Ben Pasiuk- NCAA All-American 

It's been a while.  

There is a poem by Vachel Lindsay that I used to teach to my high schoolers, and I'm sharing it with you now.

The Mouse That Gnawed The Oak-Tree Down

The mouse that gnawed the oak-tree down
Began his task in early life.
He kept so busy with his teeth
He had no time to take a wife.

He gnawed and gnawed through sun and rain
When the ambitious fit was on,
Then rested in the sawdust till
A month of idleness had gone.

He did not move about to hunt
The coteries of mousie-men.
He was a snail-paced, stupid thing
Until he cared to gnaw again.

The mouse that gnawed the oak-tree down,
When that tough foe was at his feet—
Found in the stump no angel-cake
Nor buttered bread, nor cheese, nor meat—
The forest-roof let in the sky.

“This light is worth the work,” said he.
“I’ll make this ancient swamp more light,”
And started on another tree.

I was always impressed by the depth of the responses I got from my students and the variety of opinions.  Some thought the mouse was persistent in pursuit of his goals.  Some thought Lindsay was illustrating the futility of doing the same thing over and over again with no real reward.  Some, similar to Jack Lucie, didn't know what coteries were.

I always come back to "the light is worth the work."

Read that again.

There is no way to measure how we all might be feeling right now if Ben didn't get on the podium this weekend.  And we don't have to- because he got the job done.

It's a feather in the cap for him, his family, his training partners and coaches and all of you who have supported him.  His legacy will live on the wall in Arvin forever, right next to some of you guys. We are proud of his accomplishments, as we are of all the guys who fought alongside him this weekend, and this season.

But the AA trophy isn't the "light", so to speak.  The work is.  The BHAW is.

Our guys have some challenges that other 7^th year portal NIL 26-year-old seniors don't face.  But they also have something those programs will NEVER have.  The gift of perspective, and the understanding that they are truly a part of something bigger than themselves.

I'm up on Monday, getting started on another tree.  And I'm glad YOU are all with me.