In our upstairs den is a framed artifact that Kerry gave to me for my birthday 20 years ago when we still lived in Seattle. She was pregnant with our oldest daughter who would be born a couple of months later. I’ve walked past “the gift” well over a couple of thousand times in the last decade alone – and like a lot of things in all of our homes – it has gone virtually unnoticed. That was until yesterday – when I visited it as a destination – and admittedly got emotional thinking about its power, it’s connection and how awe inspiring I saw it to be all so suddenly. And I suppose in some ways, I welled up because I took a very special moment for granted.
You see – somehow back in 1996, I was given the good fortune of being selected as a torchbearer escort for the Olympic relay – which essentially gave me the honor of running alongside 3 different torchbearers over the course of about 2 miles in a small town just south of Tacoma, WA. Unsolicited, each individual was kind enough to hand me the torch (literally) and let me run with it as well – (yes, people really are that generous). Essentially, the torch got lit in Athens, was run across Greece, flown to L.A. and then up and down and all across the United States on its way to Atlanta. (See the whole route HERE if interested)
Each of us got to wear a short and T-Shirt combo that is decidedly retro – and better off enclosed in glass for more than a couple of reasons……Read more…..
About Steve Boyle
Steve Boyle is a connector, collaborator, and tireless advocate for making youth sports more playful, inclusive, and developmentally sound. As Executive Director of 2-4-1 CARE, Inc. and Co-Founder of 2-4-1 Sports, Steve has helped lead a growing movement to reshape the youth sports experience—one that puts the joy of play and the whole child at the center. Grounded in his background as a school counselor and coach, Steve co-created the award-winning TOP Self™ platform, which uses sport as a vehicle for social-emotional learning. Under his collaborative leadership, 2-4-1 has grown from a single program in West Hartford, Connecticut to a global nonprofit impacting communities across North America and Africa. Steve’s influence extends beyond his own organization. He served as Advisory Board Chair for the National Association of Physical Literacy and as Global Lead for Athletics and Physical Literacy at Whittle School & Studios, shaping programming in Washington, D.C. and Shenzhen. Whether working with local partners or global networks, Steve brings humility, heart, and a belief in the power of teamwork to everything he does.