Challenges, Choices and Lessons

This is a guest post from Robert the "Beast" Vettese. Beast plays for the Virtua Wings of Steel, a sled hockey team. As he works on his college essays, he has graciously allowed me to post his English essay as he shared his thoughts on life's challenges and the lessons we can learn along the way. This young man has wisdom beyond his years. Please feel free to comment after reading this inspirational essay.

Challenges, Choices and Lessons

By Robert Vettese

 The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. When I was younger my sledge hockey team was the best in the country. Season after season we went undefeated in our division. In every national tournament we went undefeated too. Years of hard work really does pay off.

Some of our guys went on to become Paralympic gold medalists in the 2010 Paralympics in Vancouver. The work they put in was valuable and made them who they are today, representing their country in one of the best ways they possibly can, competing for a spot on the Paralympic team. With only twenty-eight spots they worked and trained to make the team.

We always thought that we could be the best team in the country. In a couple years later we lost many of our good players because of college or aging out of the youth program. In 2012 we had our first game as a younger team. We were playing as hard as we possibly could. We lost that first game but we just brushed it off because that was just one game. As the season went on we soon realized that we were not the best anymore. We were upset with our performance and just gave up. As the seasons went on we soon realized that we did not need our older players to be a team. We challenged and pushed our own limits; we bonded together, learned about each other. As the saying goes “ We win as a team. We lose as a team.”
Now still competing and competing in national events across the country, we continued to win some and lose some.

The competitions increased and skill levels began to change, but as they changed so did our mindsets. We always believed that we would be the best not facing bigger challenges like losing our games. Throughout these five years we have grown closer together not only as a team but as a family.

We try to face our failures with good attitudes, not knowing if the next game would be a win or a loss. We learned that life changes every second. The challenges we face help us improve and progress as a whole. Failure is going to always be a part of life. Failures can be hard to settle for, but they give us something to improve upon. Just like when you failed that geometry test you really tried your best on. You took your time and studied. You failed that test. The test you took the most time on. It shows what you need to improve on. Take it step-by-step, question-by-question. Improvement is always needed.

The last ten years of playing sledge hockey have really helped with so many things in everyday life. Winning for years may help with the positives and look forward to the medals-the smiles from all the young kids, the push to remaining the best. The work we go through trying to get the drills right are challenging. We might do them wrong but with every wrong there's a right. The learning curves that we all face are obstacles we can overcome, just like failure and challenges. It happens to all of us, hoping to achieve great things like my teammates representing the greatest country in the world, going for gold, but in order to achieve those goals is a challenge, hard work, and dedication.

The sledge hockey community has a quote; “Everyday I face a challenge, and how I face those challenges is with a smile and a good attitude.” Challenges are a true part of life. We get the rink on time. We go out on the ice every week pushing ourselves working to the best of our various different abilities. That's what really matters. The work that you put in may not seem like a big difference, but it will affect your outcome later in life.

Tragedy hit us in April of 2013, the end of the season fundraiser. It was a warm day. Everyone is smiling and having a good time. Volunteers were outside selling 50/50’s, all the kids in their team jerseys helping out. We ended off the night with a good note. Kids lined up  thanking everyone for coming to the fundraiser.

It would be one of the hardest time that we all faced. Just a few short days later we lost the team’s greatest role model. Her name was Jessica Shaw. Well known with the happiest smile. She filled the team with laughter, fun, and joy. She was my teacher and role model. She looked forward to the seasons and games and especially the joy on all the kid’s faces. I can remember many things she told us. Mostly she would say “Come on! Get moving!, You're not finished.” Of everything that she told us there's one thing that sticks in my mind the most. She always said, “Believe in yourself! The fun is not over yet.” She cared for us. She was the girl on the team that we looked forward to becoming. Jessica inspired each other to trust ourselves, and become the best we can be. She didn't care if you were upset or if you had a bad day. She was there to cheer you up - teasing me on the ice, and complaining about my singing. She was there just to have a good time. She loved all of us. We strive to live up to want she wanted us to be and to just have a good time. You might feel down on the scoreboard but just keep playing until the buzzer rings. Play for fun. No matter what happens just remember, “Not every victory shows up on the scoreboard.”

Challenges are what make us who we are and with the people we might meet on the way, have their inspirations shape us. They make us trust ourselves, and believe in what is possible not what is impossible.

Finally, what I've learned is that you may be the one person in the crowd, the one person that stands out, being who you are, with the brightest smile cheering on the young kids watching them take on the big kids and watching them get slammed into the boards. But it helps them develop, becoming the best they can be and even better. You watched them fail, fall and lose all hope, but you kept them going. It may be just the words "Come on! The fun hasn't stopped yet!" that keeps them moving, giving their all.

I remember when I was just a small kid getting hit on the rink against the boards, and boy did it hurt. It's helped me knowing that no matter how small you may be you can take on the big things, as you’ve grown up many things get harder.  Did I give up? No. Because they are just bumps in the road. Like blips on a radar they help get you to where you’re going. Challenges are there to lead you, not fail you. You have the choice to sit there and quit and lose hope or you face that challenge. You make the choice.