John Vallely, the guest speaker at the 50th annual Athletic Awards Breakfast, challenged high school seniors with a question Wednesday morning.
Speaking about accomplishing feats, Vallely asked, "How will you ever know unless you dream big?"
The question hit home with the 30 student-athletes, 15 from Corona del Mar and 15 from Newport Harbor during the breakfast hosted by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Commodores Club at the Radisson Hotel in Newport Beach.
The challenge can definitely be applied to Newport Harbor football standout Parker Norton. And, he isn't backing down.
Parker, just as all of the athletes in attendance, accomplished a great deal in high school. But he wants more. On the surface it may appear he is against great odds, as he enters the University of Colorado as a preferred walk-on, but that just serves as more motivation.
Vallely, a Corona del Mar alumnus who excelled in basketball at Orange Coast College and starred at UCLA, had the drive to succeed. He spoke about the Pyramid of Success and delivered several statements for the athletes to keep in mind.