While the excitement of the Rio Olympics has come and gone, former Olympians are still making an impact on our sidelines. Former United States Olympian, Matt Hemingway, treated the U14 Rush team, coached by Megan Melucci, to two sessions of individualized running technique work. Matt represented the U.S. in the 2004 Olympic games held in Athens, Greece, literally leaping to glory and brought home a silver medal. In college, Matt competed for the University of Arkansas, was on seven National Championship teams and became a five-time All-American. After college, Matt earned a spot as an alternate on the 1996 team and recorded the second highest jump in the world in 2000. Despite his success, Matt did not qualify for the 2000 Olympic team. After "retiring" from track and field, Matt re-entered competition in 2004 at the age of 31. His 7' 8 1/4" jump earned him a silver medal. This season Matt shared his talents as an athlete and a competitor with the U14 Rush squad. Parents watching on the sidelines saw their daughters laughing as they soaked up the constructive feedback and made technical running improvements.
Matt and his wife Kate adopted their daughter, Asha, from Ethiopia in 2007. Asha and her teammates on 03 Rush have experienced their own highs and lows this season. The newly formed team struggled through some tough losses, overcoming mental challenges, yet never giving up. In fact, they finish the fall season with a very successful weekend winning the Championship at the Christmas Angel Tournament in Phoenix with 3 wins and a tie scoring 20 goals and allowing only one! Thank you to Matt for demonstrating many of the Rush core values, in particular, TENACITY.
Tenacity: To be successful, persevere.... persevere but do not be anxious. Fear no one. Be strong and courageous. Work when no one else is looking, even when the circumstances are not right and everyone else quits.
For more information on Matt Hemingway's road to success, please see his website at: http://www.matthemingway.com/'
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