Kristofer Wright with Coach Jamie Valentine and mom Lisa Morphis.
By Linda K. Eaves –
Kristofer Wright, 2013 graduate of Needville High School, received the Fighting Heart athletic award at the annual sports banquet. The award goes to the athlete who shows the most heart – someone who refuses to give up in difficult times.
The expression on Kristofer’s face when he received the award was “priceless,” said Mr. Janacek, Kristofer’s principal. “I was astonished, and I was amazed,” said Kristofer.
Kristofer has been participating in sports since the seventh grade. Although his favorite sport is football, and he really enjoys playing football, he said, “I knew I could do something in track. Coach Valentine helped me get through some adversity through the years. Everybody was bigger than me, and they didn’t think I was going to go anywhere. He motivated me and encouraged me a lot.”
“My coach saw me achieve my dream, which was making the finals for the track for the 100 meter dash. I wanted to go to the area meet, but I wasn’t the fastest, so I practiced a lot, got my speed up and made myself faster. Coach Valentine said, ‘That’s all I ask.’ I got to where I wanted to be. I had to make myself be where I wanted to be.”
Kristofer conquered any obstacles that stood in his way. “My mom encouraged me to keep going and to keep doing what I wanted to do,” he said.
Coach Valentine said, “Kris is a great kid. He epitomizes what we mean by the fighting heart. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the biggest, fastest, strongest or best athlete. It’s someone you can count on every single day to give you everything they have and do it without question. He’s 100 percent loyal to his coaches and teammates. He has tremendous character the way he works every single day. The thing that stuck out to me was, as a freshman, he made a goal to make the finals in the 100 meter in the district track meet. He made the finals, but he didn’t place.”
“It meant so much to him to try to achieve that goal. He had worked so hard and had gotten so much stronger and faster from where he was four years ago because of the way he works,” said Coach Valentine. “He increased his speed by spending time in the weight room. We do various drills throughout the year to help increase speed and strength. Kris would always push himself above and beyond through everything we asked him to do.”
Kristofer plans on going into the National Guard and, hopefully, to college. For a career, he’s thinking of working as an aircraft mechanic or possibly becoming a teacher or coach.
“Even though there are obstacles in life, you can overcome them,” said Kristofer. “People may put you down sometimes. You just have to keep practicing and do what you have to do to make yourself better.”