Kaylee Gittleson ran hurdles for Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. The team won three out of four Division I State Championships during her four years. Kaylee was told by her dad to write about training from her perspective on the Rogers Blog.
FROM THE COACH'S DAUGHTER
My Dad was a Strength Coach for 30 years. We literally live in a gym with furniture. My Father and I were listening to a motivational speaker on the radio. My Father said, “If you have a cause you will be motivated. Kaylee, as a coach, I always discussed the cause. Motivation comes if your athletes believe in the cause.”
When I joined our high school track team we had a cause. We had a storied history of Regional and State track success. It seemed that every day we had to work, we pressured each other. Our cause was to defend our tradition and our coach talked about it.
My father said, “If freedom is the cause, men and women will die for it.”
My Father is a Veteran, Memorial Day is important. It is a day set aside to honor our fallen heroes who died for us.
My sister wrote this poem and it was published by the American Red Cross. It is about a conversation she had with my Father on their cell phones. She was at ‘The Vietnam Memorial’ in Washington DC on her 8th grade class trip. She was given names by her dad to find with her friends. One name was Billy Joy. Billy went to high school with my dad.
We went to the wall
And on my cell
I called
We hunted and squealed
and found
Billy Joy a boy
My friends and me
Told my dad
He heard the excited sounds
When we found
My dad’s friends name
On the wall
Billy Joy still a boy
My friends and me
We heard not a word
But my fathers
Silent tears
Through the phone
My friends and me
Always Remember Memorial Day.
Remember to coach the cause and your athletes will be motivated to Get Strong.