11th annual Courier-Kiwanis Athletic Awards Banquet
May 29, 2009
Sports and smarts
Twenty-seven students were recognized for their mental and physical prowess.
NEWTOWN, PA – Jake Burg has the academic smarts and the athletic skills. Maybe all he needs is a little inspiration.
The Bristol High School baseball star says he received that when he attended Tuesday night’s 11th annual Courier-Kiwanis Athletic Awards Banquet at Newtown Athletic Club.
Burg listened to guest speaker Bob Kaehler, the three-time U.S. Olympic rower, discuss his own personal formula for success – to have a vision and then act on it.
It’s a plan that seemed to resonate with Burg.
“I haven’t been sure about what to do with my college and my future,” Burg said after some 27 of Lower Bucks County’s finest high school scholar-athletes were feted at the dinner. “The speech just kind of helped me push myself forward – that I will move forward and do what I want to do, pursue baseball in college, pursue the career choice that I decide.”
In his speech, Kaehler said he didn’t take up rowing until his junior year in high school. But he did not let that stop him from pursuing a career that wound up making him one of the most decorated athlete in U.S. rowing history.
The Holland resident said he was pleased that his message was taken to heart. Excellence in both the classroom and the playing field can be a winning combination.
“The process isn’t complicated, it just takes a certain thought, create a vision, then follow through with the action,” Kaehler said. “If someone got inspired by it, great.
“Obviously, some of the kids here are already on the pathway. Having them start early is great, why not? Why waste time if you can be more concise with your life.”
Kaehler has a graduate degree from Columbia University and felt right at home as athletes bound for schools such as Princeton, Yale and Cornell were called up to receive their awards.
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