Is Coaching Changing?

I grew up as a CK. If you were a CK, you know what that stands for. For those of you who did not grow up in a family with a father and/or mother who was or is a coach, CK is a Coach's Kid.

I loved it! It afforded me many opportunities none of the other students had. It started before I was even old enough to go to school. My dad played for a living and I got to go along for the ride. I talk about it quite bit in my ebook I Still Believe in Tomorrow.

I grew up with a ball in my hands. Literally, My first basketball came along before I did! Here is a shot of my dad and me at six months old:

I love the wallpaper and my bib overalls!

It was not long after I started walking before I was learning how to dribble!

I want to share one more picture of my first coach and mentor before I get to the point of this post. My dad started coaching me in organized sports in summer league baseball when we lived in Edgerton, Minnesota and I was eight or nine years old. This shot was taken in our backyard in Sibley, Iowa the summer of 1968 and I was thirteen:




In Iowa, they played their school baseball in the summer because there were always rain outs and cold weather in the spring, so they could rarely get a full schedule of games played. The benefit for us athletes was, we could participate in four sports. It was GREAT!



Now, the Minneapolis StarTribune claims: Coaches no longer make decisions in a vacuum. Some parents second-guess every move, and some coaches resent it. ... You can read the Updated: May 24, 2012 online article by clicking here.

I can relate to this story because my dad's contract was not renewed twice because he did not do a few of the points on the following list. So, the movers came, hooked up to the trailer and it was off to the next town. One of them was his home town in 1960! With all due respect to the author of the referenced article in the StarTribune, Jason Gonzalez, this phenomena is not new.

It is my experience parents have always had a problem with coaches for a number of reasons like:

1. Their son or daughter's team did not win enough
2. Their son or daughter did not get to play enough
3. Their son or daughter got cut from the team
4. The coach was too disciplined
5. The coach was not disciplined enough
6. The coach was too loud
7. The coach was not loud enough
8. The coach picked on their son or daughter
9. The coach had favorite players and treated them differently
10. The coach did not win the big game.

The article refers mostly to high school coaches, and a recent rash of resignations and firings because coaches have had it with their decisions both on and off the field. There are a number of reasons given in the article, but their main reason was the coaches were bullies.


Many of us have heard of the recent rash of scandals in the college coaching ranks. I find them disgusting! We have heard the old adage There is a bad apple in every barrel. It happens in every profession, and coaching is no different. However, there are the vast majority of both men and women coaches out there, at all levels of competition, who are good, honest, decent people who are doing a great job coaching! There are also good men and women who spent their entire careers teaching young men and women to be good people, not just good athletes! I like reading about people like John Wooden, and recently retired, Pat Summit.

Those are just two examples of great coaches. I had several I could list as well. Do you have any good coaching stories you would like to share?

I look forward to hearing about them.

Later,

Mike

Bob Hurley's Commitment

Since my NCAA College Basketball Pool is shot, I want to go down a level of my favorite sport, basketball, and talk about high school basketball. Last Sunday 60 Minutes showed a piece I want to share.

Basketball is alive and well at tiny St. Anthony Catholic High School in Jersey City, New Jersey. Coach Bob Hurley is running not only an incredibly successful winning basketball program, but turning out student/athlete leaders as well. The coolest part of this whole school is every student goes to college!

It is an incredible story! If you have not already seen it, check it out:

Do you agree with me? My favorite quote from Coach Hurley's interview was, "I think I'm where I'm supposed to be."

Can you say that about yourself? Are you where you are supposed to be? If you are, good for you. If you are not, what can you do to get there? Can you get there? There may become a time when I can say that about my current health situation, but not yet. However, When I am addressing an audience and they appear to be hanging on my every word, I can say, "I'm there!"

I know why I got hurt. I am supposed to try to make a difference in peoples' lives. Like teachers, I do not get a semester, or whole school year, or a lifetime like a parent does with her/his child(ren). I may only have a group for a half hour, an hour, or maybe more. So, I have to do a good job in my short time with them no matter their age.

I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike

Finally, A Post Not About Me

In most of my recent posts, all I have been addressing is me. It is time to change that. I want to introduce you to a teaching website about positive values. I believe the lessons are relevant and good reminders for people of all ages. It is called Values.com.

For you teachers, there is a lot of good information you may find useful in your classroom. Positive attributes like leadership, friendship, courage, honesty and respect, to name just a few are featured throughout the site. There is also a great deal of information for the rest of us. I know I have spent quite a bit of time already perusing the site. I even see a few potential handouts for future schools, conferences and possible pages for my Materials page on my website.

I first learned of them while watching television in these last long months of being bedridden; and seeing this commercial several times. You can watch the commercial by clicking here:

I do not think I would have handled the situation the way this young man did. For you student/athletes, what would you have done in this or a similar situation? For everyone else, what would you have done in this or any of the other scenarios they show?

I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike

"That sucks!"

I was at Henry Sibley High School in Suburban St. Paul, Minnesota today to give a presentation to their senior class and had fun for about eighty minutes with approximately 400 students, many of whom have already started counting the days till graduation.

I know I made an impact on these seniors for a couple of reasons. One, they gave me a standing ovation. That’s always a good sign! Secondly, at the end of the day, one of the counselors approached me and wanted to tell me what she had experienced.

She told me in the hour or two following my program, in which I addressed a number of issues including college, three students came to her and told her they had not been planning on going to college; but after hearing me speak, they wanted to get information on applying to colleges for next fall! She was amazed and very thankful.

Pat Johnson has hired me a few times over the last several years to speak at Sibley and at another school where she worked before she moved to Sibley. She wanted me to spend some time with their seniors; then I was free to go because I thought I had double-booked another school for the afternoon. I told her that school had been rescheduled so I could spend the rest of the day at Sibley. So, she went into hyper speed and started trying to schedule classrooms to visit. We went looking for teachers who might want me to visit their classroom. Once I’m in a building, I want to be with students. I always have a hard time leaving a school!

We finally went into a teacher lounge during lunch and met Lee Huenecke who teaches tenth grade health classes. He smiled and said, "Sure, come into my room. I was planning to give a test today, I'm sure the students wouldn't mind putting it off another day."

We went into his classroom and he told his students they were having a guest speaker today, instead of the test; and no one had a problem with that!

Pat then introduced me and she went back to her duties as one of the assistant principals in this school of about 1,600 students.

Since these students hadn't heard me in the morning, I started to tell my story and early on, I said something like, "I broke my neck playing football when I was in high school."

I no sooner got out those words, and a student in the back of the classroom matter-of-factly said, "That sucks!"

It just hit me and I lost it! I started laughing and had a hard time regaining my composure so I could continue! In more that 5,000 speeches, no one has ever said that, at least not that I could hear. It was just hysterical and set the tone for the rest of the hour. I had more fun with these kids than I've had in a long time and I think the reason was I was very relaxed and they immediately felt comfortable with me. They knew I could laugh at my situation, and they were very open to what I wanted to tell them. I made a great connection with the whole class and we bonded right off the bat. I had 'em! It was an amazing, fun-filled hour.

I also made a special connection with a young man whose name is Rolando. Rolando showed me some leadership skills as he helped me navigate my website with a small, Mac laptop. The room wasn't equipped with a large monitor, so Rolando would take the laptop and walk up and down the aisles showing everyone the pictures we were discussing. It was fun to watch as he took ownership of the tasks I had him carry out and I could see his character come out as the hour moved on.

It was one of those "teachable moments" that lasted an entire class period! I would like to be a fly on the wall tomorrow during class to see what the conversation will be like when Mr. Huenecke asks them what they thought of my presentation.

Community College Diversity

I spent Wednesday afternoon with a Human Relations class at Minneapolis Community and Technical College in downtown Minneapolis. The twenty-five students are working towards an Associates of Arts degree in Business Office Administration. Their instructor, Margret Lydell, asked me to address issues like leadership and diversity.

I spent two and one-half hours addressing those and a good number of other issues like creative problem-solving, critical thinking, attitude and motivation. We had a great session and, at the end of class, they asked several very good, thoughtful questions.

There were several things that stood out for me, but one of the big things was the diversity and the number of immigrant students. At one point, I asked how many students were born in a country other than the United States. By far the lion's share of the students are first generation immigrants.

They told me there are eighty different languages spoken at MCTC! I don't know exactly how representative of their population this particular class is, but it just struck me how such a diverse group of young people are studying at one small, post-secondary institution in the middle of downtown Minneapolis. I think it's great!

They obviously understood me because of the questions they asked, the conversations I had with a few of them after class and the comments a couple of students made to their instructor, Margret Lydell.

After the students had all gone, Margret told me a couple of great stories about what students had told her.

Another good day, doing what I absolutely love. Another reminder I'm not done yet!

YLF Virginia 2007

I made my third visit to the Virginia Youth Leadership Forum at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia in July. I want to tell you about an extraordinary program, group of kids, young staff and a wonderful woman by the name of Teri Barker who directs the program.

Each year Teri brings in twenty to twenty-five students who will be entering their junior or senior year of high school in the fall. All of the students have disabilities of one sort or another; some of them are severely disabled and medically fragile. They have a nurse on staff and five or six extraordinary personal care attendants available at all times to help kids who may need assistance.

Besides the students with disabilities, Teri also has a staff consisting of former delegates, many of whom have been involved with the program for up to eight years. Everyone has his or her assignments and from my perspective, the program appears to run very smoothly. If one were to ask some of the staff members they may get a completely different answer at any given time, especially after they have just put out a small fire.



This year was my third year being at the program and was by far my best experience yet. I can’t wait to go back next year!

Our ride picked us up at 11 a.m. on Sunday morning and took us to Christopher Newport University’s campus. When we got there, Teri, as usual, was there to greet us. Tim got out of the van, and greeted Teri while the lift-equipped van driver unlocked my chair, and began to get me off of the bus.

I started connecting with staff members who I’ve known for two years now. There are many very special people involved in this YLF program and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to know them.

I have spoken at amazing leadership programs all over the country, but none compare to what happens in the week with a small group of individuals at YLF.

First of all, most programs involving young people usually last from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. A lot happens in 48 hours with young leaders in groups of 300 or more high school students! I watch kids come from all parts of the state not knowing anyone and by the time just two short days have gone by, relationships have been made that may last a lifetime. When put in an excellent learning environment, young people surrounded by positive, like-minded individuals grow and develop in ways that are absolutely amazing!

The unique thing about YLF is it runs for five days! It culminates in these students with special needs giving a presentation before members of the Virginia legislature! I have never seen anything like it. When the students arrive on Monday, and are greeted with cheers, applause, hugs and high-fives, they often say that was one of the highlights of their experience on campus.

I spoke with one young lady who told me this was the first time she had ever spent a night away from home. She will be a junior in high school this year and has some very lofty goals. We had a couple of wonderful opportunities to have extended conversations and I believe YLF was something she will never forget. Of course, YLF is something many people never forget.

One of the staff members, Thomas, has been at all three of the programs I’ve attended. He uses a three-wheel scooter to get around, is significantly affected by cerebral palsy, including tight muscle spasms, and a severe speech problem. However, he has a smile that lights up the room!

Two years ago, he and I became fast friends. In the three YLF’s I have attended we’ve made each other laugh more times than I can count. It’s at the point now where all I have to do is look his way, catch his eyes and we both start smiling.

In my address at their mentoring luncheon on Wednesday, I mentioned something about Thomas; he let out a big yell started laughing and practically jumped out of his chair. He doesn’t need to develop character because he is already is one!

On Tuesday night the four groups each put on a skit. Their theme this year was “Learn, Empower, Achieve, Demonstrate – LEAD.” Each group had to work from a scenario and give their version of how that scenario would play out.

Now remember, only two days earlier these young people had shown up on campus knowing no one, many being very shy, and most had never been on stage! They gave four excellent short skits that brought the house down!

One young man, Steven, who has severe cerebral palsy involvement, uses a wheelchair to get around, and a talking board to communicate stole the show when, at the end of their skit, managed to stand up and flex his arms over his head in a bodybuilder type pose. The smile on his face went from ear to ear! As a matter of fact, he did the pose several times. He didn’t want to get off the stage!

In just 48 hours these kids had come from quiet, shy, almost bashful individuals to expressive, cohesive teams performing on stage in what can only be described as heartwarming events.

Tim and I left campus early on Thursday morning to catch our flight back to Minneapolis. While we were loading the students were also boarding buses for their trip to the State Capitol in Richmond where they were to give their testimonies for a panel of Virginia government officials, including legislators from the Virginia Assembly and Senate. They also get a group picture taken with the Governor.

That day is the one I would like to see. I listened to several of the delegates give their testimonies on Wednesday and would love to have seen the students present them at the Capitol.

There’s much more to this story. In fact, there’s an entire chapter in my book “I’m Not Done Yet” devoted to YLF.

Self-Advocacy

On August 24th, I spent the better part of the day attending a workshop in St. Paul put on by Advocating Change Together (ACT). ACT is a grassroots disability rights organization run by and for people with developmental and other disabilities. Among other things, ACT is working to help make people with disabilities lives' better by teaching them skills to make them better self-advocates to take charge of their own lives.

To paraphrase their flyer, the objective for the meeting was: "Do Metro Area self-advocacy groups want the metro region of Self-Advocates Minnesota (SAM) to work together as a team? And, if we do, we need to define the structure, strategies and players."

I spent close to four hours watching people with various levels of developmental disabilities make some incredible decisions based on very rational thought processes much of society doesn't think they possess. Therefore, "We" need to make those decisions for this group of people. They proved to me in that short time society is not giving credit where credit is due!

I was very impressed with several people who were obviously making many, if not all of the decisions they needed to live their lives to the fullest. It was a fun experience.

I was especially impressed at the end of the workshop when it came time to vote on the object of the day; only one woman needed clarification on the question put before them. I had been interjecting some of own thoughts and suggestions throughout the meeting; so, I tried to explain the issue in a little different language I believed would make it easier for her to understand.

Then she understood the question and voted with the rest of the self-advocates to make the motion unanimous. By the way, the only people who were allowed to vote were the individuals who had disabilities. The staff members from the various organizations were not allowed to vote. After all, the workshop was about self-advocacy.

The crowning achievement for me was when they asked for two volunteers to plan the next meeting and get their new project off of the ground, one woman shot her hand right up and eagerly volunteered. She was ready to go! Almost immediately, another woman also volunteered.

I immediately told them how impressed I was they were taking on that new responsibility, and they were demonstrating exactly what the workshop was all about, self-advocacy. They both got huge smiles and thanked me for the compliment.

I'll be watching to see how their new leadership group develops.