Guests of the Jump Summer Sports Centers, Elisa Cella and Francesca Sgorbini, respectively volleyball and rugby champions, have arrived in Fano.
The first champion boasts over 50 appearances in the national team and has a thrilling list of achievements. The second is still very young but has already debuted in the blue jersey and her sporting destiny seems written. They are Elisa Cella and Francesca Sgorbini, respectively volleyball player and rugby player, protagonists of the “Champion’s Day”, the morning organized by Jump that saw the two athletes arrive in Fano as guests of Asi Pesaro, as part of the collateral activities planned by the program of the summer sports centers.
Cella and Sgorbini, in front of hundreds of fascinated and curious children, arrived at the Rugby field via Tomassoni and, together with the sports psychologist Sammy Marcantognini, who has been on the staff of various sports federations for some time (the latest in chronological order being Federbocce), spoke about the role of women in sports, a topic that is more timely than ever given the recent results at the Olympics that have enthralled an entire nation. And Elisa Cella and Francesca Sgorbini have had plenty to say to children. Their careers, especially for the volleyball players, speak for themselves. The Tuscan spiker boasts a rich past of appearances in A1 and in the national team. Wearing the blue jersey, she won the silver medal at both the World Grand Prix and the European Championships in 2005, results that do not come by chance and that requires a lot of sacrifice and commitment, as Elisa tried to explain to the kids from the height of her 187cm of wisdom. Sacrifice on a physical level, but above all on the level of willpower, tenacity, and aggression. It is important to have a clear objective to achieve and to reach it be willing to work, cry, suffer, grit your teeth, and work hard.
Autographs, photos, and selfies were the backdrop to the morning that demonstrated that you can be a champion in sport but also life and that these small gestures of humility and sharing belong only to those who have extra gear.
And also having extra gear is Francesca Sgorbini, third row of Rugby Colorno, who wore the jersey of the Italian national team for the first time at the age of 18 at the historic “6 Nations” tournament, making her one of the youngest debutants ever fielded by ItalRugby.
Pesaro native Sgorbini also explained that it is certainly not easy, at 18, to give up evenings with friends and “wild nights” but that if you want to chase a dream you need to use up all your energy because then hearing Mameli’s anthem in the center of the field with thousands of fans around you repays you for any effort. The final message that the children and coaches have taken is undoubtedly that before becoming “strong on the field” it is good to be strong in life.