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 When
Yale's Amanda Walton received the NCAA Inspiration Award at
January's convention, her speech did not leave a dry eye in
the room. The NCAA Honors Ceremony will be shown on ESPN on
Thursday (Feb. 6) at 1 pm and consider this your reminder to
tape it. Her speech is also detailed below, but first a
little background on Amanda Walton.
In 2000, after her sophomore year at Yale, Miss Walton, who
was a field hockey and women's lacrosse star for the
Bulldogs, was involved in an automobile accident which put
her career on hold. She overcame a coma and physical
injuries with hard work and dedication.
Before the accident, Miss Walton had led her field hockey
team in goals (17) and scoring (35) and received NFHCA
Mid-East Region First Team All-America and first team
All-Ivy honors. As a freshman, she was named Ivy League
Rookie of the Year, as well as NFHCA Mid-East Region First
Team All-America and second team All-Ivy. She tied the
school record in scoring with 39 points (18 goals, three
assists). In lacrosse, Walton received first team All-Ivy
honors in 2000 and was named Ivy League Rookie of the
Year.
Amanda Walton: Acceptance Speech
2002 NCAA Inspiration Award
January 12, 2003
Thank you, NCAA, for giving me this award…what an
honor! While my circumstances are unfortunate, I feel proud
to be here and want to thank those who’ve helped me
along the way.
Thank you to my mom, who has been nothing short of
incredible… having selflessly devoted her life to all
seven of her children. Thank you, mom, for everything, but
most especially for reminding me of the importance of
hope!
Without you, there is no way I could have made such gains
since that tragic day in 2000.
Thanks also to my family who has dug deep --no matter how
painful &endash; and FOUND my smile!
To my twin sister, Hilary, who has, and always will be my
best friend &endash; we’re still riding together on
that bicycle built for two - thanks for guiding me along
this path of life! A huge thanks to my field hockey coaches
&endash; Ainslee, Pam and Pokie &endash; who’ve treated
me as if I were still a physical part of the team and
who’ve given so much of themselves to me. I am blessed
to have you in my life.
And to my athletic director, Tom Beckett, thank you for
always believing in me. You’ve been a guiding light and
an amazing friend!
Finally, thanks to all my friends who have been supportive
teammates and have refused to let me quit! I am grateful for
all of you.
As my accident has forever changed my perspective on life, I
also wanted to take this opportunity to throw you all a
challenge. I want to challenge you to live life as if you
were playing a game! As fellow athletes, you’ve heard
this before, but only now, after my accident, do I truly
understand the power of this metaphor. It is my game
mentality that I need and use every day on my road to
recovery.
Goal cages exist for me on every street corner. Whether or
not I am struggling to stand at the sink to brush my teeth,
or am attempting to swing both legs onto the bed to lie
down, I recognize that these are my goal cages now and I
must try my hardest to score if I want to win.
Recently, I was told I needed a series of casts on my left
arm in order to stretch my shortened tendons that are a
complicated result of my brain injury. There have been many
times when it has been extremely painful and I have been
tempted to get them removed. But, instead, I see this as
another goal cage in which I have the opportunity to score.
I keep asking myself if this pain would take me out of a
field hockey or a lacrosse game. The answer always is,
“No Way!” By relating my situation to the most
difficult and important game that I’ve ever played, I
am better able to rise to this challenge and bring myself
one small, but meaningful step closer to winning.
But while these are my goal cages and my recovery is my win,
each of you plays your own game and has your own struggles
to overcome and dreams to reach for. What we all have in
common are those attributes that make us the best of
athletes -- hard work, perseverance, determination,
teamwork, and courage. Cherish, hold onto, and develop these
skills. By putting on our game faces every day, we will all
be one step closer to winning our games of life and reaching
our dreams.
THANKS AND GOOD LUCK IN SPORTS AND IN LIFE!!!
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