Olympians

In the last few weeks, I've met two Olympians, Tony Azevedo, Captain of the US Men's Water Polo Team and three time Olympian and Dain Blanton, Volleyball gold in 2000. Both were out selling products, Azevedo with his sponsor Zumo Water Polo gear and Blanton with "Focus on Freshman,"an Academic Innovations program for schools, but I spoke briefly to both and the both came off as genuinely nice guys that really did want to promote their sports and be positive role models.

As I think about it, I've met many Olympians before. I swam against John Moffet when we both age grouped 40 years ago-I could beat him then, but not for long. I swam on the first club team coached by Dr. Dave Salo, though I was at the end of my swimming career and he was at the start of his coaching career. That team, the Downey Dolphins, doesn't seem to come up in any of his biographies that I found on line. (Dr. Dave did remember me when I saw him a a coaching conference 10 years ago-I don't know if that was good or bad). In college, I lived in the next dorm room to Bruce Hayes, who after coming from the LA Olympics anchoring the 400 meter relay for gold had the worst dorm mate that anyone could imagine. Kevin Young, who'd win a gold in Barcelona in the hurdles, also lived on that dorm floor, and was in my back up band at the dorm floor talent show (I played a very bad version of the Surf Punks, "Shark Attack," and we wrote a song called "Dorm Food Blues").

Actually, as I write, I've had a few other brushes with athletic greatness-but not in sports like football or basketball. Pete Cutino, the considered by many to be the John Wooden of water polo, once dropped by where I was coaching to chat. The most insightful thing he said to me-"It takes a lot of work to get a little bit better." He gave me almost an hour of his time, and copies of his coaching book, and I believe that he was pleased that I knew who he was. Cutino had actually dropped in cold to the school I teach at, the place where he started the water polo team almost 60 years ago, and I was very much aware of the school's place in Water Polo history.

I coached against John Siman, who was on the '84 Olympic Water Polo team, and worked with Dave Laut, the bronze medalist in '84 in the shot put, during the 6 months prior to his murder. I coached against high school water polo teams led by current women's Olympians Kami Craig and Brenda Villa, and remember them both as being pretty much unstoppable. In one instance against Kami Craig, I told my player how to defend against a specific move, and Kami did it anyway. My girl looked up at me and said, "What do I do now, Coach?" My response was something along the lines of there's nothing you can do except applaud, that's why she's on the National Team.

There was some point that I was going to make, and I should get back to it. Some of them I met before their Olympic Greatness, some after, but all seemed to some way stand out.

I've never been the best, or even among the best, in anything. That's not bad, mind you. The vast majority of us are no where near the best in anything that we do, and many of us would do well to remember that. The people above, at least at one  brief point in their lives, were either the best or among the best, and there is always something to be learned from that.

I made my son come to see Azevedo, even though he doesn't want to play water polo. My rationale was that even if we were going to see the world's greatest Pick-Up Sticks players, there is something to be learned. I've met many gifted athletes-but there is something more that makes them the best, something that can't be quantified. Azevedo was very astute about judging his own talent, and the outlined the steps he took to become what he is. It is work and sacrifice, and there aren't any shortcuts.