By Keysha Drexel
Journal editor
Just six months before he won the silver medal in the decathlon at the London 2012 Olympics, Trey Hardee learned that his stepfather, Frank DiCesare, had leukemia.
That devastating news led the Vestavia Hills native to organize the inaugural Trey Hardee Charity Golf Tournament to benefit the Flatwater Foundation and the Cancer Support Groups of St. Vincent’s Foundation Birmingham. The tournament is set for Sept. 30.
Hardee was fresh off defeating Ashton Eaton to retain his world decathlon title at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and training for the 2012 Olympics when he learned about his stepfather’s diagnosis.
“At the time I was living in a bubble (where I thought) cancer affected everybody else,” he said. “It was like a two-by-four to the head–something that snaps you back to life and back to reality.”
Hardee said he quickly learned that a cancer diagnosis not only affects the reality of the patient but also touches the lives of everyone around him or her.
“It’s not only the individual diagnosed with cancer but his or her entire family that must cope with the disease together,” he said.
Hardee said while there are a lot of programs to help cancer patients with the medical aspects of fighting the disease, he didn’t find a lot of resources to help families and their mental wellness as they coped.
“Then I found out about the Flatwater Foundation and the programs they have for people diagnosed with cancer as well as their families and loved ones that give them access to therapy and physical activities to improve their health,” he said.
The Flatwater Foundation is an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit that combines access to traditional methods of psychological counseling with physical activities like yoga, meditation, group exercise and personal training.
While he makes a living from having a strong and healthy body, Hardee said he’s always known that having a strong and healthy mind is just as important.
“To me, mental wellness is the difference between first place and last place and all the places in between,” he said. “You can have all the talent and all the right tools in the world and you can have all the motivation (and) everything, but if you’re not happy, if you’re not in the right state of mind, it’s all for naught and you’re your own worst enemy.”
Hardee said he’s had to learn a lot about mental toughness as he worked to become a two-time indoor world champion and member of both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic teams.
“The decathlon is a brutal, humbling event, and it parallels life in what it asks of you. You learn by working hard, by working your way through the adversity, and it makes you stronger,” he said.
Overcoming adversity through hard work was the main message Hardee brought to the students at Vestavia Hills High School when he spoke at his alma mater on Aug. 22.
“I (talked) to them about what real work is and how real work is something you can’t fake. You can’t fake the hours you need to put in to reach your goal,” he said. “I want to tell them how real work only has positive outcomes.”
Hardee said he talked to the students about making sacrifices to reach their goals.
“Almost anyone can work hard for a few days and then sit around the house eating chips and drinking Cokes, but you’re not really sacrificing anything if you’re not truly focused on being the best you can be, no matter what it takes,” he said.
What it takes, Hardee said, is a training that schedule that often leaves him too sore to climb the stairs to bed.
“When I’m training, there are probably only about two nights a week where I can climb the stairs to bed painlessly,” he said. “I usually work myself to the point of exhaustion at least five days a week. If I’m not eating or sleeping, I’m training.”
While Hardee’s season is winding down for this year, it doesn’t mean he’s giving himself a break.
He’s already preparing for the International Association of Athletics Federations World Indoor Championships in Poland in March 2014.
Hardee said he’s also already preparing for more charity golf tournaments to help the Flatwater Foundation and other cancer support groups.
“I hope this is the first of many events that will allow me to help people and their families dealing with cancer,” he said.
Hardee said he didn’t play golf until he finished college. He started college at Mississippi State University in 2002 and transferred to the University of Texas in 2004.
“I didn’t really have a lot of time to learn golf but when I took it up, I found that it is kind of like a decathlon because no one ever plays the perfect golf game,” he said. “I found that it’s a little addicting.”
Hardee said he’s looking forward to challenging Ashton Eaton, who won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 2012 London Olympics.
“I don’t think he’s very good at golf, so I’m just going to keep inviting him to play sports he’s not familiar with so I can whip him,” he said, laughing.
Hardee said he feels fortunate to have grown up in the Over the Mountain area and to have been a student at Vestavia Hills High School.
“I hope people understand how much I love this place and how lucky and blessed I feel to have grown up here,” he said.
Hardee, who as a high school junior was famously cut from the school’s basketball team by Coach George Hackett, said he might have never discovered his track and field skills if he had attended school elsewhere.
While he was devastated at the time, looking back, Hardee said it was a blessing in disguise.
“If I had made the basketball team, I would have never had time to try track, and I wouldn’t be leading the life I have now,” he said.
Hatchett said people still ask him about his decision to cut Hardee from the basketball team that fateful year, and the coach said he still stands behind his decision.
“It just goes to show you that kids need to try out different sports. If they get cut from one team, they need to try another sport,” he said. “That’s what schools are supposed to do–we’re supposed to give the kids access to the programs and the tools they need to discover their talents.”
Hatchett said it was great to have Hardee back in the halls of Vestavia Hills High School when Hardee visited the campus late last month.
“Any time you have an internationally recognized athlete that came from your school and can come back and talk to the kids about the value of hard work makes you really proud,” he said.
Assistant Principal Kevin Butler said out of all of Hardee’s accomplishments, the fact that he came back to his alma mater and his hometown is what impresses him the most.
“Not many communities have an Olympian who wants to come back and help the students and give back to the community, and it says a lot about Trey’s integrity and the caliber of students we have here in Vestavia,” Butler said.
Hardee said he feels like he is in the prime of his career. And with his recent engagement to Chelsea Johnson, a former pole vaulter from Texas, he’s more optimistic than ever about the future.
“I feel like the best is yet to come,” he said.
