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Contact: Jenni Brockman Phone: 804-443-3357 Fax: 804-443-6781 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tappahannock (December 15, 2003) - Dr. Seuss, bad basketball dribbling and a really hideous pair of pink shorts provided students with vivid lessons in setting and achieving goals when Richmond Kickers soccer star Rob Ukrop paid a visit to St. Margaret’s School last week. 
Photo left:
The Richmond Kickers’ Rob Ukrop presented a motivational talk to students at St. Margaret’s School as part of a lesson on goal setting. He later conducted clinics with the school’s soccer teams.
“There are no shortcuts to being successful,” Ukrop told students at the all-school Town Meeting. “It takes time, patience and dedication.” By reading part of Seuss’ “Oh, The Places You’ll Go,” demonstrating how not to play basketball and showing girls the outlandish outfit he wore every day when he was a high school senior, he delivered a three-part message about believing in yourself, being prepared and being yourself. Students clapped when he told them that in all his 33 years, he has never drank, smoked or tried illegal drugs. They sighed when he described how a disabled boy he initially overlooked scored the winning point in a second-grade basketball game. And they paid rapt attention when he explained how he earned a spot on a Division I college soccer team after being told he was too slow and not smart enough--then helped take his team to the NCAA Final Four for the first time in school history. Not everyone wants to become a top soccer player, Ukrop concluded, but everyone has goals. The challenge is to determine what yours are, then have the courage to pursue them. Ukrop’s presentation was part of St. Margaret’s co-curriculum, a yearlong program for both day and boarding students that leads girls through age-appropriate explorations of identity and relationships, healthy lifestyles and decision-making. Students will follow up by setting personal goals at day student and residential meetings, then tracking their progress. |
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