FULLERTON : Champion Has Lesson: Keep Trying

Spinning a yo-yo takes only practice and perseverance, and those ingredients can be applied to success in schoolwork and life.

That was the message behind yo-yo champion Michael Lee’s entertaining presentation Thursday at Richman Elementary School, where he twirled yo-yos, told jokes and kept his audience oohing and aahing.

“I’m called the yo-yo man but it’s not about yo-yos,” Lee said. “It’s about motivating kids to do the best that they can do.”

Lee is a performer for the touring group USA Yo-Yo Extravaganza, which puts on free shows in schools throughout the country to boost self-esteem and get children interested in playing with yo-yos.

Sandra Morales, 9, said she got the message loud and clear. “I’m going to ask my mom to go out and buy me (a yo-yo) because I want to learn those tricks. I know I can do it. All I have to do is keep trying.”

Classmate Rene Moreno, 8, agreed.

“You can do anything and learn anything if you just try your best,” he said, adding that Lee put on a “fantastic” show.

Some of Lee’s tricks that impressed the students included the baby cradle, the double yo-yo swing and the star.

Principal Minard Duncan said he asked Lee to visit his school because “he explains to the kids that you can’t give up. . . . There’s so many things we tell children that they cannot do and (Lee’s presentation) was an opportunity” for motivation.

After the show, Hugo Zepeda, 8, said he recently read a story about a boy and his yo-yo and that he now wants a yo-yo of his own.

“I’ll do all I can to be a champion too,” he said.