All I want for Christmas is this!

By Emilio Sánchez Vicario, CEO & Founder at Sánchez-Casal Academy

Sometimes I wonder why I engaged in this adventure of dreams in which I involved myself, my family and so many people who give everything for our students-athletes at Sánchez-Casal. Every holiday, when I review the year, I wonder if it’s worth it. 2017 was terrible, so many tough things happened: Casper, our little angel, left us; Irma visited us, leaving innumerable damages; we had to internally improve and grow in order to maintain our position.

The truth is, it has been a very difficult time. However, there have also been great unforgettable moments. One of them occurred while working as a team, we decided to reinvent our identity emphasizing our deepest values, resulting from what the great players and coaches absorbed from their stay with us. The outcome, our new motto: Respect, Effort and Discipline (RED).

It is not an easy task to inspire kids with these values on a daily basis. It is not a walk in the park and a lot of times we would like to give up. However, when I receive letters like the one I recently got from Ana Gabriela’s father, a former student-athlete at ASC Florida, I feel touched and it fills me with energy and enthusiasm to continue helping people to create opportunities in their lives.

Ana Gabriela came from Dominican Republic to ASC Florida at 15 years old. Her parents made sacrifices so that she could achieve her dreams. She suffered at the beginning of her journey; she had to learn English, compete and work hard, but little by little she started breaking barriers. Her dreams came true and today she is a senior student and player of the tennis team at Hofstra University in New York. She took advantage of her opportunity at our academy and the sacrifice made by her parents.

The message gets through to all of us, and it’s powerful. The effort is worth it, of course it’s worth it. -ASC Team, your hard work is worth it!

Ana Gabriela’s father has managed to make me realize that we are lucky and that our message comes out strong, and that although Ana is not a top 10 player in the ranking, she has managed to be the best in what her parents wanted for her, in her values, and that we are part of this success because she has managed to be able to give her best version in everything she does, and consistently.

Thank you Armando for this energy shot, and thanks Ana for being the way you are.

I’m sharing the letter with all of you below:

Emilio Sánchez Vicario
CEO & Founder at Sánchez-Casal Academy