42 Strong Foundation partners ETS Performance

By Don Rush

This past Monday, April 3, the 42 Strong Foundation started to partner with ETS Performance gym to help honor the legacy of Tate Myre, one of four Oxford High School students who were murdered on Nov. 30, 2021. While a member of the varsity Oxford football team Tate wore the number 42.

“We were going to start 4-2 day on Sunday, April 2, but realized we don’t have any classes on Sunday,” Trent Myre, Tate’s older brother, said last week. “So, we’re pushing it to Monday instead. Going forward, 4-2 Day will be on April 2.”

During the 4-2 day, members of the ETS Performance gyms throughout the midwest all trained in groups for 42 minute sessions. During this time they were also asked to pick their “Tate Trait.”

“Tate displayed many amazing traits in his life, and on 4-2 Day want to get members out of their comfort zones a little. We will ask participants to pick a Tate Trait they think they lack or strive to improve upon and implement that train into their life to make themselves, the people around them, and their community better places.” he said.

The ETS athletes and trainers were also encouraged to post a video featuring “My Tate Trait.” For the videos they were to start by saying, “My name is___ and my Tate Trait is ___ because ___.” They were then asked to use the hashtag #mytatetrait and tag @42strongtate in their video.

“Tate used to train here from the eighth grade through his junior year. It is sorta where he grew into the specimen he became,” Trent said. “He mentored a lot of kids here. Tate was all about together. So for 4-2 Day we wanted members to do things together. We’re asking our kids to bring a friend to try to get community involvement and get people together.”

The Tate Traits the foundation promotes are: Selfless, Trustworthy, Teachable, Hard Working, Caring, Humble, Respectful, Fun, Confident, Accountable, Positive and Loyal.

42 Strong – The Tate Myre Foundation was created to carry on the legacy Tate started during his short life with us.

According to a press release, “Tate lost his life along with three other students on Nov. 30, 2021 by a teen who had been failed by every person in his life. If that teen had a mentor, if someone had been there for him – Nov. 30, 2021 would have been avoided. Growing up can be tough. Having a friend that you can trust can make it a lot easier. Friendship matters, love matters, building a sense of community matters, being part of something bigger than yourself matters. The mission of 42 Strong is to create a better future by helping students develop a greater sense of purpose, community and resilience.”

ETS Performance is located in Suite 131 of the Legacy Center, 925 N. Lapeer Rd., across from Meijer. Oxford Varsity Football Coach Zach Line is the owner of ETS Oxford and a 42 Strong Boardmember. “It is by no accident that Tate was a proud member of ETS. He consistently invested in our ‘family’ because friendship, love, and being part of a community matters,” Line said.

The foundation supports a peer mentoring program started in December 202 by Tate’s father Buck – who started the foundation to keep the memory of Tate alive. The peer mentoring program includes adult team leaders, high school-aged mentors and middle school aged “mentees.”

“We have just under 300 mentors and mentees,” Trent said.

Students from the 7th through 9th grade can apply to be mentees and students from 10th grade up can apply to be mentors by going to the 42 Strong website, 42StrongTate.org. “We’re accepting applications through the middle of April.”