ZeeSpeed has affected me 

There are two types of gifts in life. The first are the God given gifts, or 
talents, that we are given at birth that are ours to do with what we choose. The 
other type of gifts are the truly special ones that should be held close to the 
heart, the gifts that are given to us by others. Gifts of knowledge and wisdom 
and values that people are not born with, but learned with the guidance of 
others. And the most beautiful thing about these gifts is that they cannot only 
make ones God given talents even greater, but they are the ones that have the 
most impact on a person's life. I have always felt blessed for the athletic 
talent I was born with, but I feel even more blessed for the gifts I have been 
given throughout my life, specifically, the ones I have received from Zak 
through ZeeSpeed.

I started ZeeSpeed in the summer of 2007 with the intention of becoming a better 
athlete to prepare myself for my first year on a collegiate soccer team. As I 
started the camp, I realized that was exactly what I had gotten myself 
into. By the end of camp when it came time for me to head to school, I went into 
training as one of the most prepared athletes on my team. But I athleticism 
wasn't the only thing I brought with me from ZeeSpeed. I found myself stepping 
up to become a leader as a freshman, not a quality normally found in young 
players. I found a work ethic, not only on the field but in the classroom and my 
everyday life, that gave me a drive I'd never had before. For the first time in 
my life, I'd found real, solid confidence in myself that I never had before. All 
these things I may have taken years to learn, if at all, I got from one man: 
Zak.

Zak is truly the greatest gift anyone could be given. Starting this camp for 
youths already shows the type of dedication and heart Zak possesses. Not very 
many people would be setting up at 7 in the morning for a bunch of kids. But for 
Zak it's so much more than that. He always tells us that it is our choice to be 
out there, we are the20ones doing the work. But Zak brings out a drive in every 
camper that many would never achieve on our own. He teaches us to do everything 
in our lives, on and off the field, with 100 percent. He teaches us to push 
ourselves to limits most would stop short of. Zak teaches us all to support each 
other and develops a connection through all of us, a ZeeSpeed family. This 
family is one that keeps all us athletes connected and competing with one 
another to make ourselves and one another better. A bond that keeps Zak on my 
speed dial for the times I need his advice, or when I want to tell him how I did 
in my game, or when I just want to say hi. Family is one of life's greatest 
gifts and for Zak to give us this is truly amazing. But the greatest gift Zak 
delivers is the desire to be the best of the best and the confidence in 
ourselves that we can be. All of these are gifts that every individual who steps 
on the field with this man receives personally from Zak himself. Zak gives us 
the tools we need to make our own personal gifts the best they can be. Zak 
brings out the best in every individual he comes in contact with, something 
impossible to forget.

ZeeSpeed, and Zak, have made an incredible impact on my life and has taught me 
things that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Sure, I was lucky enough 
to be given natural athletic talent. But it has been Zak's influence on my life 
that has taken that gift and transformed it into the best that it can be. Zak 
has given me the gift to be the best that I can be: the best of the best.

Markelle Elizabeth Gallagher
Sophomore at the University of Mary, Bismarck, ND
Soccer/Indoor Track