The United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum’s nine-part video series “Becoming Your Personal Best: Life Lessons from Olympians and Paralympians” will help young people, families and communities develop positive resiliency skills. The first episode will premiere at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 6 on Rocky Mountain PBS and run weekly until August 1.
The uplifting series is hosted by Olympian Hunter Kemper (triathlon // 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) and features nationally known resiliency experts along with other U.S. Olympians and Paralympians who share with viewers practical information, skill building tools and helpful activities. It uses inspirational life lessons from these athletes to help young people learn about setting goals, meeting personal challenges, learning to grow through failure and developing a positive mindset. The series was filmed in the 60,000-square-foot U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum.
In the introductory segment, Olympian and NBA great Bill Hanzlik (basketball // 1980) introduces viewers to the Museum, to Paralympians Tricia Downing (Para shooting // 2016) and John Register (Para swimming, Para track and field // 1996, 2000), and to gold-medal winning goalie Jim Craig (ice hockey // 1980). We meet Colorado youth who love basketball and learn how the program in which they participate is part of a community effort to build resiliency. Hanzlik introduces us to Kemper and school principal and international leadership consultant Dr. George Houston, who emphasize the importance of young people developing resiliency skills, share clips from other segments and invite the audience to be part of a remarkable journey over the next eight weeks.
The series features internationally known sports psychologist Dr. Roberta Kraus, who worked with the 2016 U.S. Paralympic men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams, who both won gold at the Rio Games. Dr. Kraus teaches viewers the same tools she used with athletes to develop physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual resiliency. Experts offer practice advice
on building resiliency, and in two other segments Colorado youth respond to what they learn from our experts and share what they think the adults in their lives need to know now.
The series is part of a larger, soon-to-launch, 4th-12th grade curriculum project for schools and community organizations designed for equity and accessibility. The project is funded by a generous grant from the Colorado Health Foundation.
Visit rmpbs.org/usopm on or after June 6 to watch episodes of “Becoming Your Personal Best” and access the educational resources.
