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One of the books I read in preparation for this year’s theme was the book Hero Maker by Dave Ferguson. In chapter eleven of his book, Ferguson shares several stories of Olympic teams who lost their relay race at the passing of the baton. “For three consecutive Olympic races, Team USA should have won, but they lost even though their individual team times were faster than all others. It was a trifecta of reminders that it's not about the speed of the individual runner if the baton is not successfully passed.”

This weekend, several of our track students will compete for state titles in Waco. Among the competitors will be our 4X400 girls relay team composed of Anna Gisler, Kati Hogan, Allyson Parry, and Hannah Parry. These ladies agree that the baton pass makes or breaks the race.

“Without passing the baton there is no race. You can’t succeed in the race or life if you don’t pass the baton,” Hogan said.

The runner carrying the baton plays a large role in a successful baton pass.

“The one passing the baton must make sure to continue running all out until their teammate gets the baton. There is no slowing down or stopping until your teammate has the baton in their hand,” Gisler said.

Parenting can be an exhausting race. The end of the school year comes with extra stresses and commitments. My encouragement to you is to keep running all out toward the goal of passing the baton successfully to the next generation.

“In order to have a successful pass, the one passing has to run past the line, meaning you can’t lose sight of your goal and you have to be strong and just keep running because everyone else depends on it,” Hogan said.

Pushing through the exhaustion is worth the effort. 

“As a whole, a relay with a baton might be very stressful because anything can happen. However, the team effort and the excitement when everything is done are worth the worry of the pass,” Hannah Parry said.

The parenting journey, or race, comes with worry and fatigue, but remember that the pass is worth the worry. We run for a prize of immeasurable value. We run for a generation not yet ready to run for themselves.

“Someone will train the next generation. The question is who, and for what purposes.” -Handoff: The only Way to Win the Race of Life, by Jeff Myers

Keep running hard as you pass the baton of faith and influence the outcome for many to come.

Tammy McIlvoy
Head of School
Logos Preparatory Academy