Matt Meacham with Amanda Dickson (Photo Stone Johnson)
What will your legacy be? Do you ever think about that? Perhaps the older we get, the more inclined we are to consider what we have given in our lifetimes, to our families and communities, in our careers. What have we done not for ourselves but for the love of others?
This topic came up last week when we broadcast live from Grantsville High School for a KSL in Your Community event. I met several extraordinary leaders that day. One was the coach of the girls wrestling team, Matt Meacham. (I didn’t even know girls wrestling was a thing.)
Grantsville High School just won its second state title in girls wrestling. (Mind you, this is only the third year for the sport at Grantsville.) Meacham says girls wrestling is the fastest-growing sport in the state and around the country.
You may be surprised at the makeup of his team. He has 33 girls participating (one of the bigger teams in Utah) and they include ballerinas, soccer and volleyball players, cheerleaders and softball players.
The girls actually train with the boys wrestling team.
“Girls still wrestle girls and boys still wrestle boys,” Meacham explained. “All of the workouts are the same, and it’s given us a real advantage. When we go to tournaments, we are the more physical team.”
“The thing that we tell our wrestlers is we’re thrilled when we win a title, but their goals should be more than that. We want them to be ambassadors for the sport of girls wrestling.” When the team wins rings, on the inside is inscribed, “Leave a legacy.”
Coach Meacham is building a legacy, not just of wrestling, but of teaching leadership, self-respect and respect for others.
What legacy am I leaving?
To my mind, the things we leave behind of real value are almost always defined by love. I haven’t really paused before to think about what my legacy might be. (I’ve been at KSL since 1990, so I ought to have one.) If I had to define it myself (and I won’t be the one defining it) I would say it is about love – about loving each other, about friendship, about building people up and reminding everyone that we are loved.
We are loveable.
Whether we win a championship or not.
Amanda Dickson is the co-host of Utah’s Morning News and A Woman’s View.