Fallsnewspress.com - Lincoln students celebrate the spirit of the Olympics

RPC Photo / Steph Krell Albert Schoterman addresses students and staff at Lincoln Elementary School March 5. Schoterman, who participated in the 1972 Olympic Games as a hammer thrower on the track and field team, spoke to youngsters about setting goals and working hard to achieve them.

by Phil Keren

Editor

Cuyahoga Falls -- The students and staff at Lincoln Elementary School celebrated the Olympics with a ceremony, games and encouraging words from a former Olympic athlete.

On March 5, the gymnasium at Lincoln served as a venue to honor the sportsmanship promoted by the international sporting event.

For the opening ceremony, each class entered the gymnasium representing a different country as celebratory music played. Students waved miniature flags or paper flags for the country they were representing. Some students wore various types of hats, and some carried a banner for the nation they represented. One group of students wore T-shirts with painted handprints on them. One teacher was spotted wearing a toga and many of the other Lincoln staff donned sweat suits in honor of the occasion. Some of the countries represented were Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, Mexico, Japan and, of course, the United States of America, which received the loudest ovation.

Kathy Ward, the school's physical education teacher, had the honor of bringing the torch into the gymnasium. She was chosen among 10 nominees that included both staff members and students. Mrs. Ward recited the Olympic oath.

Students were shown a video depicting an event that Ward said is "a true act of sportsmanship."

The video showed an event that took place at a 2008 college softball game between Central Washington and Western Oregon.

Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky hit a home run -- the first of her career. In the excitement over recording her first round-tripper, she ran past first base without touching it. She quickly turned around, but the abruptness of the move tore her anterior cruciate ligament. She fell to the ground in pain and crawled back to first base. Under the rules, her own teammates were not allowed to help her around the bases; however, the opposing team was allowed to come to her aid. Players from the other team -- Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace -- carried Tucholsky around the bases and made sure her foot touched each bag as they circulated the diamond.

"It's about the competition and it's about trying your best," school principal Rose Heintz. "And being kind and taking care of others, as well as ourselves."

Albert Schoterman, a hammer thrower on the U.S. team in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany, spoke to the students about what it takes to succeed.

Schoterman read passages from a children's book called "Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success." It's written by John Wooden, the former UCLA basketball coach whose teams won 10 national championships while he guided them in the 1960s and 1970s.

In the book, Schoterman said the mouse and the inch worm visit different animals "that represent a building block [which leads to success]."

Reading from Wooden's book, Schoterman said that success is, "trying to be the best you can be. Don't worry what others may have or might say about you. When trying your best, success comes your way."

"You don't have to be a champion, you don't have to be an athlete," said Schoterman. "It takes a lot of steps to get to where you want to go ... don't get discouraged with yourself."

Schoterman recalled practicing in extremely cold weather while he was on the Kent State University track and field team.

"I would take a bag ... and put it over my socks, and then put my shoes on over that," said Schoterman. "I had to shovel [snow] where I threw ... and then take like a flame-thrower thing and melt all the ice off. [It was] 10 below zero and it was on Christmas Day. So you have to really dedicate yourself if you want to do something in your life."

Schoterman also encouraged students to respect their teachers, parents and friends.

"Parents and teachers have a very hard job in this world and that's to try to make you have success," said Schoterman. "It's very easy to cause trouble, talk back; go the other way and try to find out how to be polite."

Schoterman encouraged students to "do something physical" every day, and added that doing exercise improves a person's brain power.

Schoterman told the Falls News-Press that he finished 13th out of 44 participants in the hammer throw in the 1972 Olympics, and added he "just missed making the final."

E-mail: pkeren@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3940