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Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 19, 2018 (SKNIS): Student athletes attending the 3^rd Annual Department of Sports Excellence Awards at Government House on Wednesday, July 18, were encouraged to be inspired by seven simple steps as a guide to achieving excellence.

 

Featured Speaker, Lanein Blanchette, who was an avid athlete herself, used the occasion to inspire the students.

 

“Learn from who or what is considered the best in that present moment. Sometimes you must learn to fail before you learn to succeed and become the best. Only when you understand what it feels like to fail and try again will you be able to fine tune the steps to becoming the best and thereafter cherish the moment when you achieve success,” she said. “Don’t be afraid of having the same routine every day and working long hours. Today people talk about creativity stemming from novel experiences. This may be true. However, incremental improvement is the key to becoming a creative master of your craft. To reach the highest levels of creativity, sometimes you must slowly get better each and every day, step by step, and brick by brick.”

 

Ms. Blanchette gave her personal stance on the seven steps, referring to them as the process called life.

 

“Be the very best; you must have talent and be willing to develop that talent; give your life to your craft and improve it daily, never be satisfied with your work; do not plan for Plan B because it is the mindset to fail Plan A,” she said. “As a result of your abilities, you may find yourself in the capacity as a leader. As a leader, however, you may not always collaborate well with others, and that’s okay and; master the art of simplicity. Be passionate. Be a perfectionist.

 

As this sports year comes to a close, Ms. Blanchette appealed to the student athletes to be proactive and make the right decisions, especially as they approach the new sports year.

 

“I encourage you to become a great believer in the importance of celebration and rewards. I encourage you to identify the virtuous behavior you want repeated in yourself. I encourage you to set challenging goals that raise the performance bar. And, I encourage you to celebrate loud and proud once those goals are achieved.”

 

Ms. Blanchette focused briefly on the theme “Celebrating excellence, inspiring innovation” and noted “ladies and gentlemen, excellence is not something that is achieved overnight. It is something that takes constant work and lots of time.”

 

A total of ninety-one (91) awards were distributed to thirty-one (31) males and twenty-eight (28) females. These included student athletes; coaches; sporting officials; schools; teachers; staff of the Department of Sports; and other contributors to the Department of Sports.