Champions for Tomorrow puts on annual performance

Every year, a group known as Champions for Tomorrow comes to FC to conduct a special assembly for the students. In past years, speakers perform entertaining feats of strength, such as ripping a phonebook in half or bending frying pans, to help engage the audience. This year, the champions spoke to high school and junior high, Oct. 4.

Champions for Tomorrow is an organization that brings in former NFL players and athletes to schools and discuss the importance of character and values, while relating their own personal stories to help identify with students. They cover topics like peer pressure, right and wrong choices, goals, bullying and the power of words, among others.

This year the athletes are on track to visit 10 Central Valley School districts, on 51 different campuses, reaching nearly 30,000 students. Tanya Crevier, known as “The Best Female Basketball Handler” and Dominic Miller, a former football star at the University of Houston, arrived on campus around 8:30 a.m. to prepare and set up their equipment for their speeches, which began an hour later.

Crevier started the assembly by blasting pump-up music and then began her routine. She started by spinning a basketball on her finger, moving it from hand to hand, even going behind her back and between her legs. Crevier also went to individual students and placed the spinning basketball on their fingers and helped them keep it spinning.

Sophomore Griffin Schmidt has watched the Champions for Tomorrow performances for the last three years. Schmidt was excited that there was a new act to watch.

“I thought Tanya did an excellent job entertaining the audience,” Schmidt said. “She did a good job getting a lot of students involved. The coolest thing Tanya did was either when she spun a ball on a pole that she extended super high. A close second place was her finale, where she had ten basketballs spinning on her at once. I’m glad this year they brought in a new act.

Crevier continued by amping up her show to more advanced tricks. At the end of this, she began talking to the students about choosing the right choices, over wrong decisions. She urged students to continually decide to do right. She then continued by balancing a pole on her hand with a ball spinning on top. She extended the pole with the ball spinning to a height of about 25 feet.

Her finale consisted of ten basketballs and herself. This combination ended with Crevier spinning all ten basketballs on some part of her body, whether feet, knees or hands.

Crevier started basketball handling in the seventh grade when she met a guy who could do fancy tricks, and knew she wanted to do that too. She is thankful for the opportunity she now has to speak and perform to students nationwide.

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“I’m here with Champions for Tomorrow,” Crevier said. “They’re group of people here in Fresno that have a real passion and heart for young people. I guess that’s my heart too and it’s why I keep coming because I want to inspire kids to realize their full potential and realize what they can do with their talents and skills. But then when I’m here at this school I get the privilege and opportunity to share what Jesus Christ has done in my life. He’s changed me from a person that has passion for sports only to one that has passion for him, and you marry those two together and there’s nothing like it.

After Crevier’s finished, Miller started his turn. He spoke about achieving goals and dreams, whether big or small. To demonstrate this, he used his strength to do push-ups with a small person on his back as a “small goal.” Then he used Matthew Tanaka, ‘17, and Braxton Liebe, ‘21, on his back to demonstrate a “big goal.”

Miller then shared his personal story to the gathered students. He grew up in a loving home until his parents and grandmother were arrested. However, he was able to persevere and got into college, where he played football and was the first person in his family to graduate with a college degree. He is now trying out for the Green Bay Packers.

Moved by Miller’s testimony, senior Olivia Palmer was thankful for this special assembly. She was encouraged by the athlete’s stories and enjoyed their display of talents.

“I loved Miller’s story and was thankful he shared it with us,” Palmer said. “I’m also thankful that they gave us a long chapel time so we could see more of the athlete’s skill and strength. I really enjoyed his story because it inspired me that whenever I am going through a tough time, I will be able to get out of it.”

The speakers ended by handing out little notecards to the students and encouraged them to write down any prayers, questions or messages. 

To read more about Champions for Tomorrow visit, Champions For Tomorrow.

To read FC’s homecoming recap for day 2 read, FC turns back time: Day 2

This writer can be reached via twitter @alexrurik23 and via email Alexander Rurik.

Champions for Tomorrow from The Feather Online on Vimeo.

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