On September 27, 2016, Dr. FitzGerald had the opportunity to talk with the Saint Patrick Catholic School’s Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) cross country team during their practice at Vassault Park. He also interviewed a few of the athletes.
Who is Dr. FitzGerald?
Dr. Garry FitzGerald is the leader for the Health Ministry at Saint Patrick Catholic Church. Dr. FitzGerald has a background in family medicine, preventive medicine and public health. He has been a parishioner at Saint Patrick Catholic Church for over 20 years with his wife Cathleen, a former professor of Public Health Nutrition.
Athlete Interviews
Listen as Dr. FitzGerald interviews a few of the athletes, then read his reflection about the new connection.
A Reflection on His Work with the Athletes
Dr. FitzGerald shared the following reflection about his work with the young CYO athletes.
CYO Athletes are Engaging and Curious
I was greeted enthusiastically by Megan Miller, the team’s head coach, 
several assistant coaches and over fifty runners from Kindergarten to 8th Grade. The energy level and excitement for being on this team was uplifting to say the least. It had been decided that I would speak first to the older runners and if I survived that group and their questions I would be ready for the younger runners. I found both groups a pleasure to talk with and found them engaged and inquisitive.
Saint Sebastian— Patron Saint of Athletes & Sports
We started the presentations with a prayer to Saint Sebastian, the patron Saint of Athletes and Sports and also of the recent 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janiero.
Saint Sebastian, patron saint of athletes and sports, help me do the best I can, aim high, and always give it my best effort and if I should fail give me strength to try harder. Amen.Prayer to Saint Sebastian
PossAbilities are Endless
It was a beautiful fall afternoon and I was there to speak to the runners about the Health Ministry at Saint Patrick Catholic Church and some of the disabled athletes I’ve worked with through the PossAbilities program at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Southern California.
Rudy Garcia TolsonI then talked about disabled athletes that I’ve had the privilege of working with and the tremendous obstacles they had to overcome. The first athlete we talked about was Rudy Garcia Tolson, a young man born with extremely deformed legs who had them amputated at age five. However, Rudy with his strong faith in God and unbridled determination is now a Paralympic swimmer and has won Gold Medals in three Paralympic Games and a recent Silver Medal in Rio. Rudy is also a triathlon and Iron Man competitor. His motto is “No legs, no limits”.
Bethany HamiltonI then talked about Bethany Hamilton, a young girl who was an up and coming surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack while surfing in Hawaii. Bethany, with a strong faith in God and a truly supportive family, returned to surfing and is competing with able-bodied surfers and is winning. Many of the runners had seen the movie made about Bethany, “Soul Surfer”, and thought she was amazing. Ricochet
Finally, we talked about a very special dog, Ricochet, who surfs with disabled kids. Ricochet is a Golden Retriever owned by a remarkable woman, Judy Fridono. Ricochet was originally in training to be a service dog when her unusual surfing talents were discovered. Today Ricochet works with a wide variety of charities to give the opportunity to disabled kids to feel what it’s like to surf with a dog helping to balance the surfboard. This year Ricochet, because of her amazing work, was voted into the International Surfing Hall of Fame.
The Power of Prayer
We handed out pictures and books about these amazing athletes for our runners to look at and hopefully be inspired. The runners talked about friends they knew with disabilities and how important it was to be especially kind and supportive to people with all kinds of disabilities. We talked about how prayer and our faith in God helps us when we face any obstacles in our life. Some of the runners received wrist bands with the PossAbilities Logo and others a baseball card of Jim Abbot the one-handed pitcher for the California Angels.
Ready Set Go 5210
We also talked about healthy living and good nutrition. I explained to our runners about the Ready Set Go 5210 Program which some of the runners were familiar with and one young second grader explained to the group what those numbers meant.
- 5—the number of servings of fruit and veggies you
should eat every day. - 2—The maximum number of hours you should spend watching TV or playing video games a day.
- 1—The minimum number of hours you should spend in physical activity every day.
- 0—The number of sodas or sugary drinks you should have every day.
A Bright Future for our Community
It’s obvious from the questions we asked our Saint Patrick Catholic School CYO cross country runners that they understand the importance of their strong Catholic faith, their families and a healthy lifestyle. This is truly a strong indication of the guidance and support they have received from their coaches, teachers, church and especially their parents. It was truly a wonderful experience to learn first-hand about these great kids and their coaches. With kids like these, the future looks bright for Saint Patrick Catholic Church & School and our universal community.
Recognizing A Catholic Athlete
The Health Ministry, in conjunction with the CYO C=cross country team will be choosing a runner who best epitomizes the qualities of a Catholic athlete. The Health Ministry will be providing a special St. Sebastian Runner’s Medal and a Certificate to the runner chosen.
Cross Country News
The cross country team had a wonderful meet on October 2, 2016 with many runners reaching personal bests! Nineteen runners placed in the top ten, resulting in a second place finish for the team out of the 14 teams that competed. The middle school boys had an amazing showing, taking away 7 of the top 9 places.
The final meet was held on October 9 at Mount Tahoma High. The season will close with a banquet at 5 P.M. on Oct 16 in the Church Hall.
