Olympic silver medalist Nick Willis recently shared an important message with students at St. Mary Catholic School in Pinckney: "I believe every single one of you was given an incredible gift from God. Every single one of you was specially made. However, we're not all given the gift to do everything. My dream was to be in the NBA."Willis, from New Zealand, won the silver medal in the 1500 M run in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He has competed in three Olympics, and continues to train in Ann Arbor, where he attended the University of Michigan. His coach, Ron Warherst, accompanied him to St. Mary's. Warherst, a former U of M track coach, also trained Dan Cooke, the father of a St. Mary first-grader.
Willis' athletic journey also has been a journey of faith. Willis' mother had died from cancer when he was in Kindergarten. This had left him "confused, and angry at God." He said he has since learned that "although tough times happen, God is always alongside you to help."
"I got to the University, and I got praise. There was a temptation to get a big head: 'I'm important, aren't I?' The truth is that every single one of us is wonderful and amazing, and loved more than we can imagine by Jesus, who made us." Willis added, "I was winning races, and getting good grades, but I was lonely. I cried when I got home."
At that point, said Willis, he felt God encouraged him to let others help him. "I've got more friends I've made from the sport of running than I've got medals – and I value that the most," he said. It was during his victory lap at the Olympics that he recalled "all of the people who had helped me get to that point – and joy hit."
Willis added that the experience of being in the stadium with so many people from all over the world was "a little experience of what Heaven must feel like – with people from every 'tongue, tribe, and nation' in the stands."
During his visit at St. Mary, Willis invited a student from each grade, K-8, to race him across the gym. Meghan Miller, the fourth grader chosen for this honor, said Willis' presentation taught her to "listen to your coaches and your teammates because they are there to help you. You can achieve anything you want to if you put your mind to it. And God gave you gifts because he loves you and cares about you a lot!"
She added, "He made me think about my gifts ... how I like math a lot and I can help others who don't get math. I am really good at giving hugs and getting people to smile; this is how I can make some people's day better. I will watch for him in the next Olympics and hope he does great!"
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