On a chilly fall night, the Sunnyslope Vikings football team prepared for their road contest against Notre Dame Prep. Some were getting taped, others were listening to music, but one senior lineman’s preparation for this game was unique.
Instead of listening to Eminem or giving his teammates a pep talk, his usual go-tos, Senior Colin Lifshitz was frantically texting German Teacher Mary Walther to convince her to support the team in the cold night.
Lifshitz and Walther share a special bond as she has been his German Teacher and Congressional Awards Club Advisor for three years.
“I kind of think of Colin as one of my kids, but I also think of it as a strong friendship because of our shared sense of humor,” said Walther.
Lifshtz shared a similar sentiment on their relationship.
“Frau [Walther] has been very supportive of everything I do and has helped me know that I can go and be the best that I can be at everything I do,” said Lifshitz.
Lifshitz has his plate full — participating in Wrestling, Track, Football, and NHS on top of taking four AP classes, so he is grateful for the motivation.
This aspect of motivation has been a constant in their relationship.
“In Congressional Awards Club, I had to push him to get him to sit down and fill out what he was supposed to so that he could get his first award from the United States Congress,” said Walther.
Since that meeting, Lifshitz has grown from belligerence to success.
“Its been really cool seeing Colin go from being kind of resistant to someone who’s kind of an expert and can lead and help others with their awards,” said Walther.
Lifshitz has stayed committed to Congressional Awards Club striving for his gold medal this year.
“Over high school, I’ve had to do 400 hours of community service, 200 in physical fitness, and 200 in personal development which was a lot of time and effort, but I just submitted it,” said Lifshitz.
Lifshitz is especially proud of the work he’s done in the physical fitness category- and it’s paid off.
“Because of football, I have 13 offers to go play in college — where I also hope to study chemical engineering,” said Lifshitz.
Lifshitz also wrestles, which hasn’t always worked in tandem with football.
“I joined wrestling to help me get better at football, but halfway through my junior season I felt like it was hurting instead of helping. I decided give it one more week where on Monday I had to leave practice with ice on both my calves. I couldn’t explain why, but that practice made me fall in love with the sport and I’ve been competing ever since,” said Lifshitz.
Lifshitz’s ability to find joy in pain is something he’s been working on.
“I’ve been reading a lot of books on how to compete better mentally, and that’s really helped me keep myself sane,” said Lifshitz.
As Lifshitz looks on to his next chapter, he’ll never forget the lessons he learned and the people he met at Sunnyslope.
“I feel honored that I am able to pursue my dreams at the next level, and I’m thankful for Sunnyslope’s help,” said Lifshitz.