Lucas Stoddard

Wrestling Back

Attitude and leadership always go hand-in-hand.

Like all stellar athletes, Lucas Stoddard isn’t used to losing. His junior year, as captain of the varsity wrestling team, he had 49 straight wins coming into the semifinal matchup. While it was a close, tight match, Lucas ultimately suffered his first loss of an otherwise perfect season. He had only 10 minutes to process the defeat. “In the eleventh minute, it was game time once again,” he says. “Heartbroken with crushed dreams, I had to get back into the fight and battle back.” Lucas ultimately took third place and secured a podium appearance for his school for the first time in seven years. Still, the loss was hard to accept. However, Lucas managed to turn it into a learning opportunity and something that will inspire him to work all the harder going forward. “I learned losses aren’t necessarily a bad thing. They breed the creation of improvement.”

That attitude is what makes Lucas more than an exceptional athlete; it makes him an exceptional leader as well. He serves as class president and as captain of three different varsity teams. In these roles, he believes that leaders are responsible for cultivating attitude and harnessing it to help teams rally together and win games. In many ways, he takes his leadership role just, as if not more, seriously than he takes his own performance, and he is passionate about seeing the culture of leadership thrive even after he graduates. He has been instrumental in grooming the future leaders of the football team. “A successful team must always have leadership,” he says. And while he has many on-field successes, including helping the football team break a school record for least yards given up in a game, “My greatest achievement in high school has been instilling and passing down the leadership torch to a trusted friend and teammate.”

His school and teammates are not the only beneficiaries of Lucas’ leadership skills. As National Spanish Honor Society Vice President, he helps run Operation Christmas Shoebox, an initiative that ships toys and necessities to children all over the word. He also gives his time and sets the example by volunteering at junior high school sporting events. Younger athletes get to see the high school varsity team captain running the clock or doing the match stats, and they learn a lesson in the importance of giving back. Lucas also volunteers each year as a server at the annual rotary club pancake breakfast where he gets to show his appreciation for the community members who are active supporters of the school. In everything he does, Lucas contends that, “Attitude is everything and attitude always reflects leadership.” By working to always stay positive, he makes an impact and shows what a true champion looks like.