Making the Tough Choice to Serve A Mission

Choosing to serve a mission is a choice many young LDS men and women have to make.

Giving up to two years of your life to serve the Lord was not an easy decision for John Kimball, former Highland rugby player. He turn to Coach Larry Gelwix for advice.

“I remember talking to him about serving a mission one night, and really my thoughts as to why I didn’t think I would go,” Kimball said. “And he said to me something that stuck with me my whole life. ‘You have two years to serve the Lord and the rest of your life to think about it.”

Gelwix told his young player that if was going to serve the lord, he needed to commit to it, and leave it all out on the field.

“And I kind of made that connection between the rugby field then also the mission field. And that’s exactly how I decided to serve,” Kimball said. “I had a fantastic mission. I had an experience on my mission that to this point I think really I could have gone a really different direction in my life if I hadn’t made that decision.”

The Principles of the Highland Rugby Team

The principles of the Highland Rugby team are gospel based principles. Coach Larry Gelwix says: It’s honesty, integrity, it’s doing your best, it’s making mistakes and correcting them, it’s looking out for the other guy, it’s treating people that you don’t need with courtesy and respect, it’s always striving to do your best and be your best.

A few Highland Rugby alumni shared what principles they learned while playing for Coach Gelwix:

John Kimball 1985-86

The first thing Larry did was sit us down and said these are the commitments you have to make. No alcohol, no drugs, no smoking.

Johnathon Law 1989-93

You will be honest, that you will have integrity, that you will watch out for the best interests of your community, your family, your team , and yourself.

Jon Schmidt 1984-85

Your character and not just your sports ability, but who you were inside.

Anthony Cannon

Discipline, commitment, honesty, integrity, working hard.

Blake Burdette 1996-98

Caring about each other and to focus on doing your best.

Dan Berg, current assistant coach of Highland Rugby

Whatever your faith may be, Larry taught us to be true to that faith and be the best member of that church you can be.

Bob Nilson 1976

Not doing anything that would embarrass you, your family, and your team. It establishes a broader perimeter of being a good person and doing the right thing.

High Values Create Championship Teams and Boys

Coach Larry Gelwix if often asked why the Highland Rugby players have such high values and expectations off the field.

“For two reasons,” Gelwix says. “Number one, it wins games and championships. And two, it produces championship boys.”

The Highland Rugby team has won 18 national championships in the last 25 years.

“It’s infinitely easier to win a national championship, than to turnout a championship boy.”

Thousands of former players went on to serve fulltime LDS missions and find success in all aspects of their life.