Casey McClellan

Casey McClellan is a big believer in the human spirit. He gets a kick out of watching athletes achieve a goal; he thrives on the energy of people realizing their dreams. All of which make him the ideal director for the Utah Summer Games.

Casey’s own personal philosophy meshes perfectly with the concept of the Summer Games. "When you aspire to do something the only person in your way is you." he says. "I certainly have let myself get defeated by my poor attitude or follow through. But when you set down and put together a goal and you really want to achieve it, no one can keep you from that if you work hard enough and long enough."

In his third year as director, Casey is within reach of several of his own goals for the Summer Games. This year he hopes the Utah Summer Games will reach the 10,000 athlete participants mark. Last year there were 9,900 participants and with the return of baseball to the Summer Games, Casey believes they will achieve their 10,000 goal. "We don’t want to get much bigger than that. We are not looking to get to 15,000. We don’t want to outgrow ourselves so that we can’t control the ultimate success of each tournament."

They are also at their ideal number for sport tournaments. They currently have 50 different tournaments. Finally, Casey is looking forward to celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Utah Summer Games this year. "We are fully trying to embrace the opportunity to celebrate the previous 24 years. There are so many people that have given so much to the summer games. So we really want to reflect back on those efforts," he says.

If anyone deserves to be called a sports fanatic it is Casey. He proudly earns such praise. He loves playing sports and he loves helping other athletes play and succeed. "I am really thankful for the opportunity to be in this position. I come to work everyday excited about being here which a lot of people can’t say they do."

Casey’s enthusiasm for this event is infectious. As an athlete, he understands the competitive drive, the passion for the game and the personal satisfaction of a victory. In many ways, the Utah Summer Games epitomizes Casey McClellan. Casey grew up in Monroe, Utah where he attended South Sevier High School and participated in five sports: Golf, baseball, football, basketball, and the javelin. "For some reason, sports have always been a part of my life. I want my life professionally to somehow be involved with sports. That is just who I am. There is nothing wrong with being competitive if you are a good sport and do it the right way."

Casey continues to hone his competitive edge. He is an avid golf player and every year he chooses a sport to participate in at the Summer Games. And although Casey may be competitive, he is not afraid to come away without a medal. "The Utah Summer Games is an opportunity for anyone who is an athlete to just play. Any opportunity to compete is fun because it is more difficult the older we get. While my number one goal is to be involved with the organization, I actually enjoy finding the time to compete and hang out with the athletes."

Case in point:

"My first year, I threw horseshoes which I did with my Dad and we had a great time. Both of us are extremely competitive and so it was interesting to see our struggles. That is certainly not a sport that we are very good at. We certainly thought we should be better than we were.’’ Casey reminisces. "We had a great time and we met a lot of new people doing a sport that we hadn’’t really been familiar with. We didn’t do very well and we didn’t come close to winning a medal, but we had a blast."

This year Casey will compete in his favorite sport, golf. Casey is also the assistant golf coach at SUU so he and his partners (his Dad and hometown friend) are likely to be fierce competition on the golf course. But Casey will also test his trigger finger this year at the Cowboy Action Shooting. Look for the guy in the Apache costume and you will find Casey, director of the Utah Summer Games.

During the off-season for the Utah Summer Games and golf, Casey spends time traveling as a collegiate basketball referee for the WAC. Once again, this job has brought him unforeseen opportunities and learning experiences. "I have really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, every time my whistle goes off somebody is mad at me which has taken some time to get used to. My personality is that I do my best to make everybody happy and unfortunately you don’t make everybody happy. The refereeing side of my life has helped me understand you are always going to have somebody upset. And so my skin is getting thicker but I still have a long ways to go. It is my fourth year working in the WAC and hopefully there will be many more years."

On the home front Casey is married to his best friend Cori and they have a 2-year-old son."Cori keeps me grounded. She keeps me in line when I need to be in line and certainly supports me through the thick and the thin. She is always in the background pushing me which is something I really appreciate about her."

Casey and Cori’s son has his mom and dad’s genes, Casey says. "He plays sports from the minute he wakes up." Casey embraces fatherhood like he embraces all things in his life. "Anytime I can be with my little guy that is the best thing ever. We had a struggle getting him here (Chandler is somewhat of a miracle child) and now that we have got him we certainly enjoy every moment.”

Casey’s life may seem to revolve around sports but he and his family love the outdoors and often escape to the mountains or Zion National Park for a little Southern Utah family time. Still, one of Casey’s favorite outdoor escapes happens to be the golf course. But he is also a big advocate of Southern Utah’s western heritage. Before he moved to Cedar, he was starting to get into the rodeo sport of team roping with his brother. "I think Southern Utah is a certainly a country lifestyle, it offers an opportunity to be in rodeo and involved in our western heritage. Big city folks don’t get an opportunity to be around that like we do and I certainly appreciate that opportunity."

"Winning is not everything, but it sure is a lot of fun trying to win,” Casey says. This final statement from Casey seems to sum up his love of sports, competition and life. It is easy to feel motivated to improve when you know Casey. Because you know that he will always keep pushing himself and others to achieve their best whether he is competing, refereeing or cheering from the sidelines. He truly is an advocate for the potential of the human spirit to succeed.