The PCA Blog - Hawaii

Breakfast With Champions: Event Highlights

10.08.2015

2016 Breakfast with the Champions



PCA-Hawaii's Breakfast with Champions provided a moving, insightful experience for the hundreds of PCA supporters in attendance October 2 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The event -- held in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii and the Los Angeles Lakers -- gained presenting sponsorship from The Wallace, Elizabeth, and Isabella Wong Family Foundation, one of our Chapter's seed funders.

Primary attractions included the honoring of our nine recipients of Triple-Impact Competitor® Scholarships Sponsored by Deloitte and a "talk story" time with Lakers' Head Coach Byron Scott, General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Assistant Coach Mark Madsen.

The breakfast opened with a Hawaiian chant beautifully sung by scholarship recipient Momi Tolentino and a pule (Hawaiian invocation) by long-time PCA Trainer Kiha Pimental.  Hawaii's most beloved sportscaster, Kanoa Leahey, masterfully ran the program so that every guest was engaged in our discussion of sportsmanship and character in the world of sports.

Our scholarship recipients exemplified the PCA concepts of personal mastery, leadership, and honoring the game, and the Lakers' representatives were so well-versed in those values that they could have passes for PCA Trainers! Their answers and stories were inspiring, including talk of their own youth sports experiences with disappointment, humiliation, and ultimately resilience.

The crowd roared in laughter as Scott, Madsen and Kupchak -- all former NBA players -- poked fun at each other for shooting air balls. Madsen made one of the most profound statements: even though he knew his contract wasn't going to be renewed the following year, he worked and played harder than ever, and ended his final season with “contribution,” helping the Lakers win an NBA Championship.

Our scholarship winners and the Lakers organization raised the bar for PCA-Hawaii. The wise lesson that one can be transformed to create a legacy will live on through the lives of all who attended. By the end of this extraordinary event, all the coaches, parents, athletes and community guests left with the desire to support PCA in its efforts to develop "Better Athletes, Better People".

A Triple-Impact Competitor® strives to make self, teammates and their sport better

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