Elijah Stern: Athlete inspired by a book

“I play basketball for school and soccer outside of school. Basketball usually has two practices a week and so does soccer, and then games on the weekend, so it’s probably two hours a day for four or five days a week. I’ve been playing my whole life at home just ‘cause it’s fun. 

    “A lot of times I am not the biggest and strongest player, so I need to use my speed to my advantage. I read this book called Living With The Seal, about this guy who lived with a Navy Seal and was not allowed to say no to anything that the Navy Seal made him do. He would run miles a day, do hundreds of push-ups.  Day one he could do 10 push-ups, and by the end he was able to do 1,000 in a day.  So that just also is more of an inspiration to keep going.

    “The book changed my life because it added an extra element of fun to accomplishing a tough goal. As I read it, I was motivated to work harder not just in sports but in school too.”