TL;DR:
- Evan, facing hurdles, joined cross country, growing socially and athletically. Despite getting lost in a race, his honesty led to self-disqualification.
- His integrity earned recognition, reshaping his father’s parental perspective.
- Take a step back to look at things from a different perspective and appreciate the goodness in the lesson.
Breaking Boundaries: Evan’s Journey into Cross Country Triumph
I know it’s hard to believe with how youthful I look, but I have a 14-year-old son! I know, crazy right? Well, not to get into Evan’s last 14 years, which I can go on and on about with all the doctor’s appointments, evaluations, testing, IEP meetings, and everything else he’s gone through. I’ll sum it up that Evan has always struggled socially. He does not make friends easily; he struggles with appropriately communicating with peers. He also has struggled with sports and activities due to fine motor delays. As a father, it has always been difficult to see him struggle while his younger sister, Aubrey, is the opposite. Social butterfly and a naturally amazing athlete at anything she tries.
During Evan’s 8th grade year, he stepped outside of his comfort zone and decided to join the cross country team. He did well, wasn’t the fastest, wasn’t the slowest, but always tried his hardest. So, when high school rolled around this year, I was stoked that he was going to continue to run!
Situations can get us down. They can cause tears to roll down our faces and feel as if our heart is tearing in half. But if you step back and take a look from a different perspective, you’ll see the beauty and goodness in the lesson. Click To TweetTraining Triumphs: Evan’s Dedication and Milestone Progress
Conditioning began in early June, about a month and a half before actual summer training started. Evan showed up every day being the only freshman day in and day out of both training camps! He took the advice of his coach and continued to work hard, building up to running seven miles in training! He loved the progress he was making, stating many times how proud of himself he was, both in his new long runs and setting some PRs (personal records) during meets once the season began.
Every time he would smile and say, “I’m proud of myself!” I got a little teary-eyed as up until this point I had never heard him say this. I also noticed his phone buzzing much more than it ever had. He was included in the team chat. He even made some friends he talked with, both freshmen who had joined once school started and varsity runners!
It was the last meet of the season—conference. Evan had run this course before, and it was a tricky one. There’s a big loop that takes the athletes through a forest and then a smaller loop to round out the 5K race. Evan and I were both confident that this would be his best race of the season. We knew he’d get a PR. The weather conditions were perfect, beautiful autumn temps in the 60s. He was well rested from not having to run a meet the previous weekend. With the sun shining down on us, the official raised their right arm towards the clouds and fired!
Integrity in Action: Evan’s Admirable Act and Its Unexpected Recognition
As time went on, Evan seemed to take much longer than usual to emerge from the woods. I became concerned, hoping he wasn’t lost. I thought there was no way he could be…he’d run this exact course just a few weeks prior. Long story short, Evan finally emerged. He finished his race, crossing the finish line in anything but a PR. Afterward, he stated he had gotten lost and went off course. He then cut part of the course trying to get back, knowing it would take up much more time to completely backtrack and complete the course as it is supposed to be run.
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On his own accord, Evan went up to the officials at the finish line and told them he needed to be disqualified as he didn’t run the official course and cut some of it. The officials were flabbergasted, stating in all their years, no athlete had ever admitted to cutting a course and admitting they needed to be disqualified. They had said that he was a fine, honest, young man, and was doing the right thing.
I know Evan was upset, and my heart ached as his father. I wished I could go back and help him in that race. And I told him that in the off-season we would be practicing on his speed, so he could run with a faster pack and have less of a chance of running alone and getting lost. A few days after the Conference Meet, Evan came home and shared a gift basket he had received from the IHSAA, Indiana High School Athletic Association. It was awarded to him, from the IHSAA, NOT Munster High School, for being an outstanding and honest athlete.
Evan receiving this changed my entire perspective on his disqualification.
It assured me that maybe, just maybe, I know how to do this parent thing. And maybe, just maybe, I’m raising an honest, hard-working, young man that knows to do the right thing.
Situations can get us down. They can cause tears to roll down our faces and feel as if our heart is tearing in half. But maybe, just maybe, if you step back and take a look from a different perspective, you’ll see the beauty and goodness in the lesson.
Please check out my latest book, The EduCulture Cookbook: Recipes & Dishes to Positively Impact Classroom & School Culture with EduMatch Books & my podcast, Punk Rock Classrooms.
About Mike Earnshaw
Michael Earnshaw is a father, husband, and elementary school principal. He is the author of The EduCulture Cookbook: Recipes and Dishes to Positively Transform School and Classroom Culture with EduMatch Publishing and co-host of the Punk Rock Classrooms Podcast. Michael strives to empower others to know they can change the world by fostering positive, trusting relationships and modeling risk-taking himself. When he’s not helping others and changing lives you can find him skateboarding, running, or sharing laughs with others.
