CHARACTER & LEADERSHIP WITHIN SPORTS
The Northwest Conference loves celebrating our student-athletes in and outside of the classroom. Character Development and Leadership are a top priority in the conference, and we want to provide our communities with a simple and efficient way to see character, leadership and sportsmanship of our student-athletes through the traits that make them up.
The Northwest Conference is asking every school to select two of the 32 character traits to show recognition to two student-athletes within their programs for that trait. This will be going on throughout the summer and will include the follow words:
| PASSION | APPRECIATION | PREPARATION | SELFLESSNESS | GRIT | ACCOUNTABILITY |
| SPORTSMANSHIP | HUMILITY | COMPETITIVENESS | HONESTY | CARING | CONFIDENCE |
| COMPOSURE | TOLERANCE | COURAGE | POSITIVE ATTITUDE | SERVICE | ENTHUSIASM |
| LEADERSHIP | DETERMINATION | CHARACTER | EFFORT | COMMITMENT | TEAMWORK |
| DESIRE | WORK ETHIC | COACHABLE | TRUST | FOCUS | GOOD JUDGEMENT |
| PERSEVERANCE | INTEGRITY |
Character and Leadership play an important role in the development and success of our schools, and athletics show them in one of the most polarizing ways possible. Today we are recognizing two stellar student-athletes from Lynden High School!
LYNDEN HIGH SCHOOL
CONFIDENCE
Belen Lopez (Lynden)
Belen is an amazing person and athlete. For one, she always seems to approach a situation with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. She came to the track and field program as a junior who had never competed in track and field before. Belen took on this new challenge head on with a level of confidence that was inspiring. She became a student of her events and continued to improve as the season progressed. We celebrated Belen as she qualified and competed at the state meet in her first season.
Head Track Coach
Layne Hutchins
CARING
Anthony Canales (Lynden)
Anthony Canales is a terrific high school basketball player. He is the two-time 2A State Tournament MVP and one of the best to ever put on the Lynden Basketball uniform. People who follow basketball in this area know who Anthony is, but probably don’t see what a kind and caring teammate he is. Our players and coaches see it daily.
Anthony is a big encourager of teammates. If a player makes a great play, Anthony is often more excited than the guy who made the play. If a teammate is down, Anthony has eyes to see it and comes along side that teammate in support. He is also a caring son and brother. Family means a lot to Anthony.
One example of Anthony’s care and concern for others is exemplified by his work at our youth camp. Anthony is a kid favorite at camp because he brings enthusiasm like no other. He will regularly be doing defensive slides, along with the kids and leading them in chants and cheers. He is not “too cool” to get a little crazy with a 4th grader who can barely dribble the basketball.
Anthony loves basketball, but he knows that it is far greater to be a young man who cares for his family, friends, teammates, and classmates.
Head Boys Basketball Coach
Brian Roper
