FLM
FLM
Fete Lifestyle Magazine
Publisher's Note
Sports have played a significant role in my life ever since I started playing T-ball at 7 years old. Football, basketball, and track are the sports that I competed in during high school, and I was fortunate to earn a full athletic football scholarship at the Division 1 level in college. Besides competing, sports has shaped my life in many ways. The discipline, commitment, and adversity I went through has carried over to how I approach life as an adult. I also learned about teamwork and camaraderie. How to win and, as equally important, how to lose. Being in a locker room with guys from various walks of life allowed me to learn more about how others lived. Throughout my career I had teammates that were rich, poor, middle class, who grew up in the country, inner city, and on either side of the coast. Although we may have had different backgrounds, what bonded us was one common denominator. Our will to win. To this day, my closest friends are those who I went to battle with on the field.
One of the joys of being a dad is being able to share details about my athletic journey with my two boys. My epic stories are priceless! (at least I think so). And of course, with the passing of each year, I embellish my athletic prowess on the field a little more. Tell me an athlete that doesn’t! They both play multiple sports but as they’ve gotten older the competition has gotten stiffer. At one point during their young careers, neither made the cut for teams that they tried out for, which is difficult for any parent to witness, but sharing my personal athletic struggles and triumphs helped them to bounce back and persevere. It’s been a privilege to coach both and watch them build relationships with other kids. They’ve experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, but at the end of the day, sports have allowed them to develop character. I always vowed to guide them and allow them to become the person/athlete that they aspire to be, and that promise was put to the test when they both decided to hang up their football cleats recently. I come from a football town, so football is what I know. It’s in my blood. I always assumed that my boys would want to follow in my footsteps, but they both chose other sports. My oldest soccer and lacrosse and my youngest baseball. I would be lying if I wasn’t a little disappointed at first, but after seeing their passion for the sport they love, my disappointment was short lived. I am now dedicated to helping them achieve their goals and I can’t wait to see where they land. My advice to them is to stay hungry, stay committed, and stay humble. Three attributes that will carry over throughout life. Sports offer more than wins and losses and that’s a lesson that can be learned from any aspiring athlete. I hope you enjoy our July Sports & Fitness issue and Go Bears!
D.C.
Sports Are Life
On the Cover: Curtis Granderson
Photo Credit: James Gustin
Location: Curtis Granderson Stadium