We have heard stories of PGA golfers who call a penalty stroke on themselves and lose a chance at victory - like Brian Davis did at the Verizon Heritage in 2010. Davis was in a playoff against Jim Furyk and was pretty much an unknown on the Tour. He could have easily gotten away with grazing a stray weed on his backswing, but instead of going forward and having the opportunity to win his first PGA event, he had the officials review the backswing. Sure enough, he did in fact contact the weed, which was visible only in slow-motion. He conceded, and Jim Furyk won the tournament. Davis knew that honesty was much more important than victory.
My youngest son, Henry, attends 7th grade at a small, but highly accomplished, Oregon City charter school called Springwater Environmental Sciences School. This year, as part of its pre-capstone project, the entire class participated in a robotics course. There were four teams, and each was responsible for developing, constructing and programming its own robot. The teams began working on their robots in December, and it all culminated this weekend at the Evergreen Space Museum in McMinnville, Ore. The competition took place among the rockets and jets, which couldn't have been a better setting.
There were more than 30 teams competing, and many were of high school age. This was Springwater’s first year to ever compete in a robotics competition, so expectations weren't exactly high. As the day unfolded, Henry’s team suddenly found themselves at the top of the leaderboard with two of the other Springwater teams. By the time the first round was completed, three of the four Springwater teams were in the top eight. Henry’s team managed to hold on to the 8th spot.
If you are familiar with robotics tournaments, you will know that alliances are very important throughout the competition. Much of your success depends on your alliances. After the first round, one team leader from each team is chosen to go to a meeting with the officials to be versed on the procedures for the semi-finals. Henry was chosen to be the representative for his team. The top four teams get to choose two teams that they would like to go into an alliance with, so it was a sure thing that Henry’s team was going to the semi-finals.
Henry had no way of conferring with his teammates or even his teachers, and he knew that his robot was damaged and the battery would be dead after the first round of the semi-finals. As the top four teams were selecting their alliances, Henry knew that if his team were selected, they would bring down the other team, which most likely would have been from a different school. He also knew that his teammates didn't understand the status of their robot and they were looking forward to competing in the semi-finals as one of the contest's greatest underdogs.
Teams cheered as each of the alliance selections were made. Finally the fourth team selected: “We graciously select team number 7939 from Springwater.” Henry’s school began to cheer, and his classmates gave each other high fives. Henry grabbed the microphone and replied, “We respectfully decline.” There was a sudden hush over the crowd and a big "Ooh . . ." Henry just stood there, straight faced, probably holding back a floodgate of tears while the selecting team had to scramble to find another pick. There was confusion amongst the Springwater teachers and the students since nobody knew what Henry was doing.
Henry made his way back to his classmates and had to explain that if they had accepted, their robot would have just sat there and would not have functioned properly. He felt that it wouldn't have been fair to the other teams in the alliance. One of his teammates didn't understand his choice and didn't stay to cheer on his schoolmates who were still in the competition. His other teammate patted him on the back and told him that he made the right choice. Following the competition, the organizer of the tournament came up to Henry and told him he had made a very difficult but correct decision and said that she was very proud of him. Henry knew in his heart that honesty was much more important than victory.
I couldn't have been more proud of my son at that moment. We work in an industry based on honor, and golf can play a large role in our youth today. So don't tell me that all of those golf lessons Henry took from PGA Pro Ted Westling at Stone Creek were for nothing.
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