Four-sport Eau Claire North athlete Elijah Vlcek puts trust in more than himself
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Elijah Vlcek, 17, is a four-sport athlete at Eau Claire North. Elijah plays cross country, track and field, football, and wrestling for the North Huskies.
Elijah is in his first year of wrestling for the North Huskies. His personal goals for wrestling, athletics and life are to perform at a high level with passion, grit and determination for the sport, in hopes of one day taking those sports to a collegiate level. Elijah loves that with his sports he is able to compete at a high level against fellow athletes with goals that are similar to Elijah. Elijah said being part of a team has instilled in him the leadership skills, the ability to sacrifice for those around you, and the fact that individuals are nothing without the support of their fellow teammates and coaches.
With every sport there comes a challenge and ways to manage that challenge. Elijah said his biggest challenge is, 鈥淎 large portion of sports derives from our mentality toward adversity. Overcoming the mental aspects of sports will challenge every athlete on all levels. In order to overcome this, I focus on how far I have come as an athlete and how far I will go through God鈥檚 strength. Philippians 4:13.鈥�
The best advice Elijah has received is that 鈥淥vercoming adversity is overcoming your mentality toward the trials every athlete will face. Passion is the key to success in any sport. If you are passionate about your sport you will have the ability to persevere through the challenges and hardships presented. Most importantly ‘get out of your own head.’鈥� Elijah has also received advice from his coach/mentor to 鈥淢ake no excuses and you will have no regrets. Excuses are temporary but the regrets that follow can last a lifetime.鈥�
Elijah said his pregame ritual is 鈥淏efore competing, I center myself before God releasing the race, match, or game into His will, in order to reflect the glory back to God. Jeremiah 29:11.鈥� With competing there are also mistakes, and Elijah said 鈥淭he mistake I regret most is not competing in high school athletics at an earlier age. This required me to attempt a crash course learning the technique and skills necessary to compete. Leaving nothing behind, I overcame this challenge by pouring my all into every practice and competition, focusing on the coaching I received.鈥�
When Elijah is not participating in cross country, track and field, football, and wrestling for the North Huskies he enjoys his passions of exploring the great outdoors, fixing cars, and summiting mountains. Elijah adds, 鈥淚 encourage all athletes to take Pride in how far you have come, have faith in how far you can go, and trust in the strength God has given us. Isaiah 40:29-31鈥淗e gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.鈥�
This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.