1. Wanted to take a moment to not only wish you the best of luck down in Georgetown
but along the rest of journey. Rachel you are an incredible athlete and person. I
could rattle off page after page and list your athletic accomplishments, times,
performances and awards. But what’s the point; you have the plaques and trophies,
you remember the races, you remember all your times, or better yet the times of the
new goals you have set. So instead I am going to share with you why I think you
have achieved so much and why you are capable of so much more!
You have always been a very enthusiastic and highly motivated Sachem teammate.
You always want to be better, achieve more, and aspire to another level. Your
passion and excitement are incredible. I can easily tell you that many athletes have
physical talent, a lot are even talented and work hard, but it is only a rare few that
have a yearning, a burning passion so strong that they are truly capable of
developing their talents and accomplishing greatness. You, Rachel Paul, in my
opinion happen to be one of those rare athletes on the road to greatness.
You are always hungry for more, excited by a challenge, eager to push yourself,
demanding more out of your body and refusing to accept anything less than your
best. It is these qualities in your character that have allowed you to accomplish what
you have so far and will be the essential elements required to take you where you
want to go. It is this passion that is contagious. Look at how great SEGVT&F was
during your Sachem career. They rose to being a national level track and field
program, why, well because you had national caliber talented athletes. How did
Sachem get so lucky to have all that talent living within one school district on Long
Island? It got that lucky by having Rachel Paul living within the district. You helped
push your whole team; you demanded dedication and hard work at practice. You
demanded each and every teammate push herself in competition and you set
precedence that mediocrity was never acceptable. In order to be satisfied one would
have to work hard, push hard, and fight hard. You lead by example, you lead by
encouragement, and you lead by exemplifying what it means to be a captain.
I have never seen you give up in a workout, practice, or race. The only time you have
failed to reach your potential is when doubt took over. Doubt can be our worst
enemy, especially as a distance athlete where the battle set before us on the track is
certainly more than 50% mental. Doubt takes away our fierce fighting instinct that
we need to kick in during a race.
You are off to Georgetown, on an athletic scholarship! Wow is all I can say, just
pause for a second and re-read that, Georgetown on an athletic scholarship…do you
understand the magnitude of that accomplishment? That alone is impressive, but I
know you, you are Rachel Paul, and making it there is not enough. No infact you
chose to go there (after all you were recruited, sought out by top running institutes
across the nation), why did you choose to go there? Well to put yourself in the best
possible environment. An environment that would push you, and not a little, but a
lot. It would constantly push you, test you, and challenge you. You sought out a place
where everyday, every workout, every race you would be surrounded by high

2. levelathletes, that were highly motivated and talented. Athletes that may or may not
be more talented than you. Athletes that on paper had better performances than
you. Athletes that you could look up to, strive to be, and one day strive to beat! You
chose the challenge and you are beyond ready to face that challenge.
Not everything happens in one season, one year, or even one college career. The
great thing is it is actually always happening, slowly behind the scenes, every hard
workout, every long run, every situp, crunch, and curl. It happens every time we lace
up our trainers, pull back our hair and click through our watch. It happens every
drink we opt not too take, every party we come home early from because we know
that the next morning we have an important day of training waiting for us. You are
someone that already makes the right decisions, who knows the consequences and
even more importantly understands why these choices are worth it.
You have trained religiously to prepare for preseason. You didn’t just show up, go
through the motions and fill in your training log. (I did find it kind of amusing that
half way through the summer was the first time it occurred to you that you could
cheat and tell your coach whatever you wanted because he wouldn’t really know.
That fact that “cheating” never once crossed your mind is just yet another testament
to your character.) No you day after day, sweat soaked session after session you
poured you heart and soul into physically pushing your body. You always have. You
attacked each hard workout, picked up heavy dumbbells, and when not satisfied
with enough ab work added your own supplemental intense routine, in addition to
your prescribed training! You did this during the hottest of hot days in the humid
long island summer. You did this when you were sicker then you were willing to
admit. You did this why, well because you needed to be ready. You did this for fear
of not being prepared was far worse than any physical pain you had to endure
during training. You did this because now, now you Rachel Paul have finally
graduated from high school and are ready to be an elite colligate runner.
Never forget all that you have accomplished, but more importantly how and why it
is that you were capable of these accomplishments. You are destined for greatness
and the greater the glory that lies ahead, waiting to be attained the harder and more
challenging the journey set before us will be. You are ready for this journey, you are
ready for all the challenges, twists and turns, the ups and downs, the defeats,
failures, setbacks and after you have survived all of this, (which I have no doubt that
you will) you will be ready to soak up all the glory, and will be beaming with pride
and smiling inside and out!
I am so excited to watch you along your journey. I bought you this pin at the
Olympics. It is a collector’s pin that celebrated the Opening Ceremony. The Opening
Ceremony is what kicks off the games, signaling that it is time, time to begin, time to
make it all happen. You are standing on the starting line of your adult life, and in a
few short days the gun will be going off. You will be off, off on your way, off on the
most exciting journey! Just as I stood at the Opening Ceremony, more giddy and
excited then you could ever know, anxiously waiting for the Games to begin and my

3. moment to come, I also stood there prepared and ready, in the best shape of my life.
You too stand on the starting line ready prepared. Equipped with all the talent,
skills, and character that you will need to achieve all your dreams. I am so proud of
you Rachel and cannot wait to be the spectator watching your journey!
The Olympic Games has been the greatest experience of my athletic career. The
feelings I experienced can never be explained in words. I chose this pin for you for
another reason. I believe that you too can make it here, here to the Olympic Games,
that is if you want it. Let this pin symbolize me belief and excitement in you and
your abilities. Everytime you see it remember that if I believe in you, that you too
better ALWAYS BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
One last word of advice before you step on the starting line, life is a journey not a
destination so remember to have fun and enjoy it along the way. Because when the
race is over no matter what the outcome, you need to have enjoyed getting there,!
Best of luck Rachel, Remember nothing happens over night but every night it is
happening!
On your mark,
Get set,
Go!....................