Honoring Angela Madsen - Clayton Frech

Honoring Angela Madsen 

The 2020 Angel City Virtual Games presented by The Hartford

Dear Angel City Community,  

As I write this note a few days before the Angel City Virtual Games presented by The Hartford begins, I do so with mixed emotions. 

2020 has been a challenging year for us all. There have been ups and downs, seemingly every week.  I am beyond saddened by the recent passing of my friend Angela Madsen, who was in the middle of the Pacific on her solo, unassisted row from Los Angeles to Hawaii.  If you didn’t know Angela, I encourage you to learn about her now.  She was, simply put, extraordinary and remarkable in every manner you can think of. 

To most of us, Angela was a friend, coach, mentor, and really the grandmother of Angel City Sports. Her kindness, graciousness, perseverance, and patience were just some of her character traits that we will remember. She was part of the fabric of our organization, part of our soul and I am confident her soul will be with us going forward. 

With that said, it is only fitting that we have officially dedicated the 2020 Angel City Games to Angela Madsen.  You will hear stories about her throughout the Games, including at Opening Ceremonies and Seated Track & Field clinic,  both on July 13th, and at the Veterans Week Concert August 6th. 

Now and moving forward, we will #RowHarder to find, engage, and inspire thousands, if not tens of thousands, of new adaptive athletes in Angela’s honor.  We will do our absolute best to continue to fulfill her dreams and legacy. 

Here are a few ways can you help grow Angela’s legacy and memory: 

• Purchase a #RowHarder t-shirt at our online store or donate on her gofundme page for her boat and body recovery effort.  

• You can follow her story on social (@rowoflife on Instagram/Facebook) or the web. 

• You can post your favorite Angela story on our Community Wall on the Angel City Sports Platform (you have to register to get access to it!).  Sign-up now at www.angelcitygames.org so you don’t miss an event! 

This mission begins Monday, July 13th at 10am PST during the Opening Ceremonies of the 2020 Angel City Virtual Games presented by The Hartford. A speech has been prepared to honor Angela and the entire Angel City Family will come together to celebrate her accomplishments and tremendous life.

I hope you will join us throughout the three incredible weeks we have planned. You can learn more and register at angelcitygames.org. 

Sincerely,

Clayton Frech 

CEO & Founder

Clayton's 10B's to Managing a Crisis

Dear Angel City Family, 

I hope this note finds you doing as well as possible under the circumstances.  The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted lives around the world and things continue to change at an incredible pace.  

That being said, I have faith that this current crisis will end.  Hopefully sooner rather than later. And I am confident that we will all get through this challenge in vastly better shape IF we are united as a community.  

Angel City Sports launched a survey last week to better understand how our community of athletes, volunteers, and supporters is doing.  There were dozens of wonderful quotes, words of wisdom and inspiration for us all. A few of these include: 

• “Remember that we are all in this together.”

• “We will get through this and we will be stronger than ever!”

• “Use this as a time to level up.” 

• “A disruption to your usual routine is also an opportunity to grow stronger and to develop resilience and flexibility.” 

• “Be the positive light for you, others and the community.” 

• “Just like we look after each other on the basketball court, we gotta look after each other off the court and in quarantine.” 

And we uncovered some wonderfully positive data points from the community and how everyone is handling the crisis:  

Positives 

94% of respondents are practicing social distancing

73% of respondents are staying active 

Respondents reported being 20% more connected to their community than prior to the COVID-19 crisis. 

However, we also found that there are a few areas where our community is struggling or facing challenges:  

Opportunities 

50% of respondents are struggling to stay mentally strong. 

38% of respondents are struggling to stay physically active.  

72% of respondents do not have the proper equipment at home to stay active. 

After reviewing the survey results, we realized that this is a mental and emotional challenge, just as much as an economic or health challenge.  I wanted to offer my 10 B’s to Managing a Crisis.  Listed below are ten things to think about.  Ten strategies for you take in. Ten gentle reminders to potentially help get you through this crisis or any crisis for that matter. 

10 B’s to Managing a Crisis

1. Be Optimistic – Years ago I read a great survival book about people trapped on mountains, adrift at sea for months or lost in the wilderness. The stories were all riveting, and some people survived, while others did not.  At the end of the book, the author gave the readers his theory as to why certain people survived and others perished, sometimes when they were in the exact same situation. His theory was that those who BELIEVED they were going to survive were the ones who survived.  They were optimistic that they were going to live. Once you believe you will survive, your brain will start working on the strategies to bring it to reality.  After years of research, the author couldn’t find any other reasons why some survive and some don’t. To be clear, this is different than always being happy and positive. Optimism, as I am defining it, is an inherent belief that everything will be OK.  I encourage you to do your best to hold on to this belief at all times. If you aren’t thinking that way today, now may be a good time to start. Be optimistic. 

2. Be Proactive – In a world that is quickly evolving, do everything in your power to stay ahead of the curve.  Do the research, form opinions, and stay ahead of things to the best of your ability. My step-father, a health economist, used to say “data wins the room.”  Be the one with the best data. Based on the data we had, on March 12th Angel City suspended programming through the end of June.  This allowed us to breathe a little bit and start to formulate our pivot.  And now, just over two weeks later, it doesn’t feel like we did enough. Another way to think about being proactive is to err on the side of extreme caution. When everything is said and done, extra caution will always feel better than less caution.  Being wrong, say, missing a few days of school or cancelling a play date if there happens to be absolutely no Covid-19 virus in your community will feel much better than spreading the virus unknowingly to your community or worse, actually contracting the virus yourself.  Be proactive. 

3. Be Grateful – Having a gratitude practice is important for everyone.  Regardless of your situation, there are things you can be grateful for.  This is an excellent time to build that practice for yourself.  Personally, I do a daily meditation that includes a section on gratitude.  Some people use prayer. One idea is to write down everything you are grateful for each day.  Find an easy way to incorporate gratitude into your life. I recently started signing “In gratitude” at the end of my emails.  If you chose to express gratitude on a daily basis, it will change your perspective for the better. Be grateful. 

4. Be Active – It has been said that physical health is the foundation of success in life.  It’s very hard to think clearly when you are not in good physical health. If your gym is closed, figure out a home workout.  If possible, get outside, even just for a walk in your neighborhood or around your local park. There are a plethora of online options and every influencer out there is now posting home workouts.  You can also stay tuned for workouts from Angel City as well on our social channels (@angelcitysports). Do everything in your power to maintain a basic level of physical health and activity, regardless of the environment you are in. Also think about nutrition and sleep to help you stay as healthy and active as possible.  With the current crisis, you need your physical health now more than ever before. Be active. 

5. Be Kind – In a world that has become very polarized, the current crises is somewhat encouraging.  The entirety of humanity has been united against a common enemy.  In the US, I remember the old days when politicians across the aisle actually together for the common good.  I think this is a time for us to pivot towards a civilized and kind society. Let’s all bring a little extra kindness to the day, especially on social media!  Also, importantly, be kind to yourself as you navigate this new world. Learn, pivot, and move forward, knowing that excellence is the goal, not perfection! You may not have been fully prepared for this new normal, but you can figure this out!  You got this! Be kind. 

6. Be in Action – Fear and stress can lead to activity, confusion, and lack of direction.  Take a breath, understand the source of the fear/stress, and move through it.  But move through it and then form a plan. Even something really simple. I encourage you to keep yourself moving forward, in health, career, education, relationships, etc.  Don’t let anxiety slow you down. Your community needs you to be a light, a beacon for hope, positivity, and forward momentum.  Be in action. 

7. Be Present – Whether you are alone in your apartment, or in a house full of  homeschoolers like me, be present with all of the human beings in your life.  You have strength, power, and compassion that others need right now.  Show them you care, show them you are confident everything will be OK.  Show them you are truly with them, even if it’s via Zoom or Facetime. Be present. 

8. Be Connected – This seems sort of intuitive, but with this physical distancing thing, we still need to be connected.  This could be chatting via your phone or computer or talking walks with neighbors or stopping to say hi to strangers. Do check-ins with old friends or family members to see how they are holding up.  You will be surprised how much joy you will receive from being connected.  Be connected. 

9. Be Strategic – Try to leave this period in a better position, in certain aspects of your life, than you started it.  I recommend setting goals and building plans to achieve those goals. This could mean you start that blog you always wanted to write.  Or you get into better shape. Or you pick-up new, healthier habits. Use this opportunity to propel your life, your business, your career, and your relationships to the next level.  This might sound hard to do, but with goals and a plan, I am confident you can do this!  Be strategic. 

10. Be Calm – Everyone has different strategies here.  Simply put, allowing your emotions to take hold of you will limit your ability to make good decisions.  Right now, there is a lot of data to process, and the data seems to be changing frequently.  For example, how many trips to the market should you take? What type of precautions should you be taking?  These decisions require calm, rational thinking. Meditation, prayer, breath work, etc. are all ways to keep your mind and your body calm.  Be calm. 

I encourage you to give yourself a grade on each of the above Ten B’s.   Here’s a link to an online survey that will automatically calculate your grade.  Are you getting an A, B, or C in each? Where are your opportunities to improve?  What areas are your strengths? I decided to take the 10 B’s Test myself and here are my grades… 

The 10 B’s 

Self-Grade

Be Optimistic  A-

Be Proactive B

Be Grateful B+

Be Active  B-

Be Kind  A-

Be in Action B+

Be Present C+

Be Connected B

Be Strategic B

Be Calm  A-

Overall Grade = B+

My overall grade in the 10 B’s is a B+.  There are definitely some areas for me to work on.  Here’s the link to the surveyagain, in case you missed it!  

In parting, I encourage you to grade yourself, honestly, and chart a plan to improve your grades.  Maybe you do a weekly check in to see where you are improving.  

Ultimately, if we can’t do everything or be the way we want to be, then just be.  Don’t stress. Be alive. Be in the moment. Be yourself.

Be well and stay safe, 

Clayton 

CEO and Founder 

Angel City Sports