Tyler+C’s+Final+AmEx+2013+Speech

=Title of Speech: A sad end to humility=

=Text of Speech=

When did it become acceptable to be flashy? When did “owning it” over step its bounds? When did humility die alone in some God forsaken hole? I see rampant cockiness make fools out of young men almost every day. I feel the current generations soon to be men are operating under the influence of rap, intoxicated by pop culture. With rappers “wearing every single chain even when they in the house” how can they truly be blamed? Their actions are influenced by what they are exposed to and that is flagrant, unadulterated, egotistical cockiness. This I feel is most prevalent in athletics, and even though I believe it originated in basketball then transferred to football it is now an epidemic in all athletic events. The one I just happen to be most exposed to is volleyball. Although in this class we have talked at length of the poverty that is obvious in LA I feel there is just as much wealth as poverty in the area. The volleyball scene seems to work like this and always has as long I can remember: all the best clubs, players, coaches, high schools, best collages, beach tournaments, beach pros and so on are in the “south bay” area. Now the south bay encompasses Redondo, Rosecrans, Hermosa, Manhattan, and so on, and these areas just happen to be quite wealthy neighborhoods which entails that although of course I am stereotyping the top players are upper class white douc bags although I did have the pleasure of meeting a black guy named Louis who’s a cool guy. Now this brings to topic again to the issue of cockiness where these boys are simply blessed to live in a beautiful area to wealthy families who can blow as much money as they want on seven thousand dollar clubs teams whose coach is the USC head coach, as much money as they want on training, go to mire coast high school and win three CIF titles in a row. How do they carry themselves? Like schleps, they smoke mass amounts of weed paid for by their pocket change, pop off to their coach who is trying to get them a scholarship to UCLA, walk when they should run, skim when they should soar. Now I know you’re going to love this one a friend of mine is going to UCLA on scholarship with a 2.5 you know how? He’s 6’11’’. This is a perfect example of a kid who was born with something which gives him opportunities to slack of and then walks around as if he is the son of God. This always for ones character to be compromised and for these boys to never see the error of their ways. This is a calling for a return to humility, one in which I wish to encircle every color and social class. A return to day of “yes coach” shaking your coach’s hand after practice and treating teammates with respect. I have experienced firsthand abuse of one teammate to another and as any bullying goes it might seem funny it truly hurts those on the lower end and can mean huge consequences for those who at the time are on top. I am calling a stop to weak coaches who allow talent to walk on them. A great exception to this is the Brazilian coaches on the junior national team another favorite of mine is when the top player in the 19’s team decides to walk the warp up run just to be defiant and is completely torn apart when he returns late by the new Brazilian coach who hasn’t quite learned yet that here in America slackers are rewarded. Especially on the national stage what does this say about America? Are we on the retreat of global prowess? Because I if was a country and saw the US team banging their chest and acting a fool my respect for that country would plummet, and deservedly so. This was another such incident two years ago when Stafford Slick was booed off the court in Cypress, Slick after seeing the tape admits to doing nothing wrong when his ego clearly humiliated the US team. It is exactly this that I do not want to see in the America I grow old in, the America I want to grow old in one will be judged on their conduct, character and humility.

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