A Definite Positive Impact

I've been blessed to receive a number of emails and calls over the past few weeks about SportsLeader teams and their father-son jersey nights. I'm going to share some of them over the next few days.

This is a taste of the power of sports done right ...
...
Lou,

I hope things are going well and I wanted to reintroduce myself. My name is Doug Martin and I am the Head Coach at East Peoria High School in East Peoria, Illinois. We met this summer at Rushville High School while you were introducing the SportsLeader curriculum.

I wanted to email you and let you know that last week we had our first ever Father-Son Jersey Night. We invited our fathers and sons to the school around 7 and introduced our coaching staff and went through a quick team preview. We then had the fathers help their sons put their decals on their helmets. Finally, we concluded with the jersey exchange between father and son.

I wanted to let you know what a success the event was. I have heard from almost every father how much they enjoyed the evening and how much it meant to them. I also had several of our kids talk to me in private and tell me that night they had one of the longest and deepest talks they have ever had with their dad.

As a staff, we sat around at the conclusion of the event and all agreed on one thing. It is not nearly often enough that at the end of the day we can undeniably said we made a definite positive impact in the lives of our players. It felt amazing. 

We have been following much of the curricula including weekly themes and goals settings, and I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to put this program together and your willingness to share. It has definitely had a positive impact here at East Peoria, on both players and coaches!

Best Wishes and God Bless,

Doug Martin
Head Football Coach
East Peoria Community High School