Live in the Moment - Play in the Moment

As many of you know, besides Game Fit Performance Training, I am also the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Boston University.  I've been very fortunate to be able to work at BU for so many years working with a great number of athletes and coaches. Yesterday was one of those typic al spring Saturday afternoons that ended up being much more than typical.  It began as many of those days often do...preparing for a lacrosse game.  This day's match up was against Syracuse.  Besides preparing for the game there was also something else that the lacrosse team was preparing to do as well. The team announced that it had partnered with the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation to adopt Hannah O'Brien, a five-year-old from Weymouth who is battling brain cancer, as a member of the Terriers. The team welcomed Hannah and her family with a ceremony before the game and had an official Friends of Jaclyn adoption ceremony after the game. As a parent myself, watching young Hannah run through the warm-up line the team during introductions was emotional...humbling...inspiring...it was everything.  This young girl was "living in the moment" and enjoying all of the festivities dedicated to her. Hannah was first diagnosed with an anaplastic ependymoma brain tumor in November 2006. After two years of clean scans, the tumor recurred in November 2009 in the original spot and in her upper left ventricle. Hannah is currently undergoing treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.  Hannah was connected with the Terriers through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, a non-profit organization that improves the quality of life for children with brain tumors and their families by matching children with a local high school or college sports team to provide love, support and friendship. The lacrosse team began its partnership with Friends of Jaclyn last season, devoting a game to raising money for the foundation. The foundation was inspired by Jaclyn Murphy, who was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in 2004 when she was nine years old. Since then, over 200 children have been paired with collegiate and high school teams in 20 different sports. Friends of Jaclyn has the motto, "Live in the moment...Play in the moment."  Yesterday was a humbling and inspring day for me and so many others in attendance.  As I picked up my son after the game to give him a post game hug, I was living in THAT moment and thankful for everything that I have. For more information about Friends of Jaclyn, visit http://www.friendsofjaclyn.org/ and to learn more about Hannah O'Brien, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahobrien.