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Dante Galella and several other Highland School sixth graders were dubbed "try hards" by other students for trying to join extracurricular clubs.
The words that were meant to antagonize the 12- and 13-year-olds have become the motto worn proudly on T-shirts and wrist bands: #TryHard.
It reminds Galella to do just that.
“When I do my homework every night I see the wristband,” he said. “When I play basketball, I wear them around my socks and when I get tired I look at them.”
Being a #TryHard goes beyond the middle school.
A wrestler from Wayne pushed through a grueling practice after looking at Galella's #TryHard wristband. Wyckoff’s AJ Gallagher, a Rutgers baseball player, requested a wristband, as did Galella's North Carolina cousins.
Giving everything in life 100 percent is something Galella learned at home.
“We preach to our kids about effort and having a positive attitude,” said Galella's father, Anthony Galella, who owns Technique Development in Hawthorne. “Working hard and giving effort is a positive thing. Those are things you can control.”
WATCH the video above.
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