[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5555]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING COACH PAT SUMMITT

  (Mrs. BLACK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACK. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a woman of 
incredible strength and courage, one who has inspired and personally 
pushed numerous young ladies to achieve beyond their wildest dreams. I 
am of course talking about the record-setting leader of the Lady Vols 
basketball team, Pat Head Summitt.
  Now, I could stand here and read off a list of her stats and 
accomplishments on the court--and they are many and quite impressive--
but, Madam Speaker, I believe that would miss the true scope of Pat 
Summitt's impact not only on the sport, but on the lives of her players 
and so many who have watched her career.
  While the world saw her impact on the sport, her focus was always on 
teaching young women about life and using their shared passion of 
basketball as the tool. Her student athletes were always students 
first. They left the University of Tennessee equipped for a successful 
life.
  She instilled in her players the work ethic she learned on a dairy 
farm in Henrietta, Tennessee. It was her father's values of 
determination and hard work and her years of holding her own among the 
boys in her family that inspired the toughness, the drive to achieve, 
and the winning attitude.
  Now the legendary Pat Summitt will inspire countless Americans off 
the court as she raises awareness in her personal fight against 
Alzheimer's. One item from her well-known list of the definite dozen is 
to be a competitor. Those of us that have admired her for years know 
that she is a true competitor and is ready for the fight.

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