Dear Friends,
Akeem Morissaint was his name, and I will never forget him. He was
five feet five inches, and at the most he weighed 150 pounds. He possessed a
smile that lit up the room, and he embodied the kind of determination that
would make him a success at whatever he chose to do. The first time he entered
our school’s gym in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. I could tell there was something
special about him. His parents fled from Haiti during one of their many
revolutions, and he showed up on Calvary Christian Academy’s doorstep a few
weeks after school started, the beneficiary of some money that a family friend
provided to pay for his schooling.
His sophomore year he came out for basketball, and immediately I
knew he would be a star because he had a work ethic like no other player I had
ever coached, He lived 20 miles from school, and every day he took the train,
and each morning I would pick him up at 7:00 at the Cypress Ave. train
station, and together we would drive to the gym where I would work with him. He
would practice for an hour until the bell for his first class rang. I well
remember some of those early morning workouts. Who could forget a player making
25 three pointers in a row or 79 straight foul shots. He played three years for
me, and as a senior he made first team all Broward County, joining the likes of
three other exceptional players who went on to start at three of the top
division 1 basketball schools in the country.
Akeem’s lack of size kept him being recruited by major D-1
schools, but his talent and determination didn’t preclude him from getting a
scholarship to Northwest Missouri State, a small school where he starred
for several years before an injury ended his playing days.
It has been well said that “Leadership is influence, and influence
is what Akeem possessed. Everyone looked up to this diminutive athlete who
proved that size doesn't matter and that if you want something bad enough,
you can achieve it regardless of the limitations you might encounter. As team
captain, Akeem led as much by example as he did by his ability. His greatest leadership
quality was his determination to be an all-star in spite of his limited size.
One of a leader’s greatest assets is the kind determination Akeem
possessed, a relentless inner drive that never allows one to quit until the
goal is achieved.
I used to constantly remind my players of the word
"Dimitt", a word that can’t be found in any dictionary. It is
simply an acronym for "Determination is more important than talent."
The word "Dimitt" provides a constant reminder to anyone that
if you want to be successful in any walk of life, you must possess the
quality of determination. And that thought leads me once again to that
beautiful office file cabinet where stored away are a couple of quotes that I would
leave with you.
“Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.” Vince Lombardi
“Habit is the daily battleground on which character is
formed.”
“The secret of success is to start from scratch and keep
scratching.”
“She didn’t know it couldn’t be done, but she went ahead and did
it anyways.” Bridget McDonald
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent
will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will
not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is
full of educated derelicts. Persistence and Determination alone are
omnipotent.” President Calvin Coolidge
But perhaps the greatest quotes I could leave with you come from
the Word of God where we are exhorted "...To not grow weary in doing good
for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9), and “I can do
all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
Why not post those verses on your mirror, and who knows what you
might achieve? You may not become an all-star on the basketball floor like
Akeem, but I am sure you will be an all-star in the Kingdom of God, and what
could be a greater reward than that?
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
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