Driven. This is the word Andrew Wright, a third year humanities and drama club teacher at Decker Elementary, uses to describe himself and with good reason.

Not only has this natural competitor dedicated his life to motivating and educating today’s youth, he has also taken an active role in exposing students to a healthy way to compete, which has earned him recognition as a Trust HEROS recipient.

As the organizer of Night of Champions, an event that brings “top quality competition to the community at prices everyone can afford,” Wright has been able to bring his own experiences and knowledge, through the help of other members of the community, to the students of Clark County. And, he argues, getting this knowledge to students at a young age is key to their development later in life.

“I have been exposed to sports my whole life. My father was a coach, so I was always involved in youth sports,” Wright said. “He instilled all the qualities in me that make me who and what I am today. I try to expose as many people as I can to sports.”

Night of Champions brings the arts of boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, submission grappling and martial arts to the schools as professionals and amateurs compete for the student audience. The event, according to Wright, brings together eager to learn students and the thrill of competition. And this is the thrill he hopes to bring to his students as they learn from the positive role models participating in the event.

“Each of these sports teaches kids to believe in themselves. That is the biggest reward,” he said. “They teach kids that activities give back what you put in–if you work hard, you will be successful.

“I see way too many kids that have absolutely no faith in themselves. A few months into one of the local programs, and they are walking tall and making the right decisions,” he continued.

And that is one of the most important life lessons Wright hopes his students learn.

“I had a lot of friends with musical or athletic talent that made no attempt to pursue their dreams because they either had no exposure or had no encouragement,” he said. “I want to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Wright attributes much of the Night of Champions success to the volunteers and performers that make the program possible. From the Sierra Vista High School wrestling team to Pino and Bantam’s Karate for Kids, a great number of individuals work together to make this program what it is, including the tiny competitor within Wright, always urging him to be his best.

“I can’t just do something–I have to push myself to be the best I can be at it,” he said. “There’s this nasty little guy inside me that turns everything into a competition and forces me to push to not only succeed but want to exceed.”

And this he attributes to the life lessons he himself has learned, from competing in youth sports with his father’s encouragement to combat training with former trainer J. C. Penwell.

“It was [Penwell’s] selfless sharing of knowledge and experiences that changed my life,” he stated. “I wanted to give back what has been given to me.”

Misti R. Brock
Publications Specialist

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