March 14, 2022
Hi Choxuers (aka. CXL Players),
Congratulations and welcome to be a part of our CXL community! Being a member of our league and community means you’ve some responsibility and expectation to fulfill, and I’m writing this letter to make sure we are all on the same page.
But first, please let me give you some context. As you may know, for the longest time in Taiwan, sports and academics are separated in our schools. This separation leaves our students with two extremes. You either get to spend much time on academics and little on athletics; or, you spend much time on sports and little on academics. There isn’t a balanced, alternative path for pursuing both.
Therefore, this is why we have created CXL as the alternative path for students who desire to pursue both. There is a massive, unfulfilled gap of student population in Taiwan that desires to compete athletically but do not want to give up their academics. With CXL, we aim to serve this untabbed population and cultivate a new generation of student-athletes that have the opportunity to excel both academically and athletically.
However, convincing people that sports are good for you in our current landscape is challenging at this time. Because there was not a path for it previously. So, naturally, there aren’t many examples that can prove sports are good for you here in Taiwan.
Well, this is why we must create new stories in order to change that attitude together. With CXL, we must work together now. And we need you, CXL players, to be successful. And we’re here to equip you to do so.
This is why our first priority is to establish an academic benchmark, and you, as a CXL student-athlete, must have a passing grade to participate. We believe all of our student-athletes must not neglect the fundamental responsibility as a student while participating in sports, so having a passing grade is our minimum requirement.
In addition, studies have shown in the US that playing sports would actually help you to have better grades. If we do our part on academics, we believe more parents will be supportive of our playing. Because at the end of the day, parents are not against us playing sports. They are only against sports when we have to sacrifice our academics at the expense of sports.
So, please do our part on academics first and foremost.
This season, we have a total of 29 schools across 8 regions in Taiwan. Most, if not all, of our teams are from “Division 2,” which is perceived as less competitive than Division 1. I encourage all of you to tear this label apart.
As a former student-athlete at Harvard, here’s what I have learned. I’ve learned that with the right training, diet, strength and conditioning program, and sleep – you can perform at a very high level. In fact, I believe if we do things the right way, we could even be better than Divison 1 players over time – without sacrificing our academics.
I know this may sound crazy to you, and it is asking a lot. This is why as a student-athlete, it is extremely important to have strong discipline and time management skills. Because unlike your peers, you will always be busy, tired, and juggling multiple things at all times. However, it is also this experience that would ultimately make you better and stronger as a person. Because our intention is not only to prepare you for school but also for life. So expect hardships and adversities as you participate in CXL, just as it would always happen in life.
We are here to document your CXL journey and progress. This is why we’ve created our league website cxleague.com – where you can access all of your stats and full games. So you can review all of your games, identify areas of improvement, and become a better player and person over time.
To make this easier and track everything, we’ve also created a CX profile for you. This online profile is not only a place for you to assess your performance, it could also be a place where other people can come learn about you quickly.
Here is what I mean. Below is my HS Football Highlight made 17 years ago (HERE). This video is what got me accepted to Harvard University, which was an opportunity that surpassed my wildest dream at the time.
From documenting my journey and making my own highlight reel, I’ve learned that it is extremely important to learn how to market yourself, so you can separate yourself from rest of the pack. At CXL, we know this isn’t an easy task. So we’ve come up with a service that would help you do this easily. All you have to do is just sign up for our highlight reel service HERE.
And we will do the rest for you. And after every game, you will see your personalized highlight reel at your own CX athletic profile. And after your season, we will create your seasonal highlight reel. All you have to do is just sign up for our subscription service.
Sports have changed me and opened up a new world for me. I believe it can do the same for you. We hope CXL can become the platform that enables you to chase your own dreams and become a better man in life.
Finally, as we come to the closing of this letter. I urge you to stay grateful. It wasn’t easy to create this platform. If it wasn’t because of the collective effort of many people; your coaches, teachers, and parents, CXL would not happen. So remember. Please always be grateful. Don’t forget to always thank your coaches, parents, and teachers whenever you get a chance.
Now… having said all of this, it’s time to play ball. Let’s compete like hell and have some fun this season! May the best man and best team win.
Yours truly,
Cheng Ho