent, coaching and subsequently standout teams. It is fun to watch records being set and broken by the upcoming athletes and teams. Here are few recent examples:
- I have watched numerous injured or dejected athletes get off the ground, ignore their pain, their doubts and return to action as a new, upgraded athlete in a matter of moments. Opponents tend to be stunned. Sometimes this is done because a champion knows his/her path to the mountain top will be treacherous and filled with pitfalls, roadblocks. Sometimes it’s a personal challenge like that of Paetow senior football running back Jacob Brown, who impressed thousands after returning from an injury.
RAISE YOUR PERFORMANCE AT WILL: When sports or a rival becomes more challenging, we all have the choice to experience our true potential in the game of life — and play at an elite level. No one plays perfectly, so room for immediate improvement always exists if you believe it and work extra for it. - Sometimes a warrior will rise from the ashes of injury or defeat to honor their coach and/or respond to the support from teammates and their dedicated community. In February I watched a wrestler win a regional championship in the final minutes with his arm in great pain, his endurance maxed and the opposing wrestler had momentum and the dominant position. The momentum turned just enough because he never quit, and his teammates yelled for him and cheered knowing he would win despite adversity. He won by a single point.
ENTHUSIASM ALWAYS COUNTS: Even observers, injured athletes and those no longer competing can impact the outcome of an athletic event with their mind and their voice by demonstrating total belief in team support. - During important, postseason contests, dedicated athletes sense that they must lead themselves and their team to victory — or else suffer defeat. And that has happened in basketball, soccer, wrestling in the last 30 days. Seven Lakes sophomore basketball standout Justice Carlton is a recent example of an underclass female player taking control of a playoff game to ensure the Lady Spartans advance. Her triple-double accounted for about 60 percent of Seven Lakes’ offense on Tuesday.
CALLING FOR THE BALL: The hardest working athletes can find themselves in the zone and playing at a supreme level out of necessity or by choice. The ESPN highlights and Hall of Fame moments from your favorite athletes like MJ, LeBron, Tiger and Nicklaus don’t happen by accident.