Student Athletes

It is always important to stimulate both the body and the mind. As a youngster, I excelled at Track & Field and Football. Working hard to be number one in sports is always good, but think after awhile I lost site of working hard mentally. Got complacent with getting by easily in classes, instead of striving to be A+ student all the time. Of course there was the unchallenged mind and peer pressure to not think of class as cool, but there was really no excuse to get a B when if a singular book was opened then there would be no stopping me.

Senior year I ended up quitting football to prove to colleges that there was indeed a brain under my helmet and scored exceptionally, earning a scholarship to Columbia. Better late than never, but the point of the story is student is first in "student athlete."

With that said, it has been a blessing to see the young members of the family living this ideal to the fullest. Hasan and Husain are not only football and wrestling allstars, but from what I hear Odyssey of the Mind champions...believe their team is poised to move on to states and even world champions within this mentally challenging arena.

Kailyn-Naddiyah is equally doing well with school and basketball and has already exhibited immense talent in both. Others in the family are excelling as well and it is good to see that our youngsters are positioning themselves to be great leaders of the future with sharp minds and bodies.

"Growing up is easy, it is growing out that is hard."