The eighth-grader received a letter from the Hall of Fame coach after one of the team members from Americorps, an organization that helps at-risk students, got in contact with Duke’s athletic department to see if they could help.
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Smith was struggling to stay focused in school and, knowing his love for Duke basketball, they were hoping Coach K could steer him in the right direction.
When he received Coach K’s letter, he was speechless.
“We presented the letter to him, and he shook his head," Tara Harris, one of the managers at City Year Americorps, told Tulsa World. “He said, ‘I can’t believe that this is real.’ He was really speechless.”
Krzyzewski’s letter was simple but powerful: work hard, treat the people around you well and you will achieve whatever you set your mind to.
Smith vows to work harder in school now and the letter, now framed, will remain in mint condition.
Do not allow outside pressures to distract you from your positive goals in life. Always remember to be respectful to your parents, teachers and classmates. My basketball players would never have had the opportunity to play for me if they had not first done well in school. In other words, setting priorities is taking care of first things first.
(Source: Tulsa World)
