SportsLeader

Nicholas Holden - Courage

2012-01-26T08:43:00.000-05:00

Nicholas Holden is one of the athletes we will be honoring at this year's Awards Ceremony on Friday February 24th at Cincinnati Moeller High School.

One of his coaches took the time to write this inspiring note about him.

As a society we need to make more of an effort to recognize the strength of virtue and its greatness. Please join us!

Nicholas Holden - Courage

By Brian Redden

Courage comes in all shapes, sizes, and circumstances. For those of us in the St. Gertrude Bulldogs Football Program, a shining example of Courage was presented through a very special family who faced a rare cancer with rare conviction and courage that inspired coaches and players alike with their "Get Er Done" attitude and an outlook on life that taught us to cherish every single day we have with our loved ones.

In October, 2010, Tracy Holden was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer called multiple myeloma. I say rare as it usually does not affect 40 year old Caucasian women, but rather African American men over age 60. This would be just one of many distinctive traits that the Holden's friends and family would come to learn of them over the next 13 months as Tracy battled this aggressive disease. One thing was true of her though, and that was her amazing outlook and attitude that she was going to give it her all to fight and do her best to beat the disease.

I vividly remember sitting on the couch in her living room during a friends and family cookout at her over Memorial Day Weekend 2011 when she, then all of 90 pounds, told me how hard she was going to fight to get better and how much she was looking forward to watching her son, Nicholas, play football for our Reserve Football team at St. Gertrude and her daughter, Grace, cheering for that same team. She and her husband Keith had always been great supporters and volunteers in the program and she hated that she couldn't do more in 2011.

I had the privilege of coaching Nicholas that season as the Defensive Coordinator and OL coach for our Reserve team. Nicholas wasn't the smallest boy on our team, but he was close. He was also one of the most fearless, toughest, hard-nosed competitors we had on our roster of 27 young men. Not only did Nicholas never back down from making a block or a tackle against a bigger opponent in a drill or a game, he also played with a love and understanding of the game that you rarely see from boys in his age group. On top of that, he was one of our most vocal leaders - letting team mates know when they did things right, taking care of team mates when they were down, and leading us in prayer praying for his mother and another parent from our program who was battling cancer too.

It could have been easy for Nicholas to take a break from practice while his mother was in the hospital getting her bone marrow transplant for the better part of 2 months. It could have been easy for him to miss a practice or two when she returned to the hospital in October with complications from her transplant.

It could have been easy for him to say that football was too hard with all he had going on in his life, that it was too physical when 90% of the kids are bigger or outweighed him, that it was too mentally grinding when his mom wasn't there to welcome him home after getting bruised at practice. He never did. He was, and is, a model team mate. He is a quiet leader who pushed all of us to be better coaches and players, to do better on and off the field, to pray for our loved ones and their challenges while putting ourselves second or third. He is a hero of mine and I believe is a model of the Courage that SportsLeader seeks to have our young people exhibit.

Virtue Helps Wrestling Teams Impress

2012-01-25T12:02:00.002-05:00

Over the weekend, two SportsLeader wrestling teams had some amazing success on and off the mat.

The last time the Ohio State wrestling team beat Iowa in 1966, Woody Hayes was still the Buckeyes' head football coach.

Archie Griffin had yet to play a down for OSU, let alone win two Heisman Trophies.

The United States was in the middle of the Vietnam War under President Lyndon B. Johnson.

And everyone, including the coaching staff, involved with the OSU wrestling team had yet to live in a world that saw their school win against Iowa.

That all changed last Friday night though, after the No. 7 Buckeyes toppled No. 2 Iowa, 21-9, at St. John Arena.

The virtues that they have been focusing on over the past fee weeks were Self-Less, Iron-Willed and Humble.

For St Xavier High School, they have not had much wrestling success against Elder High School in quite a while. That changed as well with a 45-30 victory Saturday night.

I had the pleasure of attending the St Xavier match with my son and I was so glad I was able to bring him - because he witnessed a lot of virtue.

There were some questionable calls/no-calls by the referee throughout the match. The crowd got rather upset a few times but I was so impressed with the coaching staffs from both schools. All of the coaches involved were class-acts.

They handled themselves so well even my eight year old son noticed. "These coaches don't scream at the ref even when all these people do."

During one particular wrestling match at 152 pounds, the Elder wrestler got injured. The St Xavier wrestler, Joe Heyob, went over to the Elder bench, took a knee and reached out to the injured competitor. I don't know what he said, but the action spoke volumes. I personally had never seen that before. Virtue = Strength in action.

Again, my son noticed. "That was really nice of Joe, wasn't it, Dad."

It once again showed me how everything matters. A regular wrestling match can turn into a tremendous learning experience, even for our younger fans in attendance.

Transforming the culture of sports ...

Earle Bruce Headlines SportsLeader Coaches Clinic

2012-01-23T16:34:00.002-05:00

We hope you can join us.

Earle Bruce

When an injury ended Earle Bruce's playing career at Ohio State, coach Woody Hayes urged Bruce to become a coach.

Starting in the high school ranks, Bruce was an assistant before becoming a head coach, posting an 82-12-3 record in ten seasons and earning Ohio High School Coach of the Year honors three times.

Earle's first collegiate job was at Tampa, where in one season he had a 10-2 record and a Tangerine Bowl win. He then went to Iowa State, where he turned around a perpetually losing program into a winner and bowl invitee.

In 1979, Bruce went to Ohio State, succeeding his friend Woody Hayes. In his first year he posted an undefeated regular season, a Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl. Bruce was named National Coach of the Year by both the Football Writers and Coaches Associations.

In his nine seasons at OSU, Bruce won or shared four Big Ten championships, took the Buckeyes to eight bowl games, finished in the top 20 eight times and posted an 81-26-1 record.

From there, he spent one season at Northern Iowa before closing his career at Colorado State, where he took the Rams to their first bowl game in 42 years.

Overall Bruce had a 154-90-2 record, took four different schools to bowl games where he had a 12-5 record, had ten seasons where his teams won nine or more games, and had nine top 20 teams.

The Coaching Tree of Earle Bruce is one of the most remarkable in the history of College Football.

Coaches who were Assistants with him have won 7 of the past 9 National Championships:
2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2011.

Dom Capers, Pete Carroll, Jim Tressel, Mark Dantonio, Glen Mason, Urban Meyer, Nick Saban ... just to name a few.

...

FREE Character Building Clinic hosted by SportsLeader for Coaches and Captains
www.sportsleader.org
($20 donation appreciated but not required, checks made out to SportsLeader)

February 24-25, 2012

At Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller High School
9001 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, OH 45242

Registration Instructions:
Reply to this Email with your name, high school, address, cell phone number and position

SportsLeader Awards Night
Friday Night February 24, 2012

6:30 Arrival

6:50 Award presentation to athletes who have displayed great virtue and initiative in serving others

7:15 Award Presentation to Coach Trent Todd: Youth FB Coach and Double-Lung Transplant Survivor

7:45 Some of his athletes give testimonials

8:00 Break - Social

8:15 Zeke Bratkowski: Former QB for Green Bay Packers, Member of the Packers Hall of Fame, NFL quarterback coach/offensive coordinator. Prepared Tim Tebow personally for the NFL.

9:15 Social

SportsLeader Character Building Clinic
FOR COACHES AND CAPTAINS
Saturday Morning February 25, 2012

7:30 Arrival and Registration

8:00 Clinic speakers 1
High School Track - Aaron Segedi, Trenton MI- Community Impact Projects: Victory Day
Grade School Track - Tommy Hagey, St Henry Nashville TN - The Virtue Program's Impact on the Coaching Staff

8:35 Switch

8:40 Clinic Speakers 2
High School Track - Steve Frommeyer, Eminence KY - The Importance of a Systematic Virtue Program
Grade School Track - Ron Jennings, Lakota Stallions Cincinnati OH - Transforming Your Youth Football League Through Virtue

9:15 Switch

9:20 Clinic Speakers 3
High School Track - Bill Sweet and Ron Adams, Wyandotte Roosevelt MI - How to Train Captains and Build Leaders Year Round
Grade School Track - Jim DeJoy, Sycamore Cincinnati OH - How to Discipline Players and Deal with Disappointment

9:55 Break/Social

10:20 General talk for both HS and GS - SportsLeader Cofounders ... Paul Passafiume & Lou Judd - Integrating a Virtue Program into Your Team and School

11:00 Switch

11:05 Clinic Speakers 4
High School Track - Chris Tracy, Franklin County KY - Traditions that Build a Program and Transform Families
Grade School Track - Brian Redden, St Gertrude OH - Integrating a Virtue Program into Your Boosters Organization

11:35 Switch

11:40 General talk for both HS and GS - Earle Bruce: Former Head Football Coach at Ohio State

12:15 Wrap up

12:30 Departure

Philip Rivers: Bold & Strong

2012-01-23T16:11:00.000-05:00

SAVE THE DATE! Feb 24-25, 2012

FREE Character Building Clinic hosted by SportsLeader for Coaches and Captains

Catholic Quarterback Philip Rivers Passes On the Faith
San Diego Chargers' star talks faith, family and football: 'Once I've received the Eucharist, then I'm prepared to go out and play.'

BY TRENT BEATTIE 01/20/2012

www.ncregister.com

Coming off a disappointing 2011 NFL campaign, San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is wasting no time to prepare for next season.

The Chargers won four of their first five games last season, but finished with an 8-8 record. The team missed the playoffs, and Tim Tebow’s Denver Broncos went instead.

Less dedicated players would take time off, but not Rivers. Dedication is something his father Steve, a high-school coach, passed along to him, and it has been a driving force in his football career.
At North Carolina State University, Rivers broke every school passing record, finishing his collegiate career with 13,484 passing yards, the second-highest total ever for a Division 1-A quarterback up to that point.

His production in the NFL has also been impressive. His 95.2 passer-rating currently ranks fifth all-time among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 yards passing.

Perhaps even more impressive than Rivers’ football accomplishments, however, is his dedication to passing on his Catholic faith. The 30-year-old Decatur, Ala., native cherishes opportunities to hand on to his own children the faith that his parents gave to him.

Rivers discussed this and many other things in early January.

What do you think of this past season, and what are you doing now during the playoffs?
This past season was certainly a disappointment. We didn’t make the playoffs, and I didn’t have my best season, personally. However, I’m thankful for the adversity we experienced because if we take it in the right way, it can help us next season.

We had a fairly strong close to the season, so I remember the saying that “You never lose; you just run out of time.” We ran out of time this season, but there’s next season, which I’m preparing for already. I watch the teams in the playoffs to see what we can do better the next time we play them.
I really am thankful for this season’s adversity, not just from a football perspective, but from an overall life perspective as well. It’s made me not just a better player, but a better husband and father.

How do you find time for your commitment to the faith when most of your games are played on the Lord’s Day?
It’s funny, because it’s always been a dream of mine to play in the NFL, but I was concerned about the games being played on Sundays. I love to play football but wanted to be able to attend Mass as well. Now, I do that by going to a vigil Mass or an early Sunday morning one. Once I’ve received the Eucharist, then I’m prepared to go out and play.

Something that might seem odd on the surface is this: If I put football above my faith and family, I think I’d be worse off as a player, not better. It’s a matter of putting things in the right order, which helps you to do each of those things as they ought to be done. Avoiding idolatry helps you to have the right perspective on life, which in turn helps you to live more effectively. Faith comes first, then family, then football.

What do you think of Tim Tebow’s statements about faith?
I know Tim a little bit because we have the same agent. I’ve enjoyed speaking with him from time to time and know that he has strong beliefs. I’ve been public about my beliefs, as well, but not in as vocal or persistent a manner. Everyone has a different way of expressing themselves, and Tim has his own way, too.

As a quarterback I very much appreciate what a great competitor he is and how he wills his team to win. I always look forward to competing against competitors like him.

What does football mean to you, not just as a way to make a living, but as a game you’ve been playing your whole life and one in which your father has influenced you?
Football is one of the most popular sports in the country, and there are many reasons for this. You can take so much from football and apply it to life in general. Just some of those things are goal-setting, preparation, teamwork, perseverance and discipline.

Discipline is one of the biggest things that stands out for me in relation to my father. He would always tell me that if you’re going to do something, do it all the way. Nothing should be done halfheartedly. That was true not only with football, but with something as simple as cleaning your room or cutting the grass. I would wonder why making a bed was important at all when you were going to use it again later that day. The discipline to do those simple things can help you so much with greater things. Luke 16:10 comes to mind, in that regard.

My father was my coach in high school, and I still talk with him very frequently about football today. I’ll call him after practice, and we’ll talk about how things went. In fact, Dad still has other players of his who call him up and talk with him as well. That’s something very special to me — how he has helped to guide me and others in being a man.

What has your father passed along to you regarding the Catholic faith specifically?
My father converted from being Southern Baptist when I was very young. He was determined that we get to Mass every Sunday, which served as the foundation for everything else. You simply do not miss Mass. Period. When the father of the family says we go, then we go.
When I went away to school at North Carolina State, I was on my own for the first time and really out of my element, but when I went to Mass that first Sunday, everything fell back into place. Even though I was physically a good distance from my family, I knew I was home in the truest sense.
That’s one of the gifts of the Church I appreciate most: the oneness or universality of it all. It’s the same essential Mass regardless of which city or state or country you’re in at the time. I’ve been to some beautiful churches in Denver, St. Louis and Chicago, but what’s even more beautiful than the churches is Jesus (being) always present in the Eucharist.

This is true in any Catholic church you go to.

Because you grew up in the South, you must have encountered opposition to Catholicism.
There were only about 15 of us in my confirmation class, not just for our parish, but for the entire county in Alabama that I lived in. That tells you how small the Catholic population was. However, I wouldn’t call it opposition that I encountered, but more of a questioning as to why we did certain things. That can be a good thing, in the sense that you learn so much about the faith because of the questions. That’s something my mother helped me with in even more detail than my father. She was especially instrumental in revealing the truth of the Church to my wife, Tiffany, during her conversion.
Most of my buddies from school I didn’t see at Mass on Sunday because they weren’t Catholic. We got along fine outside of church, but the religious camaraderie wasn’t there.

I’ve known my wife since we were in junior high school, but she wasn’t Catholic at that time. However, like my father, she converted, and that has strengthened both of us.

Our bond in the faith is the foundation of our marriage. San Diego has a very solid Catholic community, which has been great for my wife and kids to make friends and be supported in the faith.

This is very encouraging, especially when it comes to living out teachings of the Church that are not as popular as others. The most noticeable of these is being open to life, or what is commonly known as natural family planning (NFP). When you see others making the same commitment to the faith as you are, it can only strengthen you.

Because of the commitment that’s required, a lot of people are particularly afraid of the baby stages of raising children. It’s easy to talk yourself into thinking you just can’t handle all the work that it takes. What I tell people, though, is that the children do grow up; they aren’t going to be in need of constant supervision and assistance forever.

Plus, when the time comes to look back on your child-raising years, you may actually want more children. There can be a fear of having too many going in, but a regret of not enough when looking back. There are people who would desperately want to have more but can’t.
My mom comes from a family of nine children, and she would have loved more than anything to have had a large family of her own. However, that was not God’s plan, and I ended up being the only child for the first 11 years of my life. Then we were fortunate to welcome my brother Stephen into the world, and later my sister Anna.

With the birth of our second son in October, we have six kids now. It’s funny because sometimes when I’m out with just three of them, people ask if they’re all mine, as if three is an enormous family.

What do you enjoy most about fatherhood?
Every day there’s something new to witness. It’s fun to watch them grow. Tiffany and I comment to each other on which one is more like mom or more like dad when they do certain things. Each one is different, but I really enjoy watching them play together and love each other. That’s very special to see as a dad.

When you have a family of your own, you realize just how much you owe to your own parents, and you find that you do things just like they did. You may not have appreciated those things at the time, but it’s funny to see them come back. One little example of this is when I was younger; we would finish a meal, and 15 minutes later I’d ask my dad for a snack. He’d tell me, “We just ate. You’re not hungry; you’re just bored. Now go play.” Today, my own kids do the same thing to me, and I give them the same response my dad gave me.
I love my kids so much and not only enjoy them now, but sometimes I think of what it will be like when they’re grown up. When they have families of their own and come back home for Thanksgiving or Christmas, it will be so much fun to see them and all the grandkids.

Strengthening families is a major reason you started your foundation, Rivers of Hope, correct?
Yes, it is. On our way home from a trip to Disneyland a few years ago, Tiffany and I were talking about doing something pro-life, and a great way to do that is by helping foster kids find “forever families.” We’re so blessed ourselves to have a strong family, but we knew that so many people don’t have that same blessing.

In coming up with a name, we all decided on Rivers of Hope, because “hope” is my mom’s favorite word, and it really expresses the purpose of the foundation. Our primary purpose is to help find permanent homes for foster children, which is a hope unfulfilled for too many.
I’ve talked with many foster children, and it is very common for them to bounce from home to home. Two little sisters in particular stand out in my mind. They explained that whenever a social worker would come to the home they were in at the time, one sister would yell to the other, “Pack your bags!” To these kids, seeing a social worker meant moving again. We wanted to help them see the day when that cycle would stop and they’d find a permanent home.

There are hundreds of kids here in San Diego County ready to be adopted, so we want to raise awareness of that. We’re not reinventing the wheel, just trying to help the process go more smoothly with the organizations that already exist.
We do other things as well. If someone doesn’t have the money to buy a pair of cleats or a musical instrument, or whatever it might be, then we pay for those things. We also do referrals to crisis-pregnancy centers for mothers who need that support. Protecting the most vulnerable is essential to being pro-life.

Another part of being pro-life that you’ve spoken about is purity. Why is this an important topic to you?
One of the people we’ve gotten to know here in San Diego is Jason Evert of Catholic Answers. He presents the truth about sexuality, a topic which is so misrepresented in the media. Young people don’t realize what a gift it is within the context of marriage, so it’s great to be able to use the platform I have to spread the truth. People are able to put a face to a cause.

Speaking of purity, what do you say about some of the commercials played during football games?
It’s a shame, because it used to be fun to watch commercials during the Super Bowl, for instance. Now, it’s kind of hit or miss, and you have to be thankful for the pause button on the DVR. You know what you’re going to see in advance, so you prevent your kids especially from seeing those things. You want to protect their innocence, and that’s a preventative way of doing it. But in today’s world, praying for our kids is essential for their protection and continued growth in the faith.

I can’t put into words how much I enjoy praying with my kids. Most of them are a bit too young to have the attention span for a Rosary, so our favorite devotion is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which is shorter. We pray that every day of Lent, and we actually sing it most of the time. If the end of the day is coming, and we haven’t prayed the chaplet, one of the kids will enthusiastically insist that we do so.

Do you have a patron saint?
St. Sebastian is the patron of athletes, so I wear a medal of him, along with a miraculous medal and a crucifix. There are many stories I could tell about his patronage, but here’s just one. In a 2008 playoff game I tore my ACL [anterior cruciate ligament]. The week following that game was a very spiritual one for me. My mom asked me on the phone, “Do you know that St. Sebastian’s feast day [Jan. 20] is the day of the next playoff game?” Amazingly, maybe even miraculously, I was able to play that game.

I also admire St. Francis Xavier, a missionary priest who had quite an adventurous life. Reading stories like his helps to get the right perspective on things. What I have to suffer doesn’t really compare with what he and other saints went through for the Lord. Even more to the point, when you think of what Jesus suffered in his passion for us all, it can only help you love him all the more.

Register correspondent Trent Beattie writes from Seattle.

Marcus Rush Freshman All American

2012-01-19T07:46:00.000-05:00

SAVE THE DATE! Feb 24-25, 2012

FREE Character Building Clinic hosted by SportsLeader for Coaches and Captains

I had the pleasure of speaking with Michigan State defensive end Marcus Rush yesterday. Marcus has been named Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America. Rush is one of two Big Ten players selected to the 28-man team, joining Northwestern safety Ibraheim Campbell.

This is the second time a SportsLeader graduate has earned a spot on the FWAA Freshman All-America Team, as Rush joins linebacker Greg Jones (2007), also from Michigan State, who now plays with the NY Giants.

Marcus opened preseason camp near the bottom of the depth chart at defensive end but with his tremendous work ethic worked his way into the starting lineup. He ranked third on the team in tackles for loss (12 for 45 yards) and sacks (4 for 23 yards)

He helped Michigan State finish 11-3 in 2011, tying the school single-season record for victories. MSU implemented the mentoring this season.

One of the things that helped him the most was the great relationships he was able to build with his coaches, especially his mentor coach. He said they spoke numerous times during the season and it really, really helped to talk with a coach about some personal things.

The mentoring also strengthened his relationships with his friends as they helped one another make good decisions and stay away from temptations.

Priorities and $240,000

2012-01-19T07:45:00.000-05:00

The mission statement of SportsLeader is very simple: Transform the culture of sports.

Why does it need transforming?

Here is a very relevant example:

This past weekend a New York businessman and avid Packers fan decided to drop $240,000 on a road trip to the NFC Divisional Playoff Game against the Giants at Lambeau Field.

How can you spend $240K on a football game?

-1,086 miles to travel in a 70-foot RV

-2 waitresses

-3 TVs

-26 bottles of champagne

-65 Kobe beef burgers

-100 gallons of beer

-150 pounds of prime beef

-10 live lobsters

-6 seats on the 50-yard line

The gentleman brought five friends -- all diehard Giants fans -- and that ratio likely worked against him on the 20-hour trip home following Big Blue's stunning 37-20 win on Sunday.

The dream now is now a nightmare, as is the reality that awaits him when his RV pulls into the driveway and he's met by the wife who pretended she was cool with him skipping their 28th wedding anniversary for all this.

...

Now not everyone drops $240,000 for a game but there are many of us who dedicate a similar amount of hours on sports while we dedicate only a few minutes on serving others.

Just some food for thought and I include myself in this needed time of refection.

Selfless Tim Tebow Wins Over Rick Reilly

2012-01-19T07:44:00.000-05:00

A tremendous example of virtue! Imagine if every athletic team in the country had 1 athlete like this ... our world would be a very different place.

I Believe in Tim Tebow

By Rick Reilly

ESPN.com

I've come to believe in Tim Tebow, but not for what he does on a football field, which is still three parts Dr. Jekyll and two parts Mr. Hyde.

No, I've come to believe in Tim Tebow for what he does off a football field, which is represent the best parts of us, the parts I want to be and so rarely am.

Who among us is this selfless?

Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster's), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts.

Home or road, win or lose, hero or goat.

Remember last week, when the world was pulling its hair out in the hour after Tebow had stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers with an 80-yard OT touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas in the playoffs? And Twitter was exploding with 9,420 tweets about Tebow per second? When an ESPN poll was naming him the most popular athlete in America?

Tebow was spending that hour talking to 16-year-old Bailey Knaub about her 73 surgeries so far and what TV shows she likes.

"Here he'd just played the game of his life," recalls Bailey's mother, Kathy, of Loveland, Colo., "and the first thing he does after his press conference is come find Bailey and ask, 'Did you get anything to eat?' He acted like what he'd just done wasn't anything, like it was all about Bailey."

More than that, Tebow kept corralling people into the room for Bailey to meet. Hey, Demaryius, come in here a minute. Hey, Mr. Elway. Hey, Coach Fox.

Even though sometimes-fatal Wegener's granulomatosis has left Bailey with only one lung, the attention took her breath away.

"It was the best day of my life," she emailed. "It was a bright star among very gloomy and difficult days. Tim Tebow gave me the greatest gift I could ever imagine. He gave me the strength for the future. I know now that I can face any obstacle placed in front of me. Tim taught me to never give up because at the end of the day, today might seem bleak but it can't rain forever and tomorrow is a new day, with new promises."

I read that email to Tebow, and he was honestly floored.

"Why me? Why should I inspire her?" he said. "I just don't feel, I don't know, adequate. Really, hearing her story inspires me."

It's not just NFL defenses that get Tebowed. It's high school girls who don't know whether they'll ever go to a prom. It's adults who can hardly stand. It's kids who will die soon.

For the game at Buffalo, it was Charlottesville, Va., blue-chip high school QB Jacob Rainey, who lost his leg after a freak tackle in a scrimmage. Tebow threw three interceptions in that Buffalo game and the Broncos were crushed 40-14.

"He walked in and took a big sigh and said, 'Well, that didn't go as planned,'" Rainey remembers. "Where I'm from, people wonder how sincere and genuine he is. But I think he's the most genuine person I've ever met."

There's not an ounce of artifice or phoniness or Hollywood in this kid Tebow, and I've looked everywhere for it.

Take 9-year-old Zac Taylor, a child who lives in constant pain. Immediately after Tebow shocked the Chicago Bears with a 13-10 comeback win, Tebow spent an hour with Zac and his family. At one point, Zac, who has 10 doctors, asked Tebow whether he has a secret prayer for hospital visits. Tebow whispered it in his ear. And because Tebow still needed to be checked out by the Broncos' team doctor, he took Zac in with him, but only after they had whispered it together.

And it's not always kids. Tom Driscoll, a 55-year-old who is dying of brain cancer at a hospice in Denver, was Tebow's guest for the Cincinnati game. "The doctors took some of my brain," Driscoll says, "so my short-term memory is kind of shot. But that day I'll never forget. Tim is such a good man."

This whole thing makes no football sense, of course. Most NFL players hardly talk to teammatesbefore a game, much less visit with the sick and dying.

Isn't that a huge distraction?

"Just the opposite," Tebow says. "It's by far the best thing I do to get myself ready. Here you are, about to play a game that the world says is the most important thing in the world. Win and they praise you. Lose and they crush you. And here I have a chance to talk to the coolest, most courageous people. It puts it all into perspective. The game doesn't really matter. I mean, I'll give 100 percent of my heart to win it, but in the end, the thing I most want to do is not win championships or make a lot of money, it's to invest in people's lives, to make a difference."

So that's it. I've given up giving up on him. I'm a 100 percent believer. Not in his arm. Not in his skills. I believe in his heart, his there-will-definitely-be-a-pony-under-the-tree optimism, the way his love pours into people, right up to their eyeballs, until they believe they can master the hopeless comeback, too.

Remember the QB who lost his leg, Jacob Rainey? He got his prosthetic leg a few weeks ago, and he wants to play high school football next season. Yes, tackle football. He'd be the first to do that on an above-the-knee amputation.

Hmmm. Wonder where he got that crazy idea?

"Tim told me to keep fighting, no matter what," Rainey says. "I am."

Drew Brees on Faith & Humility

2012-01-12T11:20:00.000-05:00

It's great to see NFL players who are not afraid to talk about faith and virtue.

I recommend sharing this video with your players, coaches and parents.

Virtue, Marriage and Happiness

2012-01-11T08:59:00.002-05:00

SAVE THE DATE! Feb 24-25, 2012

FREE Character Building Clinic hosted by SportsLeader for Coaches and Captains

One of the reasons I am so passionate about virtue and athletics is that virtue leads to happiness. And athletics is the premier location of youth-oriented ministry.

The more we can teach our young people about virtue AND inspire-encourage-mentor them to put into practice, to live it ... the happier they and we will be.

The younger we can reach kids with these lessons - the better.

The article below brings some "scientific proof"... some "University Study" if you will to the these statements.

If we want our young people to grow up to have happy marriages in the future - Virtue MUST be a part of the equation.

When a former player comes back twenty years later and says, "Thanks Coach for everything you taught me ..." and we see that they are happily married ... surely that is worth a few minutes of practice time each day.

Don't you think?

...

The Generous Marriage
By TARA PARKER-POPE

This column appears in the Dec. 11 issue of The New York Times Magazine.

From tribesmen to billionaire philanthropists, the social value of generosity is already well known. But new research suggests it also matters much more intimately than we imagined, even down to our most personal relationships.

Researchers from the University of Virginia’s National Marriage Project recently studied the role of generosity in the marriages of 2,870 men and women. Generosity was defined as “the virtue of giving good things to one’s spouse freely and abundantly” — like simply making them coffee in the morning — and researchers quizzed men and women on how often they behaved generously toward their partners. How often did they express affection? How willing were they to forgive?

The responses went right to the core of their unions. Men and women with the highest scores on the generosity scale were far more likely to report that they were “very happy” in their marriages. The benefits of generosity were particularly pronounced among couples with children. Among the parents who posted above-average scores for marital generosity, about 50 percent reported being “very happy” together. Among those with lower generosity scores, only about 14 percent claimed to be “very happy,” according to the latest “State of Our Unions” report from the National Marriage Project.

While sexual intimacy, commitment and communication are important, the focus on generosity adds a new dimension to our understanding of marital success. Though this conclusion may seem fairly self-evident, it’s not always easy to be generous to a romantic partner. The noted marriage researcher John Gottman has found that successful couples say or do at least five positive things for each negative interaction with their partner — not an easy feat.

“In marriage we are expected to do our fair share when it comes to housework, child care and being faithful, but generosity is going above and beyond the ordinary expectations with small acts of service and making an extra effort to be affectionate,” explains the University of Virginia’s W. Bradford Wilcox, who led the research. “Living that spirit of generosity in a marriage does foster a virtuous cycle that leads to both spouses on average being happier in the marriage.”

Social scientists are now wondering if this virtuous cycle extends to children too. In a study of 3-year-old twins, Israeli researchers have identified a genetic predisposition toward generosity that may be further influenced by a parent’s behavior. Preliminary findings suggest that children with more-engaged parents are more likely to be generous toward others, which may bode well for their future relationships — and their parents’ too.

“We see meaningful differences in parents’ behaviors,” said Ariel Knafo, the principal investigator and a psychologist at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. “In the long run we’d like to be able to see whether it’s children’s generosity that also makes parents more kind or the other way around. Probably it’s both.”

Do you have a generous relationship?

Top three predictors of a happy marriage among parents:

1. Sexual Intimacy.
2. Commitment.
3. Generosity.

For more information about this study you can visit these links below:

http://www.stateofourunions.org/2011/SOOU2011.pdf

http://www.stateofourunions.org/

FREE Character Building Clinic for Coaches and Captains

2012-01-10T08:14:00.000-05:00

SAVE THE DATE! Feb 24-25, 2012

SportsLeader will be hosting its 6th Annual Character Building Clinic.

More information to come soon. Please spread the word. This year we will have 2 tracks: 1 for High School and 1 for Grade School.

Any questions: Please contact Lou Judd at LJudd@SportsLeader.org

or call 859.512.2572

Virtue = Strength, Lou
www.sportsleader.org

FREE Character Building Clinic hosted by SportsLeader for Coaches and Captains
www.sportsleader.org
($20 donation appreciated but not required, checks made out to SportsLeader)

February 24-25, 2012

At Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller High School
9001 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, OH 45242

Registration Instructions:
Reply to this Email with your name, high school, address, cell phone number and position

SportsLeader Awards Night
Friday Night February 24, 2012

6:30 Arrival

6:50 Award presentation to athletes who have displayed great virtue and initiative in serving others

7:15 Award Presentation to Coach Trent Todd: Youth FB Coach and Double-Lung Transplant Survivor

7:45 Some of his athletes give testimonials

8:00 Break - Social

8:15 Zeke Bratkowski: Former QB for Green Bay Packers, Member of the Packers Hall of Fame, NFL quarterback coach/offensive coordinator. Prepared Tim Tebow personally for the NFL.

9:15 Social

SportsLeader Character Building Clinic
FOR COACHES AND CAPTAINS
Saturday Morning February 25, 2012

7:30 Arrival and Registration

8:00 Clinic speakers 1
High School Track - Aaron Segedi, Trenton MI- Community Impact Projects: Victory Day
Grade School Track - Tommy Hagey, St Henry Nashville TN - The Virtue Program's Impact on the Coaching Staff

8:35 Switch

8:40 Clinic Speakers 2
High School Track - Steve Frommeyer, Eminence KY - The Importance of a Systematic Virtue Program
Grade School Track - Ron Jennings, Lakota Stallions Cincinnati OH - Transforming Your Youth Football League Through Virtue

9:15 Switch

9:20 Clinic Speakers 3
High School Track - Bill Sweet and Ron Adams, Wyandotte Roosevelt MI - How to Train Captains and Build Leaders Year Round
Grade School Track - Jim DeJoy, Sycamore Cincinnati OH - How to Discipline Players and Deal with Disappointment

9:55 Break/Social

10:20 General talk for both HS and GS - SportsLeader Cofounders ... Paul Passafiume & Lou Judd - Integrating a Virtue Program into Your Team and School

11:00 Switch

11:05 Clinic Speakers 4
High School Track - Chris Tracy, Franklin County KY - Traditions that Build a Program and Transform Families
Grade School Track Brian Redden, St Gertrude OH - Integrating a Virtue Program into Your Boosters Organization

11:35 Switch

11:40 General talk for both HS and GS - SPEAKER STILL TBD

12:15 Wrap up

12:30 Departure

Hotels near Archbishop Moeller High School

Embassy Suites Cincinnati-Northeast (Blue Ash)
embassysuites1.hilton.com
4554 Lake Forest Drive
Blue Ash
(513) 733-8900

Courtyard-Cincinnati
www.marriott.com
4625 East Lake Forest Drive
Blue Ash
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Holiday Inn Express & Suites- Cincinnati/Blue Ash
www.hiexpress.com
4660 Creek Rd
Cincinnati
(877) 863-4780

Crowne Plaza
www.crowneplaza.com
5901 Pfeiffer Rd
Cincinnati
(800) 468-3597

Wingate by Wyndham Cincinnati-Blue Ash
www.wingatehotels.com
4320 Glendale Milford Rd
Blue Ash
(800) 228-1000

Hilton Garden Inn Cincinnati Blue Ash
www.hilton.com
5300 Cornell Rd
Blue Ash
(513) 469-6900

Hampton Inn Cincinnati/Blue Ash
www.hamptoninn.com
4640 Creek Road
Blue Ash
(513) 791-2822

What is Your Calling in Life?

2012-01-09T09:51:00.000-05:00

One of the most rewarding aspects of my time with SportsLeader has been the relationships I've been able to build with so many amazing coaches. Steve Bennett is an amazing example of this. A few years back, when Steve was stepping away from coaches, I felt a loss. Well I'm thrilled to share Steve's testimony of part of his journey.

Maybe you will identify with his story. I recommend sharing this with all the coaches on your staff.

It is a GRACE to know one's calling in life.

...

Lou,

As you know I coached football (also, soccer, basketball and baseball along the way) for roughly 8 years at St Gabriel following my son from 1st through 8th Grades. My son’s 4th, 5th and 6th grade we utilized the Sportsleader program with his teams. 7th and 8th grade on a limited basis being an asst coach, although the Jersey Ceremonies these years were amazing!

After my son Michaels 8th grade year I decided to hang up my whistle and not coach football. My reasoning was to relax and enjoy my son’s freshman football experience at St Xavier from the stands. I also thought it would be good for me to devote more time in the fall to my career in Orthopedic Sales. Relaxing and enjoying myself was easier said than done. I wound up driving my son (and wife) crazy asking him questions about his freshman practices every night when he got home or on the car ride home from practice.

I will admit I felt as something was missing from my life. It was definitely an adjustment not being involved in my son’s coaching as well. St Gabriel’s head coach and I kept in touch. He had asked me a few times over the summer to continue coaching but I cordially declined stating I didn’t want to miss any of my son’s freshman football. He kept an “open door” offer for me to return anytime to the staff.

Towards the end of August I was continuing to drive my wife and son crazy with questions and advice about his football. My wife told me I needed to find something to do for my sake and the families. Around the same time all of this was going on I was in Church one Sunday listening to the Homily. Our Priest was talking about having a “calling in life” and whatever that calling may be should involve helping others. This hit me right between the eyes. I remember sitting in Church thinking he (the Priest and God) was talking directly to me.

I felt that I was being selfish not helping the Coaches on the staff who asked for my help and not utilizing my God given Talents to help others, specifically the young men on the team. I remember thinking my career is going great but is that really directly helping others? I knew the answer was no to that question. Later that same day I went to St Gabriel’s first regular season game with my son and let him know I was thinking about coaching again. He told me I should especially since his games were on Thursday night and St Gabriel’s were on Sunday afternoon. I confirmed with my wife that evening that she was still fine with me coaching again. She said yes.

The next day I called the head coach and asked him if his offer was still open for me to return. He said yes and I joined the staff the next day. It was an absolute blast coaching again. I had no idea how much I missed it. It was actually much easier not having a son on the team. I was back doing what I loved to do as well as what I felt God and my family wanted. My son was relieved that I had something to keep me busy and not critiquing him during the rest of his season. It was a Win-Win-Win for me, my family and the team.

The season went great and I realized that football coaching is in my DNA. Probably one of the most rewarding things that has ever happened to me in my entire life was having players and parents thank me for coming back to the team. Nothing big, just a simple thank you. That was confirmation to me that I had made the right decision. I had never told anyone this story except maybe one friend and my wife until we exchanged emails last week. I’m just glad I was listening during Church that Sunday. I can’t wait to get started again in July!

P.s. some of the parents organized a pre-season Jersey Ceremony before I joined the team. I was told it went great.

Have a great evening!!

Thanks,
Steve Bennett

865 Cards for Joey Caretti

2012-01-04T14:17:00.000-05:00

Cards Wanted for Boy with Leukemia: MyFoxDETROIT.com

One of the coaches in our Association, Ron Adams of Wyandotte Michigan Roosevelt High School, shared some pretty inspiring new with me. It is an awesome example of a coach-teacher bringing VIRTUE everywhere they go and impacting hundreds of people along the way. A simple class assignment, the intentional focus on virtue brought out the best in a softball player.

A student athlete took it upon herself to collect 865 cards for an 11 year old boy with cancer and then drove an hour one way to deliver them in person.

Imagine if every coach-teacher across the country did this! More info below.

I am sending you this because I believe it is a story that should be shared during the holidays. I think it truly represents the true meaning of Christmas.

After you watch Joey's story you will understand why this is so special. I teach Global Events and this year I have made a commitment to discuss topics that represent something our society is in great need of, Virtue.

A couple of weeks ago I passed out the news papers (Detroit News, Detroit Free Press & USA Today) and the students in my class were asked to find an article of their choice, summarize it and share it with the class.

Lauren Hall, a senior here at Wyandotte Roosevelt, talked to our class about Joey's story and his unfortunate battle with leukemia. She was inspired to help reach the 1000 cards for Joey and encourage others in our school to help.

As a memeber of our Key Club, sponsored by Sheryl Brna, the group reached out to the entire Wyandotte School district. What started out as an act of Virtue at Roosevelt High School was made available to every school in our district. We showed the news report to the kids in our district and I can't tell you how proud I am of our kids and the response we received. The last count for cards was around 600 for just Roosevelt. Lauren indicated she was collecting the cards and was going to personally deliver them to Joey. This really makes me feel good about what our community represents.

Laren Hall is not someone looking to be featured, it's not her personality. I know she didn't do this becasue she wanted attention, she just wanted to help make a difference.

I asked Lauren if I could provide you with her contact information and she was more than willing. I hope you will take the time to report this story with the hope it will inspire others to do something VIRTUOUS.

Ron Adams
S. S. Teacher/Head Football Coach

Wyandotte Roosevelt High School

...

Roosevelt Students Send Heartfelt Wishes to Young Cancer Patient
Wyandotte Roosevelt High students rally to make cards for Joey Caretti, a young boy in his second battle with cancer, and deliver their messages of encouragement in time for Christmas.

• By Kathleen Trent

The students at Roosevelt High School have plenty of heart.

They proved it recently by organizing an outpouring of support for an 11-year-old boy recently diagnosed with leukemia.

It all started in early December.

Ron Adams, who teaches global events, asked his class to focus on some stories of virtue. He passed out some newspapers and told them to pick an article to discuss in class.

Lauren Hall, a senior, was inspired by a story about Joey Caretti of Washington Township. Joey had won the battle with a rare form of brain cancer on Nov. 11. But just weeks later, he was diagnosed with a second cancer–leukemia.

Now facing yet another battle with additional cancer treatments and the prospect of a bone marrow transplant, Joey was humble enough to simply ask for some get-well wishes. In response, thousands of cards have been sent from all over the U.S. and the world.

Cards for Joey. What a great idea, Hall thought, and especially at Christmas.

A Goal and a Plan

That’s when Hall sprang into action. She put in a request at the school to have the student body view a video clip about Joey from Fox 2 News. She wanted the students to actually experience Joey’s story.

By Dec. 21, she was still waiting for her project idea to make it through the necessary approval process. Hall said that with every passing day she felt even more determined to take action.

As a member of the Key Club, Hall knew her school's community service group would help. Teacher Sheryl Brna also got involved on Lauren's behalf. They contacted the principal’s office and got through the first hurdle. They called the board office in an effort to obtain supplies of markers and card stock. The board came through and it was a go.

The Key Club also enlisted the help of the Aktion Club, a service group comprised of special-needs students. As Hall worked behind the scenes organizing all the details, the group of student volunteers was able to staff two 8-foot tables during all lunches on Dec. 22-23.

“We set up a stand in the cafeteria so we would not disrupt the classes,” Hall said. “We were hoping to get some cards for Joey because that is what he wanted most.”

And cards they got. The volunteers worked the booth while the video clip was set up to run continuously so the students having lunch could see Joey’s story.

“Kids were coming over to see what was going on and how they could help,” Hall said.

“They used the card stock and markers to make some very special get-well cards for Joey,” Brna said. “Some were extremely elaborate. The students also used inspirational quotes in their cards.”

By the time it was all said and done Hall and the other students had collected more than a few cards. The get-well wishes totaled 865 cards to be exact.

So many students had taken time out to make cards for Joey. It was an outpouring of support.

Cards for Christmas

The holiday spirit helped but Hall didn’t feel like her job was done. She wanted to get the cards to Joey before Christmas. She spoke with Brna and the two decided a road trip was in order.

That Friday night they took the cards to the Pokas family of Macomb Township, who collected cards on Joey's behalf. They drove all the way to Macomb to make sure Joey would receive the cards on time.

“He did receive them on time and he was thrilled,” Brna said. "Our students were thrilled too."

Hall said she has learned several lessons through her project.

“This has taught me there are little things you can do to help someone who may not be as fortunate as you,” Hall said.

And Hall’s teachers applaud her efforts as well.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of our kids and the response we received,” Adams said. “This really makes me feel good about what our community represents.”

His colleague agrees.

“It was so heartwarming to see Lauren take on this beautiful project,” Brna said. "The goodwill for Joey went school-wide. The kids also learned they can empower themselves to accomplish great things.”

Brna said the students wanted to shower Joey with cards like the courtroom scene from Miracle on 34th Street and that is exactly what they did.

The families from Macomb County who were involved in collecting the cards for Joey were duly impressed by the get-well wishes from Wyandotte. They phoned Hall to let her know how much they appreciated her efforts:

Hundreds and hundreds of get well wishes sent to Joey–from the heart.

Brad Sonntag: A Hidden Hero

2012-01-03T09:56:00.003-05:00

Brad Sonntag is not exactly a daily household name. If you've never heard of him you are probably not alone. He is a 5 ft 8 and 176 pound fifth year year senior for the Michigan State Spartans football team. This was his first season as the holder for the kicker.

Yes, an article about the holder.

I had the pleasure of meeting Brad a few times this past season in my visits to Michigan State with Coach Mike Pruchnicki. We watched practice a number of times and for some reason Brad always stood out, even though he is the shortest guy on the team. He was a tireless worker, always staying afterwards to run routes with other receivers or defensive backs. You could readily observe his amazing attitude about everything, his willingness to do anything for the team, his desire to improve ...

And after 4 long years of playing division one football he had appeared in only 11 games (in 2 seasons) primarily in special teams roles ... 4 years of work to be on the field for less than 10 seconds. In high school Brad was a star QB , player of the year leading his team to the State Championship.

In our "all about me" society it would have been easy for Brad to check out a long time ago.

But he is the type of athlete pretty much every coach on earth would like to have on their team - A VIRTUOUS ONE: Self-less, dedicated, persevering, loyal, noble, humble ...

Yesterday I was thrilled to be able to see Brad get some well-well-well deserved praise and attention. He helped his team win a Bowl Game for the first time since 2001. Here below are a few more details about the momentous occasion.

I suggest sharing this email with all of your coaches, parents and athletes. Another example of virtue paying off, virtue helping a team accomplish something great.

Brad could have hung up his cleats a long time ago ... the coaches could have given up on Brad a long time ago ... I'm sure all are very happy they stuck together.

Brad Sonntag's steady hands the difference in Michigan State's 33-30 triple overtime win over Georgia in Outback Bowl
By Geoff Mott | The Saginaw News

The fifth-year senior is a reserve wide receiver for the Spartans, but his crucial handling of the game-tying extra point and game-winning field goal as holder was the difference in the Spartans thrilling 33-30 triple overtime win over Georgia in Monday's Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla.

Moore's snap skipped into the grass in front of Sonntag, who calmly scooped up the ball and delivered the hold for Conroy's game-tying extra point kick.

Neither team scored in the first overtime as Cousins threw an interception and Georgia missed a game-winning field goal attempt. Georgia kicker Blair Walsh knocked in a 47-yard field goal in the second overtime for the 30-27 lead, but Sonntag put down a snap to his inside that gave Conroy a 35-yard field goal for the tie.

In the third overtime, MSU got the ball first and scored on Conroy's 28-yard field goal. Moore's snap was high on Sonntag, who reached up and quickly got the ball down for the kick. Walsh's 47-yard field goal for the tie was blocked and Sonntag and the Spartans celebrated their first bowl victory in 10 years.

Sonntag credits coaching for being able to react in that situation.

“About midway through every practice, (Michigan State quarterback coach Dave Warner) takes me aside and fires snaps at me,” Sonntag said. “It's a bad snap period and he fires them here and there on me. That gets me ready.”

The practice paid off and the world got to see it on display in the Outback Bowl. Normally a quiet position until the holder messes up, Sonntag got instant accolades. ABC announcer Mike Tirico suggested after Sonntag's hold in the second overtime that the former Nouvel Catholic Central standout should be the game's Most Valuable Player.

“I had about 20 to 30 texts after the game with people telling me (about Tirico's comments),” Sonntag said. “When you don't know who the holder is, you've done a great job. I guess today was my day to shine as a holder.

“But I was just doing my job. That's one of the small parts of the team that I do and I do that job well. I help ease the minds of the coaches with having a fifth year guy there. You don't have to worry about bad snaps. I'll get it done.”

Sonntag and his senior teammates lingered around Raymond James Stadium for nearly 20 minutes after the game. The satisfaction of completing a mission they had started as freshmen was just sinking in.

“That scene in the locker room is hard to put into words,” Sonntag said. “You put in five years of work to go out on top and we went out and beat a very good SEC team. All this hard work with a 105 guys coming together and getting this big win for (Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio) is huge.

“It's absolutely crucial for our juniors, sophomores and freshmen moving forward.”

Season Ending Letters

2011-12-13T07:36:00.002-05:00

A tradition that we encourage coaches to do at the end of the season is to consider writing a letter to each of the players you mentored.

The Cincinnati St Gertrude Bandit football coaches did just that, plus a little extra. They wrote a general letter to every player from all coaches and a personal handwritten note to the players they mentored.

Wouldn't you love for your son to be a on a team like this? I would.

...

Congratulations from all of your coaches for a fun and successful 2011 football season. The coaches learned a great deal about coaching and a lot about you, and we would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for all of your hard work and vour eager attitude this fall.

This was the first year for the SportsLeader program at St. Gertrude, and each and every Bulldog helped to make it a success. When we started practice this summer in the heat and humidity, we did not know how well it would go. The coaches decided to put to use the same virtues in our way of coaching, and the results were outstanding. The entire parish knows about the Bandits and are very proud. We are very impressed with your participation and how much it added to the core of our team.

We would like to remind you to practice your virtues during the off-season. No, this isn't homework.. it's good advice. Charity, humility, and courage are necessary for teamwork, as we all learned this year. Practicing these virtues whenever you can is an excellent way to grow into a generous, humble, and brave man.

It is our sincerest wish that someday, somewhere you will be on a football field with your son teaching him to be a good athlete and a great person. It has been a great beginning, so keep up the good work. You are on your way to becoming a "starter" in the game ot life.

A warm farewell to the three excellent young men who are graduating to the Ponies next season.Take your positive attitudes with you and you are sure to have a spectacular 2012 season. Everyone else, get ready for the next wave of kindergartners ...

God bless the Bulldogs!

Sincerely, Your Coaches,

Andrew Tallarigo

Robert Gruber

Marc Gerwel

John Cravaak

Joseph Worthington

Nicholas Hodge

Virtue Truly Impacting a Program

2011-12-12T16:36:00.000-05:00

Hunter Matt, a Senior Captain of the 2011 Wyandotte Bears football team, shares which virtue theme helped him the most this year in this short video clip.

http://www.sportsleader.org/video/hunter-matt

Also here is an article about him when he was selected to the Free Press All -West team.

As a side note, Hunter's older brother Andrew Matt a defensive end for the Wayne State (Michigan) Warriors, will be playing for the Division II National Championship. This is the first time in school history that the Warriors have advanced to the playoffs m much less play for the national championship.

The game will be at 11 AM this coming Saturday on ESPN2.

Virtue = Strength, Lou
www.sportsleader.org

By Rick Schulte
Detroit Free Press

Special Writer

Winning is nothing new for Wyandotte Roosevelt's football program, which has developed into a regular playoff and league championship contender over the years.

For senior Hunter Matt, captain of the Free Press All-West team, the Bears' success hasn't come by accident.

"We have this virtue program here at Wyandotte," Matt said. "It teaches you how to be a better person in life.

"In the off-season, I'm telling underclassmen to start working with me in the weight room and all the other things you have to prepare for. It makes us a better team, and it makes us better people."

Matt explained how Wyandotte always has had a tradition of community service, which includes a cemetery cleanup, food drive and other activities.

"We do a bunch of stuff, and it brings us all closer, like a family," he said. "We are a family."

But don't mistake that do-gooder mentality for softness. On the field, Matt plays both sides of the ball with a mean streak.

As a linebacker, he had 98 tackles this year. He also rushed for 13 touchdowns and 669 yards as a fullback.

His plans include playing linebacker at Eastern Michigan. That works well, considering he prefers playing on defense.

"Linebacker has always been my favorite position," Matt said. "You always get to be the hammer, not the nail. Although when I'm on offense, I try to bring a defensive mentality to it."

"Hunter Matt is a two-time captain who did a great job of motivating his teammates to be their best," coach Ron Adams said. "His commitment to the weight room, classroom and community inspired his teammates."

Matt plans on studying nursing at Eastern Michigan. The jump to college football might be made slightly easier just because of the way Wyandotte conducts its program.

"We run it like a college program," he said. "It's very well-organized and prepares you well for everything. So I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Perspective and Gratitude

2011-12-06T08:03:00.000-05:00

I stumbled upon this a few days ago and I found it to be very inspiring - an excellent perspective on gratitude and life.

...

I AM THANKFUL FOR...

The mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends...

The taxes I pay because it means that I'm employed...

The clothes that fit a little too snug since it means I have enough to eat...

A lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home...

All the complaining I heat about our government because it means we have freedom of speech...

The space I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking...

My huge heating bill because it means I am warm...

The person behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear...

The piles of laundry and ironing because it means I have clothes to wear...

Weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive...

The alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I am alive.

We all have many things to be grateful tor.
Happy Thanksgiving!
-Fr. Mark Keene

Coach Trent Todd - Back from Life Support

2011-12-02T10:08:00.000-05:00

Many of you are familiar with one of the coaches in our association named Trent Todd. He has been a part of SportsLeader for over 5 years now and simply put is one of the most inspiring men I have ever met. That is an understatement. The video above is a quick recap in Trent's words.

Trent has coached youth football with the Cincinnati area based Lakota Stallions for these past five years. His players and their families love this man. They know they were blessed with a coach who cared about them.

Over that period of time Trent's health deteriorated quite a bit. He was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis which in simple terms meant that he needed a double lung transplant.

Even in that state, he created numerous videos in the hope that he could inpsire coaches to mentor their athletes. He wanted to give more. If you check out our videos section they are all there: http://www.sportsleader.org/videos

Last spring he pretty much was on death's doorstep. He went for a checkup and the doctors had to sit him down and basically tell him, "You can't go home. You need a pair of lungs now - right now. If they don't come soon we will have to have some very difficult conversations with your wife."

Soon after a set of lungs did come in. They prepped him for surgery and then something happened. They could not go through with the surgery ... This happened a second time ... great news, prep for surgery - heartbreak.

Things got so drastic that Trent simply could not breathe anymore, not even with multiple oxygen tanks. He had to go on life support. While on life support the doctors told his wife," Your husband has a day or two. You need to prepare yourself for some difficult decisions."

Shortly thereafter another set of lungs arrived. After having gone through this twice, there was a feeling of hope but yet reservation.

This time it worked and that was just the beginning of the minor miracles.

Trent received his lungs on May 31st. By July 13th he was headed home, oxygen-tank free.

The normal procedure for a double lung transplant recipient is a minimum of 3 months in the hospital, followed by another month on oxygen in a setting less than 100 miles away from the clinic in case of emergency.

Trent progressed so amazingly that he went all the way home 43 days later, breathing completely on his own. He is one of the first patients in history to do this.

Maybe, just maybe, Someone wants a little more out of Trent Todd.

He is an example of a man who lives constantly striving to help others in any way he can, big or small. We will be awarding him this year's Coach of Uncommon Strength award on February 24th at Cincinnati Moeller high school at 6:30 PM. The event will be free and is open to everyone. Please bring your families. Trent will be speaking and I'm sure he will inspire you.

The Admirable Commitment of a Tennis Team

2011-12-01T10:26:00.000-05:00

At Monsignor Donovan High School in Toms River NJ they make an effort to promote virtue school-wide on a weekly basis.

Each coach submits their nominees from their team as Virtue Athlete of the week according to the virtue-theme.

During Committed week, Dan Duddy- the director of the SportsLeader Virtue Program at the School, received the following:

Dan,

The entire JV Tennis team demonstrated the epitome of what it means to be committed during their match on Tuesday.

We played a team and to make a long story short, all the girls demonstrated their commitment to their team and themselves by overcoming a rude and unprofessional coach, dishonest players and disrespectful, opposing team parents.

We lost in a tie break 5-7, but my girls walked off the court feeling accomplished and proud that they committed to getting through the match despite all the distractions.

I would like to name the entire JV Tennis team as committed for the week. Let me know if that is okay. Thanks for all your efforts, Dan. It is a fantastic program.

-Danielle

The Importance of Being Virtuous & Tim Tebow

2011-11-30T08:06:00.000-05:00

Here is a note and some parental feedback from one of the Coaches in our Association, Tommy Hagey, from Nashville TN. Tommy will be one of our speakers at our Character Builds Coaches and Captains Clinic February 24-25 in Cincinnati.

Also included is a related article about Tim Tebow that two coaches emailed me (Thanks John and Jeff).

...

Attached is a picture of me and a painting done for me by one of our parents. It hangs in my office. I have also attached a letter sent to our principal and Pastor from a different parent whose son I coached.

Tommy

During the recent football season at St. Henry my son L. was introduced to the Sports Leader Program. This program is designed to teach the boys, through a coach mentoring program, the importance of being a virtuous person. The focus were the virtues of Charity, Humility, and Courage. L. came home after every small group mentoring session with nothing but positive things to say. Needless to say, it had a big affect on him. The importance of this program was emphasized even more to me by the story at the attached link below. I'm not a Florida Gator fan or a Denver Broncos fan but I have become a big fan of Tim Tebow. He holds true to his convictions for all the virtues that L. learned about during the Sports Leader Program; characteristics that should be admired, not ridiculed. I'm proud to say that L. looks up to Tim Tebow as a role model, one of the few professional athletes today that deserve this honor.

All that said, I'd like to express how important and valuable, I feel, the Sports Leader Program is to our young athletes and that I think it should definitely be continued and rolled out to all St Henry athletes, both boys and girls. I am so grateful that L. was able to participate in the program.

Thank you for including this program as part of the football season.

Best Regards, A.B.
"Reflect the Son"

...

Tim Tebow, an emerging American folk hero answering a cultural need
By Hampton Stevens - Special to The Washington Times

In every era, there are athletes who transcend athletics, rising above the level of mere entertainment to express something essential about the national mood, to answer a need in the collective psyche. In the 1920s, Babe Ruth personified America’s explosive new power on the world stage. The comeuppance that Jesse Owens administered to Nazism at the Berlin Olympics cheered a nation deep in the Great Depression. Muhammad Ali encapsulated the volatile 1960s.

A beleaguered, balkanized and self-doubting America needs a different kind of signature athlete, a different kind of hero. And we might have found him.

Last week, he did the same thing to the New York Jets and in front of the New York media that he did the week before to the Kansas City Chiefs, and for years while winning a national championship and Heisman Trophy at Florida.

Last week, America got Tebowed.

Tim Tebow is unpredictable and improbable — symbolizing the triumph of will over skill. The values he embodies are an almost perfect counter to the nation’s sour and defeatist mood. He is relentlessly polite and optimistic, ferociously hardworking, and committed beyond all else to the idea of team over self. (Check out if you can his postgame interview on ESPN after leading the Broncos' wild comeback against the Jets: The rookie quarterback explains to Hall of FamerMichael Irvin — in the nicest possible way — that not all wide receivers are as selfish as he was.)

NFL purists gasp in horror at Tim Tebow’s ugly mechanics. They cringe at his toe-tied, ankle-crossing footwork, painfully slow windup and floppy release. His success despite those bad fundamentals offends the league’s elect. His clunky, raw game is the very antithesis of the sleek, high-powered, micromanaged precision beloved by the 21st-century NFL. He is the anti-Peyton Manning — an affront to the high priests of the pocket passer and their Church of the Infallible Playbook.

Unfortunately, some people detest Tebow for reasons that go far beyond football. He is an evangelical Christian who takes the “evangelical” part seriously. The home-schooled child of missionaries, he mentions Christ at every opportunity. In college, he famously wrote Bible verses on the black tape under his eyes, and the NCAA made a rule against it.

Tebow is the embodiment of everything that the cultural left hates. That’s not to say that all liberals hate him. Of course not. There must be millions of liberal Gator and Bronco fans who adore him. Team loyalty will trump politics every time. Tebow nevertheless personifies the patriarchy — straight, white, big, strong, clean cut, square-jawed, preternaturally confident, radiating exceptionalism and utterly convinced that God is on his side.

He appeared in a pro-life commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. Like Strap, the character in “Hoosiers,” Tebow will kneel and pray at any given moment, something he does so frequently and publicly that copying the motion by “Tebowing” has become a Web meme.

Some — the Bill Mahers of the world — hate the religious right so much that they’ll rag on Tebow simply because he’s Christian. Not very many, though. Most Americans, being American, couldn’t care less what the guy believes. They just bristle at him being so in-your-face about it.

The most common complaint about Tebow seems to be that he’s simply too good, too pure. He drinks milk. He claims to be saving himself for marriage. He does summer missionary work at the orphanage his parents built in the Philippines. The guy is such a goody-goody, right?

Well, duh. That’s the point. He’s Christian. You know, that whole “do unto others” and “turn the other cheek” thing. So he doesn’t go to nightclubs, get in fights, drive drunk and smoke weed. That’s a bad thing, apparently. Sure. Because the country already has far, far too many unselfish, clean-cut, relentlessly cheerful pro athletes who believe their life can serve a higher purpose. What we need are more hard-partying, self-glorifying anti-heroes. Sheesh.

But opinion, professional and popular, may have begun a kind of phase shift Thursday night, with a polarizing athletic fluke transforming before our eyes into an emerging American folk hero. Against the Jets, Tebow was atrocious for 55 minutes. (What else is new?) Then, yea, though he stood in the valley of the shadow of his own end zone, he rumbled, chucked, juked, ducked, shoveled and heaved himself during a 95-yard drive for the winning touchdown and his fourth win in five games as a starter this season for the no-longer-lowly Broncos.

Mr. Tebow is a throwback, recalling a kind of can-do American that sometimes seems like an endangered species. Tiger Woods turned out to be sleazy. Ditto Brett Favre. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds turned out to be cheaters. The country is still reeling from horrible events at Penn State and Syracuse. Over on the sports page, they will tell you that no quarterback can rush as often as Tebow does and last in the league. They will tell you he can’t pass well enough to win a Super Bowl. Maybe.

Whether Tebow-mania will last is still in doubt. What he symbolizes to the country couldn’t be more clear.

Finishing Strong

2011-11-04T11:26:00.000-04:00

As the fall sports seasons are coming to an end ... hopefully a distant end with the teams still in the championship hunt (smile) ...

Remember to do something special at your awards banquet and to get some feedback from your players and parents ... maybe the Season-Ending Essay.

1. Hand out the folders with the virtue themes and comments.

2. Write a letter to your players.

3. If you give out individual awards, consider giving an award(s) for virtue.

Coach Mike Bickerman of Rushville Industry HS in IL is planning on giving his players their virtue theme folders and a photo from Father-Son jersey night as a Christmas present.

Coach Doug Martin of East Peoris HS in IL took some artifacts from the year including their weekly sheets and wrote a letter to each kid. He had them binded by a local guy in town.

He also threw in a copy of Dr. Seuss' "Oh the places you'll go." Plus he shared, "In the end of season survey all of our kids said they enjoyed the program especially the text messages."

Here below is a letter that Coach Bob DeLong of Xenia HS in OH is giving to all of his players.

I know that to some, this may seem like "Another Thing added on" ... Remember, you might be the most influential person in a player's life!

Virtue = Strength, Lou

LIKE SportsLeader on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/SportsLeader/223927884292066

XENIA BUCCANEERS FOOTBALL

PLAYING FOOTBALL SINCE 1899

This will be your final letter for the 2011 season. For seniors, it is your final letter. Each week these letters have tried to prepare you for the upcoming contest. This one is no different. The contest that the seniors now face is in the game of life. I want to review the lessons we have learned so that you will be prepared when the time in the battle comes.

First, there are no short cuts to success. You will reap what you sow.

Second, no one wins until the team wins. Your team now may be your family, your comrades at work, your neighborhood, or your country. You must win as a team to make winning personally meaningful.

Third, failure is an opportunity to begin again more intelligently. You will likely get knocked down, and as you did here, you will need to get back up and continue to fight. Unfortunately, I can guarantee you that you will experience failure. I can also guarantee you that it will not define you. Your response to the failure will define you.

There is never a right time to do the wrong thing. Expect the best from yourself and you will surely get it. Think before you act, love before you hate, and do the right thing.

We have tried to provide you with a proving ground to practice for the inevitable challenges that lie before you. Know as you go that you will always be Bucs to us. We love you. We are cheering for you and expecting your best in all that you attempt. We hope that you will keep in touch by using our website and supporting the program as we try to build it.

God speed as you go.
Sincerely, Coach DeLong

Volley for Life

2011-11-03T07:09:00.000-04:00

Being a part of something bigger than ourselves is a great lesson that coaches can instill in the hearts of their players. Memories and experiences like the ones here shape who we are!

Congrats to Coach Stephanie Barrows and her team. In addition to these amazing achievements, they also had a lot of success on the court as well.

Virtue Inspires!

Has your team participated in a service project this year?
...

The Eminence High School Warrior Girls Volleyball team recently exhibited the excellence of character their student-athletes are known for by sponsoring two fundraisers in less than one month.

On September 7, the ladies dedicated their game against Western Hills High School to the memory of player Kara Capps’ mother who passed away five years ago from ovarian cancer.

Wearing teal – the color associated with awareness of ovarian cancer – the team raised over $1,200 which was contributed to Ovarian Awareness of Kentucky, an organization Kara’s mother was closely associated with during her battle with cancer.

Three weeks later, the team members led their community again in support of their beloved high school science teacher who had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Decked out in all pink, the team repeated their fundraising success, presenting their teacher with over $1,200 to assist her with medical expenses.

Additionally, the team members decided to donate their entire gate proceeds to the cause.

The Warrior Volleyball team is truly a group of ladies who exemplify the qualities of true leadership. We are proud to celebrate the selfless achievements of our Volleyball team.

When Our Players Make Really Bad Decisions

2011-11-02T07:28:00.000-04:00

I am blessed to be in communication with many different coaches. At times I am a sounding board, an unbiased third party, a venting stand-in ...

As many of you can attest - you have been that for me as well. That is the beauty of SportsLeader and friendship.

One of the coaches in our association, and by now a great friend of mine, Coach Jim DeJoy, had a pretty difficult situation to plow through this year. How he handled it was truly virtuous and I wanted him to share some of the experience so that if you ever encounter something similar you will know you are not alone.

...

Coaches,

I wanted to share an incident that occurred with our football team a few weeks ago.  It was the night before our second to last game of the season right after practice.  We had nine players involved, eight of which were starters, make a bad decision that cost them playing in the last two games of the season and other consequences within our school.

At the time our team was four and two and headed toward a six and two season.  Although we were very proud of the players who were not involved they too paid a heavy price by losing the last two games and their teammates.

As a coach I was embarrassed and upset.  How can they do this after all our virtue talks this season?  We talked about courage, sacrifice, positive decision making, and staying away from negative peer pressure.  What were those kids thinking?  I almost decided to quit coaching all together.   If players weren’t going to listen to me or the other coaches then it wasn’t worth the time or effort.

Finally, through prayer and the grace of God one by one the suspended players realized their wrong and took responsibility for their actions.  One player wrote a letter of apology to the coaches, administrators, and parents.  Another player stood up in a team meeting and apologized to both his teammates and coaches.  Others, over time, made sincere apologies to the coaches.  The coach’s walls that were built started to crumble.  Maybe these players did get it and just made a bad mistake.  Hopefully this will be a learning and life lesson.  From these moments I decided I am not going to quit, or be selfish, but grow, stay the course, and continue with the Sports leader program.   Without it I am convinced that these players would have moved on without much thought of growing or striving to be men of character.

I want to thank Lou for his support and encouragement throughout this time. One thing Lou urged me to do was right a letter to each player that was involved in the incident.  Below is a copy of that letter.

Coaches, Again thank you for all that you do.  Coaching and mentoring can have many rewards but disappointment could also take place.  I encourage you to not give up but keep teaching and mentoring our young people.

Thank You and God Bless

Jim DeJoy

Dear

I know it’s been a rough week and mistakes were made.  As humans we all make mistakes but it’s what we take from these experiences that will define our true character.  Hopefully you have grown and become a better person.  This incident is over!  Let’s move on and continue to strive to be the best we can be, both on and off the field.

Also, we want you to know the coaches are here to support and help you anyway possible.  If you need to talk our doors are always open.  It was a pleasure coaching you this season and we look forward to watching your growth in the future.

Sincerely

Coaches

Learning from Captain America

2011-11-01T07:48:00.002-04:00

Of course this is a comic movie ... fantasy ... there are still things we can glean from it.

In the movie Captain America, Steve Rogers, is a short, small, weak human being.

There is a scientist who has created a serum that gives strength, speed, height, power ... enhances the physical qualities to create a stronger man.

Steve is chosen to be the man, the guinea pig to test this serum ... to create the more powerful soldier.

The night before the procedure he has a conversation with the scientist ... naturally he asks, "Why Me?"

Hitler hears of me. My work and he finds me. And he says, you will make us strong. Well I am not interested. So he sends the head of hydra, his research division. A brilliant scientist by the name of Johann Schmidt. Now Schmidt is a member of the inner circle and he is ambitious ...

So when he hears about my formula and what it can do, he cannot resist. Schmidt must become that superior man.

"Did it make him stronger?"

Yes. But there were other effects.

The serum wasn't ready but more important, THE MAN.

The serum amplifies everything that is inside,

so good becomes great.

Bad becomes worse.

This is why you were chosen.

Because a strong man who has known power all his life may lose respect for that power,

But a weak man knows the value of strength.

And knows compassion.

"Thanks. I think."

Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing.

That you will stay who you are.

Not a perfect soldier

but

A GOOD MAN

...

Let's ask ourselves: Is that truly what WE want as coaches? Do we want the perfect athlete or the good man?

A Great Way to Start the Basketball Season

2011-10-31T09:23:00.002-04:00

This weekend I was honored to be a part of a father-son cookout to kickoff the St Gertrude boys basketball season.

It was an opportunity for Dads to meet the coaches, reminisce about the football season and just have some fun. Cornhole, basketball, burgers, smores, hot chocolate and a fire made up the menu.

After everyone was fed and settling in by the fire we had numerous men talk about great memories they have.

Coach Chris Willertz started us off talking about how he integrates SportsLeader into his public school wrestling team, how his opinion of his Dad changed as he matured and a great longing he had for a better relationship with one of his coaches in college.

Dads then shared about a host of different topics:

-The patient baseball coach who enabled a young man to have a memory he will never forget

-The man who never knew his father but had an Uncle who formed him into the man he is today and how much he appreciates him.

-The youngest of a family of 9 and how he appreciated his Dad making the special effort to play with him as he grew up.

-The memory of the non-athletic Dad who made numerous sacrifices to always be there for his athletic son.

-A man's fond memories of his high school football coach - how he is still a second Dad to him.

It was a fantastic way to show the boys that this season is about a lot more than basketball. It was a step closer to the goal of making the basketball community into a family ...

Memory for a Lifetime

2011-10-30T10:47:00.001-04:00

Here is a note from a good friend of mine, Gary Stegman. We are both volunteers with a boys club called Conquest which focuses on building boys into men through virtue - much like SportsLeader. I am honored to know his son personally.

It is so awesome to see young boys embracing virtue with such strength.

Many grown men and women would not have the same perspective and virtue to react the way this 10 year old did. Maybe a good lesson in humility for all of us.

...

Hi Lou,

I wanted to share this story about my 10 year old son, Chris, that brought a tear of joy to my eye and made me think about how much our kids can influence us.

(It also was a pretty cool proud Father moment)

Chris’ team made it to the finals of a soccer tournament a few weeks ago. The game was a hard fought contest with regulation ending in a 0 – 0 tie.

The overtime consisted of two 5 minute periods and then, if still tied, a shoot-out to determine the winner. The first overtime period ended without either team scoring.

Then Chris’ team scored with just a minute gone in the second period. The kids were elated, but getting very tired. Then, with less than 20 seconds remaining in the second overtime period, the other team scored to tie the game.

On to the shootout… each team missed a couple of shots and made a couple of shots.

It came down to the last shooter for Chris’ team. He needed to make it to tie the game. If he missed, the other team would pull out the win.

The player to take that final shot was my son, Chris.

He lined up the ball and gave it a hard boot but the shot went wide left. His team had lost.

After a few seconds dealing with the disappointment that I felt, I searched the field for my son thinking I would need to console him after the miss.

Lou, this is where I saw the image of my son that will stay with me for a long time. Instead of Chris lying on the ground in disappointment or hanging his head, he was running across the field with his head held high clapping for the other team.

He was able to quickly realize that the game was hard fought by both sides, and, instead of wallowing in his own disappointment, he was able to celebrate what was a great game between two talented teams.

I admitted to him later that I don’t think I could have handled what happened with the same character and strength.

Before the shot, I was hoping to have a memory of my son putting that ball in the goal. However, I realized after the game that I would have soon forgot that memory. Instead, I have a wonderful memory of an example of the character that my son possesses.

Gary

What Game Photographers See

2011-10-28T08:58:00.001-04:00

I received this note from a parent/booster member of the Eastern High School football team in Louisville, KY - Matthew Smith.

As coaches, we don't always hear about the good things about our players and our programs from "outsiders" ... many times just the complaints.

The more you teach virtue, the more the good starts to flow.

Virtue = Strength, Lou

LIKE SportsLeader on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/SportsLeader/223927884292066

...

I had the pleasure of shooting photos for the Bryan Station/Eastern game Saturday. I was fortunate enough to get many good shots. The shots that impressed me most won't make anyone's highlight list.

One of your players (#5) was tackled, way out of bounds, penalty flag thrown. The player was thrown into an elderly fan standing on the field on Bryan Station's sideline. What most impressed me is that player, #5 & another, #12, stopped and took the time to help him up and ask him if he was okay.

If your coaches were yelling any instructions, your kids, classy gentlemen, did not notice. They took their time, to not only help the guy up, but I heard them ask repeatedly to verify that he was okay. They took their time to listen to his answer. And not until then, did they hear or seem to care about anything else and return to the field.

Tell your coaches and parents that I am most impressed that, in addition to coaching and raising these very gifted athletes, they are coaching and raising an exceptional class of men to send out into our world upon graduation.

And if you deem appropriate, let your athletes know that, though they may rarely hear it, the truly great things they do off the field, like helping someone up and waiting until they knew they had done all they could do, is noticed and appreciated.

Well done,

Mike V.

Who Am I?

2011-10-27T07:30:00.003-04:00

In the past few weeks I have come into contact with a number of coaches who have lost pretty much all perspective on what youth sports are about. They have forgotten that kids want to PLAY sports, that kids develop little by little, that they build confidence through little gains on the PLAYing field.

It seems many coaches don't have the time or interest to develop players. As you can see by the examples below ... these two football players have developed over many, many years. Quite a few people looked past them, did not seem to think they were worth their time ...

Let's be a good example to our comrades in coaching that the purpose of sports is to build virtue, build willpower, build young men and women who will be excellent citizens who will serve others.

...

This young man attended High School in Houston, Texas, where he threw for 7,139 yards and 53 touchdowns in his high school career, and rushed for another 2,085 yards. He was also co-valedictorian of his graduating class in 2008. Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was listed as the No. 4 pro-style quarterback in the class of 2008.

Yet in the recruiting process he only received offers from Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Rice, Virginia and the school he chose.

He is now unanimously considered to be the #1 draft pick in NFL this coming year with many calling him the most amazing player they have ever scouted.

Who am I?

Andrew Luck

...

Despite his record-setting statistics in High School, he garnered little interest from Division I programs, with only an offer to compete for a scholarship as a walk-on from Illinois. He declined the invitation, and considered quitting football to study toward law school.

He was then recruited to play football at Butte Community College in Oroville, a local junior college in California. In his freshman season he threw 28 touchdowns while leading Butte to a 10–1 record, the NorCal Conference championship, and a No. 2 national ranking. While there, he was discovered by a Division 1 coach who was actually recruiting someone else.

The coach was very surprised to learn that this QB had not been recruited out of high school. Because he had a 3.6 grade point average and SAT score of 1300 when he left high school, he was eligible to transfer after one year of junior college instead of the typical two.

Now professionally, he is the NFL's all-time career leader in passer rating during both the regular season (101.9), and in the post-season (112.6) – among passers with at least 1,500 and 150 pass attempts respectively.

He also owns the league's lowest career pass interception percentage for quarterbacks during the regular season (1.89%).

He is considered by many to be one of the NFL's top 3 QBs.

Who am I?

Aaron Rodgers

The Things That Really Matter

2011-10-26T07:45:00.000-04:00

Another team made the effort to see Courageous over the weekend - Wyandotte HS FB in Michigan. Thus far they have the "winning" photo.

They had a great discussion afterwards.

Here below is a note from one of the Dads from a school near Chicago.

If you can, I encourage you to make the effort to bring your team and their Dads to see this.

Virtue = Strength, Lou

Coach Cemeno,
I’m writing to thank you for coordinating the “field trip” to take the entire Providence Catholic H.S. football program and their fathers to see Courageous this past weekend. I admit, the initial thought of burning a Saturday afternoon to see a movie didn’t exactly fit into my busy schedule. However, having had the experience with my sons and seeing their reactions, I can’t think of a better way I could have spent my time.

Courageous now ranks atop my list of all time favorite films, not because the special effects or cinematography are so mind boggling, but because its content is so poignant. There was a point mid-way through the movie that I feared my 8 year old wasn’t old enough to understand the true message of the story. Then, he leaned over to me, tears streaming down his face, and said, “Dad, this is the best movie I have ever seen.” His tears were of joy and an understanding, even at such a young age, that life on earth is about far more than serving ourselves. He truly began to grasp the power of faith.

The room was filled with giant burly football players, sitting next to their buddies, but you could tell leaving the theatre that every one of them had been deeply affected. While some of them may have been hiding their red eyes, I heard many say openly, “Man, I cried… that was an amazing movie.” They were right. This is an amazing movie.

Courageous grabbed a hold of me and most everyone in that theatre. It made me realize the world is moving very fast these days and I spend far too much energy trying to stay on pace with it. However, when all is said and done, the only things that really matter are my God, my family and my contribution to helping others. This is the single most REAL movie I’ve ever seen and my hope and prayer is that families across the world will invest a couple hours to experience it themselves. While the movie is certainly not gender exclusive, it speaks so strongly to every father alive. I am a better man for having seen it and I am making it a point to recommend it to anyone that will listen.

Again, thank you for your effort to bring us together. I am forever changed because of it.

May God bless you,

Dave Stolarek

Fathers Affirming Their Daughters

2011-10-25T07:01:00.000-04:00

Two teams had their Father-Daughter jersey nights recently and both were awesome events: Flint Powers Catholic HS cross country and Cincinnati St Bernard 7th & 8th grade volleyball.

I was honored to be able to attend the St Bernard one. After all the Dads had affirmed their daughters I said a few words and saw that there were a few roses left over so I invited the girls to come up and say something positive about their coaches. Two girls took me up on the offer and that was probably the most moving part of the evening.

Simply put - both girls made their coach feel very loved. Very well done!

Here below is a note from Coach Dave Quinn of Powers Catholic. Oh - and the day after - They won the Big Nine Championship with 23 pts, second place had 50! Their top five girls placed 2,3,4,5 and 9.

...

Last night we had our first "Letters to Mom" event for both the Powers Catholic Cross Country teams. After a short practice and team dinner, the boys and girls teams separated into different rooms at the Activity Center at St Johns, Fenton, where we held the event.

After a brief introduction, I called the girls up, one by one, with their moms to the front of the room, where each girl either read, or spoke words of honor, love, and appreciation for their moms. Some told stories that made us all laugh. Others spoke of difficulties in the past and promises to do better. Each girl came prepared and I was very impressed by the level of maturity displayed, and insight that their words conveyed. At times, I found it difficult to announce the next name, still moved by the last speakers words. It was truly a remarkable and blessed evening. I am so glad Sports Leader has this event, especially for the girls.

God Bless!
Dave

Being Bold

2011-10-24T07:18:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago Coach Dan Duddy had a special experience at the end of one of his games.

Read on.
...
When the final whistle was blown we had won 35-28 in a nerve-wracking shootout against a very talented football team. If the game had been 4 minutes shorter we might have lost, and if it had been just two minutes longer, a possible loss as well. Our team played valiantly to win it.

Both teams were alternating spectacular touchdowns whether it was an acrobatic catch, a “scoop and score” of a fumble, a fake punt, or a game saving dive by a defensive back to knock down a “if not for one more inch” game winning touchdown pass 60 yards down field.

We were fierce opponents. Both teams put their colors on the line. It took six days to prepare with grueling practices and hours of film. Our Virtue theme of the week was “Consistent”, provided by one of our athletes. “We need to keep the ‘Integrity’ that we resolved to last week, he said.”, and we did.

We had played the only Catholic school on our schedule. We are Catholic as well. I approached the opposing head coach during the pre-game stretch and said we would like to pray together post-game right after the traditional handshake. He thought it was a great idea.

At the end of “the war” we knelt down with the 50 yard line separating the two teams. I was sure to “walk across the line” and get my body kneeling amongst the down – trodden players from the opposition. I found myself right next to #71, a huge offensive tackle that enjoyed “having his way” with our defensive line most of the game. I said “let’s remove our helmets men”.

I then reached out my hands to grab the hand of the young strangers next to me. We pray hand-in-hand daily. There was an awkwardness from the opposing team, this compounded with the ease and habit of what we do everyday was startling to me.

I took the big guy by surprise when I grabbed his hand, and found quite a few surprises myself. I was taken back as I raised my eyes to him to find that he looked just like the rosy-cheeked cherubs that we see surrounding our Father in Heaven in DaVinci’s art work. Coupled with a “b-zillion” freckles, he smiled uncomfortably as I found his saliva-filled mouthpiece now sandwiched between our hands. I said “thanks for the mouthpiece, but you can keep it” as I wiped my hands on my pants. This turned into mutual laughter by both teams and a wonderful “Lord’s Prayer”. Among the best one’s ever said.

Stand up for who you are. If you are in a public school have your captains invite the opposing captains to do the same at the coin toss. It was a very small gesture that turned into a multitude of results that will last not just lifetime, but generations to come, but will also spread across our nation. Be bold, be strong, BE “who you are”.

The Elderly: Weakness or Strength?

2011-10-20T05:25:00.000-04:00

A number of years ago when I was studying in Rome Italy, I had a pretty amazing experience that I think speaks volumes of the power of personal sacrifice ... especially the testimony and/or witness of it by others.

I was accompanying a youth group visiting the city of Rome for a week - part tour guide, part baby-sitter, more disciplinarian than anything else (smile).

We had a group of 20 boys more or less ages 11-15. All of them were extremely polite, interested and engaged young men with the exception of one. Let's call him Alex.

Alex, apparently, did not want to be on the trip and was doing everything humanly possible to make my life and the life of the group miserable. This is actually an understatement ... but we move on.

After a few days it was time to visit the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs), more info below. All of the boys were very excited ... get to do something physical. You see the tradition is not just to look at the stairs but to go up them - on your knees. There are 28 steps and it hurts. A lot.

All of the boys rushed to do it, many competing with one another to see who could do it the fastest. Typical boys completely ignoring my pleas ... "it should be a prayerful, reflecting experience ..." Anyway. Alex was not interested and refused to even try.

After trying every motivational tactic in my limited repertoire a little old lady walked by. I would guess she was about 85, hunched over, very wrinkly and very beautiful ... she reminded me a lot of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

I said, "Alex if that little ..." before I could finish the phrase he was walking over to the steps. For some reason I instantly knew something special was about to happen.

The lady was on the left side of the steps, Alex on the right and I was in the center. We were one or two steps behind her. (See photo)

About half way up I kind of peek over at Alex and I notice that he was crying and constantly looking over at the lady. He refused to go any faster, even though he could. He would only move after she moved. The rest of the boys had finished by now and they were at the bottom again watching us in amazement that Alex was doing this. They could see that "something" was happening.

Understandably she was struggling mightily to continue ... so was I for that matter.

At the top of the steps, he grabs me and says, "Translate for me. Tell this woman that she changed my life." And then he gave her the biggest hug that I have ever seen. He held on to her for what seemed like 5 minutes - a total stranger.

He finally lets go and walks away.

I speak with the woman. She is crying uncontrollably. She tells me, "My husband died 30 years ago and I am so lonely. I loved him so much and he would always give me the biggest hugs. I miss those so much. I came here today begging God to send me a sign that He loves me, that my husband is still there, that he loves me. And then this boy comes and gives me the most wonderful hug in the past 30 years. You tell that boy that - he changed my life."

This might seem impossible - I was speechless.

And Alex? He was transformed that day. She really did change his life. Her sacrifice, her willingness to tackle those 28 steps at her age was the most impressive and valuable thing he had ever witnessed in his life.

When I was saying good bye at the airport, after a week of seeing some of the most amazing historical sights our planet has to offer, the only thing he spoke about was - "The little old lady."

Why did I write this today?

Our motto is Virtue = Strength. Our elderly are often forgotten and under-appreciated. Looked on as weak. They are not. So often they are much stronger, much more virtuous than we are and they deserve our love, respect and honor.

Some young men and women, some athletes do not see this due to the hyper-attention that we put on our bodies within athletics.

Let's make an effort to bring the elderly into the lives of our players - to help them see the tremendous strength and wisdom they carry.

...

The Scala Sancta (English: Holy Stairs, Italian: Scala Santa) are, according to the Christian tradition, the steps that led up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, which Jesus Christ stood on during his Passion on his way to trial.

The stairs were, reputedly, brought to Rome by St. Helena in the 4th Century. For centuries, the Scala Santa has attracted Christian pilgrims who wished to honor the Passion of Jesus.

It consists of twenty-eight white marble steps, now encased by wooden steps, located in a building which incorporates part of the old Lateran Palace, located opposite the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.

Ohio State Wrestling - Building Life Champions

2011-10-19T07:49:00.000-04:00

Tom Ryan, Head Wrestling Coach at Ohio State, is integrating virtue into his program and doing a great job. Below is a portion of his newsletter.

We need more college coaches to step up and lead in the same way. The need is urgent.

...

Coach Ryan’s Corner
Pre-Season Is Underway!
We are now two full weeks into our pre-season prac- tice and we sure are happy that our No. 1 recruiting class attended summer school and trained for 90 days in June, July and August. The freshmen, and there are a lot of them, all came in prepared for the challenges of a Big Ten wrestling program.

As is expected, the rigor of the daily life can be very challenging. My favorite quote is posted on the wall of The OSU wrestling room, “There are 2 pains in life, the pain of discipline and the pain of regret.” Either way, life is going to be tough and demanding. The men in this program who not only make it, but fight to standout are the ones who will lead us. The focus of pre-season to this point has been on weight control (getting athletes down to their ideal training weight), a strong base of conditioning, our culture and general skill needs. I am not sure there is any time of the year other than the NCAA’s that is more fun than when the team returns in the Fall.

As we continue to train hard we are preparing to move into daily wrestling practices. Currently, under NCAA guidelines we are only allowed to work with the student-athletes eight hours per week of which two of them can be skill related. We will began our formal training Monday, Oct. 10th, so now we are up to 20 hours per week. In addition to the athletic side of our practice, all of our freshmen and other student-athletes with below a 3.0 GPA must turn in a weekly class attendance sheet, as well as attend eight hours of study hall. The coaches are not only in the wrestling room, but on campus doing random class checks. The culture and standard is simple. It’s about excellence on and off the mat.

The last piece of the puzzle is the building of future leaders. Our motto is “Building Life Champions.” Each week we study a new word before our Tuesday practice. To date our team members talked about the following words: Grateful, Boldness and Toughness. We heard from Logan Stieber who mentioned how Grateful he is for all those who have assisted him in all aspects of his develop- ment. Cody Magrum shared with us about the Boldness required to have the strength to not follow the crowd down the wrong path. Cody is a two-time NCAA qualifier and has earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors for his 3.8 GPA, as well as Academic All-America honors. He is one of our three team captains along with Nick Heflin and freshman Logan Stieber.

Every week we text the word of the week to the team and then discuss what it means to them and a scenario that would define it in their lives. College life has so many doors that can be opened, but also so many challenges for young men. Freedom is a blessing and these men, although sad to leave home (LOL), they also must manage their free time and many choices that are made each day.

To close, we are all very pleased with the progress of this team. Although most of our squad of 31 student-athletes from around the country do not quite shave yet, we are all fired up about their passion to succeed and pride they bring to Buckeye Nation. We hope to see you at our Varsity wrestle-offs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20th in the French Field House. The wrestle-offs are free to the general public.

Two Players Address Their Teams

2011-10-18T06:54:00.000-04:00

Here are a few great stories from Nazareth Academy near Chicago IL. Consistent mentoring over a three year period is definitely making a difference.

If you'd like to watch a short video testimony from a former Nazareth player, Mike Williams, click on the link http://sportsleaderusa.blogspot.com/2010/02/hs-football-player-testimony-at-chicago.html

...

Hi Lou,
I wanted to write a follow up story to Coach Racki's comments below.

While mentoring today one of our freshman players today at practice, I was able to use the example below to strike a cord with this young man.

During our friday night game, this player had a very difficult time with not being giving the opportunity to punch in one our touchdowns. He is a very talented athlete who happens to be the youngest on the team. Because of his selfish behavior, he was pulled out of the game. Yesterday he was told by the head coach that he would be held accountable by sitting out the first quarter of our upcoming game and he again proceeded in a childish fashion by threatening to quit the team. As you can imagine he was a distraction for the rest of that practice.

Today was different though when we sat down to mentor. He felt better and was receptive to discuss the events of the past several days. He was remorseful about telling me to get lost at the game when I tried to comfort him. I told him that I prayed he could come to terms with the punishment he was given. He relayed his feelings of being out of control and guilt about comments made about his teammate who actually got to score the TD. I went on to relay the story told below of how this varsity player was humble enough to apologize to his team.

Before we prayed at the end of today's practice, he asked to step up and address the team. He started by saying he didn't know what got into him, never having done anything like this in the past. He turned toward the player he defamed and told him that he deserved the TD and ended by apologizing to the team.

After 3 years of sportsleader at Nazareth, one can see the rewards of our efforts. We are developing virtuous leaders on the varsity who are becoming role models for the younger players.

Have a great day,
Doc
...

Hi Lou,

Thanks! It has been fun. Winning can be fun if you do it the right way and I would like to believe that's what we are doing.

One of the really neat mentoring things that has caught my attention this year has been the accountability issue. Just this past Saturday one of our
players was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. After the game, amid the celebration, and right before I was going to let them go to the locker room,
the player stopped me and asked if he could address the team. He sincerely, apologized for his actions said he let them down and that it would not
happen again. A little thing, but something this kid would not have done if not for what we preach.

This has happened quite a bit without my prompting with players who are late to practice, got detentions in school ect... Seeing them take the initiative to accept responsibility has been a great memory of this team up to this point.

Also...just yesterday our Principal (Deborah Vondrasek) commented on our players conduct at the homecoming dance....spirited, respectful, polite, very impressive for a team that could have very easily let all of this success go to their heads.

I told them at this morning's meeting I was more proud of those comments than what any scoreboard may read.

Take care Lou.

Tim

Virtue, Pancakes and Championships

2011-10-17T07:35:00.000-04:00

I was able to attend a football game with a SportsLeader team this past Friday in Wyandotte Michigan. They were playing for the league championship and it was a really awesome experience. There are so many positive things I could say but what probably stood out the most is that the whole coaching staff and their Senior leaders have really, really bought in.

The virtue theme of the week is blended into everything they do. It is on white boards right next to scheme and plays, it is in their vocab when they break em' down ... and all of this in their first year.

I spoke with over twenty players and they all mentioned how they loved their mentor coach, how they appreciated the time on virtue and the motivation.

After a victory the offensive line coaches take the big men out to a pancake restaurant. While we there one of the coaches, Ben Reynolds, told me a story about how a bunch of his linemen helped move his Grandmother's things on the Saturday of the homecoming dance ... that the players were tired from the game the night before, had lots going on to get ready for the evening ... but they gladly showed up to help.

What was more impacting was that Coach Reynolds' Grandma was naturally a little sad about moving but the players really lifted her spirits, made her feel a part of the team and showed her a lot of love and respect.

One of the other o-line coaches, Coach Bill Sweet, gave an amazing pre-game speech to the lineman about the virtue theme of the week: Bold.

Many people have told me that virtue is for teams that can't win ... that coaches who dedicate time to that stuff don't do a good enough job coaching the x's and o's.

Well, simply put Coach Ron Adams, along with his whole staff, is proof that they are totally and categorically WRONG.

Virtue helps you win championships - on the field and off.

Congrats to the Bears! Keep up the great work and don't stop.

Tips for Teenage Boys on Respecting Girls

2011-10-14T05:04:00.000-04:00

I received this email from a friend of mine and I thought it had a lot of insightful points.

You may want to consider forwarding this to your players, the parents of your players and having a talk with your team or in your mentor groups about these points.

...

With the hope of offering some helpful tips to young men on respecting girls, we interviewed several moms and dads, teenage and college age boys and girls who we consider to be wise and prudent in this matter.

Tips for Teenage Boys on Respecting Girls
These tips are useful both in and out of dating relationships both in high school and college. We do not recommend having serious dating relationships in high school. In general it is better to stick to larger groups and any relationship should be paced, chaste, respectful, non-exclusive, and public.

1. Be sincere (don’t try to be somebody you are not…girls see right through this. You are much better off just being yourself)

2. Don’t brag, talk too much about yourself, or speak poorly of others

3. Be kind to EVERYONE. (A girl judges whether you’re a good guy not just by how you treat your buddies or herself, but ALL people: the janitors at school, waiters, kids you’re not necessarily friends with, etc.)

4. Be respectful of the rules imposed by a girl’s parents. Every family has different guidelines with respect to movies they’re allowed to watch, parties they’re allowed to attend, curfews, etc. Don’t criticize, make fun of or even worse encourage her to break them, no matter how much you want to spend time with her.

5. When you go up to talk to a girl, make a point to say hello and talk to her friends as well

6. Don’t expect a girl to hang out with you and ten of your buddies. This can be very uncomfortable for a girl. Ask her to bring a few of her girlfriends along as well or don’t insist that she come over to watch a football game if it will be all guys.

7. Be very selective in the movies you take girls to see. Inappropriate content makes a girl feel very uncomfortable and it is simply not considerate to put her in that position.

8. Be a good listener. Ask questions and allow the girl to talk (don’t dominate the conversation). When a girl has a problem, she needs to talk about it. She is looking for empathy (NOT sympathy) and not necessarily a solution. If she asks for advice give it to her (and give it some thought).

9. Give special attention to etiquette and chivalry:
a. Stand up when she stands up from the table, and stand up when she returns to help her with her chair
b. Hold doors for the girl, especially car doors
c. Give the girl the seat of preference and offer her a seat if there are none readily available
d. Walk a girl to her car if she is driving alone
e. Check on the girl to make sure she gets home safely
f.    Come to the door when picking a girl up and meet the parents and come to the door when you drop her off as well
g. Stay out of other girls’ bedrooms and don’t bring them into yours
h. Keep eye contact (if you can’t look her in the eye, look away, not anywhere else)
i.   Walk on the outside of the sidewalk (the guy is the protector)
j.   Don’t cut off conversation for a social text or call
k. A guy should be the one initiating contact (phone calls, etc.)
l.   Give preference to calling over texting and always take care of important business face-to-face
m. Respect girls online and via text the same way you would face-to-face

10. Most importantly, treat a girl with RESPECT. She is not an object, but one of God’s beautiful creatures. Dating and friendship are for getting to know the person rather than for physical intimacy. Girls are created in God’s image the same as guys. If you always try to see a girl the way God does, you won’t ever have a problem treating her with respect.

God bless,
Fr. Michael

Cross Country Runner Carries Bleeding Competitor to Help

2011-10-13T06:28:00.001-04:00

This story came out a few weeks back. Very inspiring. It has charity, humility and courage written all over it.

Please share this with your athletes.

...

Runner carries injured foe half mile to help in middle of race

http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/Runner-carries-injured-foe-half-mile-to-help-in-?urn=highschool-wp6171
By Jonathan Wall

Josh Ripley didn't have to stop. Running in a recent cross country meet for Andover (Minn.) High, the junior varsity runner was making his way through the trail at the Applejack Invite when he heard a loud scream during the first mile of a two-mile race. Most of the other kids running didn't pay much attention to Lakeville South runner Mark Paulauskas, who was writhing in pain at the time, as they passed by.

The only person who decided to pay attention was Ripley. As an Anoka-Hennepin school district releasereported, Ripley immediately noticed Paulauskas holding his bloody ankle. Then, instead of running back and calling for help, he did the only thing he could think of: He carried the injured runner a half mile back to coaches and family members.

"I didn't think about my race, I knew I needed to stop and help him," Ripley said in the school district release. "It was something I would expect my other teammates to do. I'm nothing special; I was just in the right place at the right time."

It was a good thing Ripley had the foresight to carry Paulauskas so he could be rushed to the emergency room. When Paulauskas arrived at the hospital, doctors realized he had been accidentally spiked by another runner's shoe during the race. The injury required 20 stitches and a walking boot to keep the wounded area from opening up.

Andover cross country coach Scott Clark couldn't believe what he heard when word got to him that Ripley was carrying another runner back to the starting line.

"Then Josh comes jogging into view carrying a runner," Clark said. "I noticed the blood on the runner's ankle as Josh handed him off to one of the coaches from Lakeville. Josh was tired and you could tell his focus was off as he started back on the course."

Amazingly, the story gets even better from there.

After dropping Paulauskas off with his coaches, Ripley proceeded to go back and finish the race -- even after carrying a kid for a half mile on the running trail. Admittedly he was a bit winded, but still completed the course as scheduled.

It's safe to say the average athlete would have taken a breather and called off the rest of the race after such a harrowing and intense experience. Luckily, Ripley is clearly not the average athlete. Fittingly, he'll be honored at a school board meeting next week. Talk about an incredible example of sportsmanship.

Getting Stopped at the Supermarket

2011-10-12T07:06:00.000-04:00

Here is some very encouraging feedback from Mrs. JoAnn D'Anton, the media arts and MDTV director at Monsignor Donovan High School in Toms River NJ.
...
Lou, I needed to inform you about the happening around Monsignor Donovan High School this weekend. Well let me begin with we won our game.........the last few seconds of the game when our field goal kicker kicked for three points on the buzzer....it was a nail biter...and he won the game for us.....but that is NOT what impressed me.

I don't care about the W's or the L's (well maybe I do a little) but what truly needs merit here is that like any other High School football game, the press is always there to interview the guys as they come off the field. I was never so impressed with our boys response to the reporter. The article spoke of the win but each boys response to the reporter was astounding. They humbly spoke of their teammates and each one shared that it was a team effort.

None of them spoke about themselves and THIS I FEEL is a true testimony of the work Coach Duddy is doing with his team here at Monsignor Donovan High School. When I read the article I was proud to be part of the Monsignor Donovan Community.

BUT ........when I went into the local Shop Rite and I had my id on, an older woman stopped me and said, "Hey, your from Monsignor Donovan?" I replied, YES (proudly) then she continued with, "I may be old, but I have been following football in Toms River for years and I have NEVER seen young men speak about their teammates the way those boys did. You should be very proud of them."

As I walked away, I said to myself...BRAVO Sports Virtue Program!

Thanks Dan. Keep up the good work.

JoAnn

Let's Be Courageous

2011-10-11T07:29:00.000-04:00

Remember that challenge to go and see the movie Courageous with your players and their Dads?

Some teams have stepped up to the challenge, namely Providence Catholic near Chicago, Cincinnati St Gertrude and Eminence in Kentucky.

Providence is in the lead at the moment having brought 100 players and 25 Dads, no photo but a coach did write this encouraging note here below.

I'd like to challenge you all again. Strive to do this - THIS WEEKEND. Our men need it!

Virtue = Strength, Lou

http://sportsleaderusa.blogspot.com/2011/09/teamschool-event-to-change-lives.html

...

To all Coaches,

I highly encourage all men, young and not so young, to view the movie “Courageous”, Especially those guys who are fathers, coaches, and mentors of young people. It is the essence of what a guy goes through when confronted with the difficulties and responsibilities of adult decision making. The Movie presents a challenge to men of all ages to do the right thing in our relationship with family, other people, and faith in God.

Respectfully,

John Pergi,

A Football Coach
A Father
A Grandfather

St Gertrude Letter to Mom Ceremony

2011-10-10T07:59:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I had the honor of witnessing the Cincinnati St Gertrude Bandit Football Team Letter to Mom Ceremony. The Bandits are boys in grades K-2. They have 18 little guys on the team and their coaching staff is one that simply put, you would want your boy on that team.

Everyone gathered at Coach Rob Gruber's home for a grill-out and some fun and when all the kids had eaten we had the ceremony.

The Letter to Mom tradition is an effort to help teach the players to appreciate their Moms, show some gratitude and tell them they love them.

Many guys this little don't have a whole lot to say but I can assure you the Moms did appreciate it.

The coaching staff also took an extra step. They filmed each boy one day at practice giving a short message to his Mom and they recorded it to a DVD so each Mom could have that as well.

On some teams, the parents hardly ever speak to one another ... they don't know one another and it stays that way. Not on this team. Everyone is friends by now. What a great fruit of charity!

I heard one Mom say to a Coach, "I love this team, I love you, the Coaches, and I'm so excited that my son will get to participate in this for 8 more years in no matter what sport he plays."

Relentless: Player Testimony on Virtue of the Week

2011-10-09T07:25:00.000-04:00

Helping kids know, value, live and transmit virtue using the platform of sports. This is is what SportsLeader is all about.

Thank you, Coach Mike Bickerman, for sharing.

...

Stoney Haines
Rushville-Industry High School, IL
October 6, 2011

In our football season this year we have been participating in the SportsLeader program.

It gives us a virtue each week to look at and think about through the week. Our coaches all participate and become “mentors” to us. They talk to us about the virtue for the week and help us achieve our goals for the week.

Last week we had the virtue relentless. This is a virtue that is well known to our football program at Rushville-Industry. To be relentless is to continue to strive for our goals that we make for ourselves in everyday life and to continue to strive even when the going gets tough.

Our mentors teach us to do this and strive for our goals even when the going gets tough. For almost twenty years we made it to the playoffs. Then for the previous two years we went 0-9 in our season.

Coach Bickerman came to our school to coach the year before these seasons. Being new then having two bad seasons didn’t look well to many of the locals. Seeing him push on through all of this and watching him keep going even when the going got rough really showed me the true meaning of relentless.

As of now we have won 2 games in this years season and plan to get 3 more in the last 3 games. Me seeing coach push through all of that and then seeing what our team has become out of what little we had this is what relentless is.

Relentless is going out every day of the summer to work out. It is going to two-a-days and proving yourself to everyone that you want a season that people remember.

Relentless is going out that first game with a town against you but you give it your all. It is losing that game but coming back out to the practice field Monday and that Friday, you get the win. That is what I have gotten out of the word relentless from this program.

Mid-Season Feedback from Parents

2011-10-06T07:34:00.001-04:00

Something that you might find helpful is asking the parents of your players to send an email with the changes they have observed in their son or daughter since the beginning of the season.

Coach Paul Passafiume, Co-Founder of SportsLeader, of Louisville St Agnes did this yesterday and he got some pretty quick replies.

In Louisville, there is a web site, CatholicSportsNet.com, that features a different young person as their Rising Star of the Week. This week one of Paul's players is featured.

http://catholicsportsnet.com/louisville/page/rising-star

Monday, September 31, 2011
Joseph Fisher
Grade: 8th
School/parish attending: St Agnes
Sports currently playing: Football, Basketball
High school attending (or considering): St. Xavier
Best school subject: Math and Science
Why is Joseph a Rising Star?
Joseph Fisher loves the game of Football. He loves working as a team to achieve a common goal. He credits the Sports Leader Program as a big part of the success of his team. His team won the Toy Bowl in 2009 and 2010. At St. Agnes, he is consistently a 4.0 student, is a member of the Student Council, and the Kentucky Youth Assembly. Joseph is a volunteer at the Nazareth Home and created a group known as "Fifth Down Equipment Locker" where he collects used football equipment and donates to underprivileged football teams. He looks forward to attending St. X and playing for the Tigers.

...

Hi Coach
Thanks for all you do.

Since being on your team and participating in the Sports Leader program, I have noticed significant changes in Albert. He has been able to persevere and overcome obstacles such as shyness, fear, and a slight lack of self-esteem. He has really developed character, self-esteem and pride and is growing into a considerate, mentally and physically fit young man. He is learning to achieve personal and team goals and finding satisfaction in meeting those goals. He is putting his heart, mind and soul into everyday conversations, thoughts and activities both on and off the field, at home and school, in football practice and Boy Scout meetings and activities.

Thanks so much for your part in the Sports Leader program and for developing a great team of great young men!

Go Saints!

Jill Marie Lynch

...

1.    As my dad’s health deteriorated in August, Daniel saw how it was impacting me and I woke up one morning on a weekday after school had started and found scrambled eggs, orange juice, and toast waiting for me at 6am. Daniel set his alarm for 5am and made me breakfast. This was a direct result of virtue talk that coach Passifiume had with his team. Needless to say, he didn’t think it was a very big deal but it was very special to me.
2.    I’ve also noticed for the first time, Daniel’s leadership on the field. He may not be the biggest, strongest, or fastest, but he’s become a vocal leader on the field and he stays after practice consistently to improve himself. The 7th graders see him putting in extra time which will lead them to do the same thing their 8th grade year.
3.    Daniel now recognizes how important it is to take responsibility for his own actions and I’ve seen a much greater ownership for his school performance. In the past, he used excuses for not performing up to his ability, Now, he takes responsibility for his performance and he’s working very hard to do the best he possibly can in school. I’m convinced of that.
4.    Some of the smaller items we see that are very noticeable: He sometimes helps his mother around the house without asking. Sometimes, I come home from work and the grass is cut. He always keeps his room spotless. He enjoys spending time with his grandparents and talking to them (he recognizes it may not be exciting to him but it means the world to them). He is affectionate towards his grandparents and parents. And my personal favorite… he looks me in the eye and shakes my hand with a firm grip.
5.    If we could just work on that sibling rivalry thing, we would have it all figured out.

Thanks Paul for all you do.

Mark

Untold Impact

2011-10-04T09:51:00.000-04:00

I got some interesting surprises on my trip to Canada last week.

1. All of my flights, 2 there and 2 back, arrived early. I'm wondering if I should report this as a miracle or something (smile)

2. On one flight, the lady sitting next to me asked me if I was a student. I thanked her for the compliment. I withheld from telling her I'm married with 5 kids because I thought that might induce a coma-like shock or something ...

3. I was hosted by a very generous family in Canada, The Penners. I got their son David's bottom bunk. David is off at college playing football in Saskatoon. When I went to bed I looked up and taped to the bottom of the top bunk were 2 pieces of paper. See photo.

The We-Will looks exactly like a poster that SportsLeader coach Dan Duddy made with one of his teams years ago. David must have heard Dan talk about it and saw the photo at the coaches clinic ... and it inspired him.

You never know where your impact will land ... Coach in NJ ... young man in Saskatchewan ...

This is one of the things I most enjoy about SportsLeader - helping coaches share their mission and vision with others to increase their impact.

SportsLeader in Canada

2011-10-03T08:02:00.000-04:00

I had another first this past weekend - the first opportunity to bring SportsLeader to Canada. I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Regina, Saskatchewan Friday-Sunday. Regina is a few hours north of where the Montana-North Dakota border is.

Every year for the past 8 years I believe, some friends of mine Lynden Penner and Trevor Novak, organize a "Faith of Our Fathers Banquet" to bring men together for an evening of fellowship. Mass, an incredible meal, a speaker, some prizes, etc. Well this year I got to be the speaker and my theme was mentoring. I shared a number of stories I have been a part of in SportsLeader over the years and it was an awesome experience. There were about 130 men there: Archbishop, Priests, Seminarians, Grandfathers, Fathers, Sons ...

The next day we had a training for a number of coaches from all over the Province who coach numerous different sports from hockey to soccer to judo.

Saturday night I was able to see the movie Courageous. It is a must see. You really need to organize an evening to bring all the Dads of your players and your players, I would say ages 9 and up ... It is a powerful movie. I'm glad we bought our tickets online because it was sold out.

PLEASE make the effort to do this and remember to get a group photo.

Here is what one coach, Sal Fucito of Cincinnati St Gertrude, recently sent out:

Thank you for all that have replied so far. Courageous is showing at 6:50pm on Monday October 3rd at the Rave Theater in Milford, 500 Rivers Edge Drive, Milford Ohio 45150.

My plan is to be at the theater at 6:30pm. Please wear something bulldog related. It would be awesome to have as many dad's there showing our pride in St. Gertrude Football. I would also like to get a photo of all of us together to share with SportsLeader.

Identity and Mission

2011-09-29T09:55:00.000-04:00

I had a great experience the past two days. I was able to speak at a National Catholic Educational Association regional meeting for high schools.

Region 9 is comprised of Catholic High Schools from Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. It was hosted at Dowling Catholic High School.

Now SportsLeader is very proud to work with all schools whether they be public or private ... but if you're going to be a Catholic school - well go all out. And Dowling Catholic is a school like that. I was impressed to say the very least. The photo of their weight room is a just a taste of the Catholic Identity that envelops the school.

You can really "taste" that everyone and everything about the school has a very specific Identity and Mission about it. This is really how it should be. This is formational for our students. I learned so much from simply walking the halls and listening to a student ambassador explain all these elements with such professionalism.

There were School administrators, athletic directors, development directors and campus ministers from about 23 different high schools and 1 gentleman from Creighton University.

Hopefully a number of these schools will be joining the SportsLeader family soon.

As the President of Dowling Catholic, Dr Jerry Deegan, was bringing me back to the airport he told me a little story that I found inspiring.

A student-athlete was giving a tour of the school one day to some visitors. One of the attendees asked, "Why is that crucifix here in the weight room?"

The student replied, "I love that it is here. When I'm tired of working out, I simply look at Him. If He could be on that cross for me and sacrifice ... then I can sacrifice and finish my workout. That is Sacrifice."

...

Reminder about The Courageous Movie night for your Dads ... the movie opens tomorrow.

There are numerous SportsLeader teams gathering to do this. Please remember to get a group photo.

http://sportsleaderusa.blogspot.com/2011/09/teamschool-event-to-change-lives.html

http://www.courageousthemovie.com/

Letter to Mom Ceremony

2011-09-27T04:00:00.003-04:00

A tradition that we encourage SportsLeader teams to put into place is called "Letter to Mom"

It is a very powerful event that has changed many lives.

The basic gist is that you have all your players write a letter to their Moms. Maybe you do this before or after a practice.

Then you invite all the Moms to come to X place at X time.

Once there the players read their letters to their Moms in front of everyone present. Yes, this might be difficult for some - that is precisely the point and the reason behind doing it.

For many of us, as we grew up, our communication with our Moms consisted in 4 basic topics:

Food

Laundry

Money

A ride

Outside of those, we quite possibly did not speak to the poor woman.

Well - as the players write their letters, you tell them that they need to write at least these 3 things:

1. Mom, I love you.

2. Thank you for ...

3. I appreciate you. Describe the virtues and qualities of your Mom.

One coach, Mike Stine of Naperville Central High School in Illinois makes a great banquet out of it ... others it is simple ceremony after a practice.

One team this year had a special experience. This coach had a player who, at the time, was very arrogant, obnoxious and disrespectful. Well he had a bit of a conversion as he wrote his letter. He handed his coach a 3 page letter that was "beyond amazing".

He told the young man - "You are reading yours first."

At the ceremony, he reads his letter with a lot of emotion. Stunned is an understatement. His Mom gave him a hug that lasted for what seemed an hour. It was impossible not to be moved by this. Every teenage macho facade disappeared.

It only got better.

The next player who was assigned to go ... was the standout QB who everyone thought was going to go first - nice, respectful, good kid.

He stands up, coughs a few times and says:

"Mom, I'm not going to read the letter I wrote. It is here and you can have it but I can't read it. I've been a selfish (expletive) my whole life. What I wrote in this letter isn't real. I wrote it because Coach made us write it. But it's not real. But after J read that to his Mom ... I can't ... you deserve better. So if you all don't mind I'm just going to talk. Let me tell you about my Mom. She is the most selfless person I know ... "

He praised his Mom for 5 minutes.

Most of the players that followed the QB did the exact same thing.

One of the main objectives is to offer your players the opportunity to SEE how much this means to their Mom. Too often we take our Mom for granted. This little ceremony hopefully will help erase that.

If the Moms of your coaches are still with us and living nearby ... have the coaches invite their Moms as well and they can speak too ... If someone has already lost their Mom ... have them write it anyway. It might bring some healing.

Get some roses and have the players give one to their Mom as well.

I hope you do this with your team.

Mentoring Amidst Our Mistakes

2011-09-26T06:56:00.000-04:00

Paul Barna, an assistant football coach at Monsignor Donovan High School in Toms River NJ, had a blow up with a player during a game. His head coach, Dan Duddy, asked him to apologize ... which he did with a lot of humility and then also asked him he would mind writing about the experience in the hope that it might help other coaches.

Thanks, Paul, your humility and effort is awesome.

...

According to my wife, I am the poster-boy for the definition of a Virgo. On the positive side, I am modest, shy, meticulous, diligent, intelligent, and analytical. On the negative side, however, I am overcritical, harsh, and a perfectionist. For the past 5 years I have used the negative side of my personality to coach both the varsity and junior varsity players.

It was the coaching style that I grew up with from age 7 playing Pop Warner through my toughest years in college. I felt that it made me a stronger person mentally both on the field and off of it as well. The “toughness” my coaches modeled for me has helped me develop what some people call “cold blood”. It is not that I am “cold”. It is that when presented with a tough situation, I have the ability to shut the other person out; if only for a time.

In today’s society, our young men are faced with many more challenges then we were as teenagers. Because of that, they are more high-strung and emotional. We, as educators, have to take that into consideration when we correct or discipline these students. During the offseason, after reading Tony Dungy’s book “The Mentor Leader”, I made a heartfelt decision to start coaching with the positive side of my personality and learn to control the negative side.

As Coach Dungy says in his book, “mentor leaders seek to have a direct, intentional, and positive impact on those they lead. At its core, mentoring is about building character into the lives of others, modeling and teaching attitudes and behaviors, and creating a constructive legacy to be passed along to future generations of leaders” (Whitaker, 2010).

I knew it would be an uphill battle because it is hard to change something that has been ingrained in you since a little boy. There would definitely be “slip-ups” but it would be how I reacted to those that would determine my growth at season’s end.

In the past, during the mentoring sessions with our players, the coaches were told to help our players develop a resolution based on the “virtue word of the week”. These resolutions had to be measurable and precise. This year, we were asked as coaches to make a measurable resolution to our players as a way to model what we were looking for. I made a resolution during “bold” week to be more patient and positive on the sideline during games.

“Mentor leadership works best when the ones being mentored are aware that the mentor leader has a genuine concern for their development and success. Those we lead will be more receptive if they believe we genuinely want them to succeed” (Whitaker, 2010).

A player does not feel that you want them to succeed if you are yelling at them in front of their family and friends. He will shut you down faster than it took to trust you. I told the players in my group that if I slipped up, they could call me out as quickly as I will if they slip up with their resolution.

This past Friday night, during a frustrating 1st half, I had a blow up on the sideline with a player. The situation that happened on the field is irrelevant. I felt insulted by a player, but what I failed to remember is that I am working with young men that are still growing both mentally and physically. An adult should never feel insulted by a teenager because a majority of the time the child does not know they are insulting you.

The fact of the matter is that I did not act on my resolution, which I knew was going to happen at some point during the season. When we got into the locker room at halftime, I asked a player in my mentoring group to tell the other players what my resolution for the week was. After the team heard my resolution, I let them know as a team that I screwed up. Following that I apologized to the player that I called out for losing my cool with him on the sideline in front of his family and friends.

By doing this, I hope I showed all of the players that just because I missed on my resolution once does not mean that I have to throw it out the window. It means that as long as I want to continue to pull from my positive traits, I have to work harder on pushing the negative traits out of my life. From this revelation at halftime, I feel that my relationship with the players, especially the one I called out, has grown even stronger.

Nobody is perfect but not everybody can admit to their mistakes. It takes a man to admit he was wrong. By speaking to the team, I was able to model to them what a real man does when presented with a situation like I put myself in.

As written in Tony Dungy’s book, “mentor leadership is all about shaping, nurturing, empowering, and growing. It’s all about relationships, integrity, and perpetual learning. Success is measured in changed lives, strong character, and eternal values rather than in material gain, temporal achievement, or status” (Whitaker, 2010).

I can only hope that these players are able to learn not only from my experience in football but from the failures I have made and grown from in my life.

Works Cited
Whitaker, T. D. (2010). The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams That Win Consistently. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers.

Giving Back

2011-09-24T04:00:00.000-04:00

A part of the SportsLeader methodology is the Circle of Virtue.

Know - Know the virtue personally

Value - Make it yours, internalize it

Live - Live it because YOU want to, not because Coach makes you

Transmit - Share it with others

A beautiful example of this is Maria Frohlich. She is a 17 year old HS Senior who is a 7th-8th grade cheerleading coach at Cincinnati St Gertrude.

She is taking what she has learned from her parents, teachers, and coaches and now choosing to give and share with others.

Here is a video of Maria sharing her testimony.

May we all strive to build up young men and women of virtue, like Maria. Our world will be a better place because of it.

The Million Drops of Water

2011-09-23T04:00:00.000-04:00

This comes from a Coach with 28 years experience.

...

Many times in life we don't experience the "big, earth shattering" events. It is just the ordinary, the routine, the nothing spectacular.

In the midst of my ordinary routine I received some great news a few days ago. Great news that I would say is the result of "the million drops of water."

I have a player on my team named Brandon. No one in his family has ever graduated from High School. No one! Ever!

Well Brandon is well on his way to graduating and he just got accepted to Union College in southern KY.

He received his letter of acceptance in the mail and immediately called me. The excitement in his voice and the celebration in the background was priceless.

As I reflected on my relationship with Brandon, there really isn't anything that stands out as "the turning point" or the big aha moment. Just the constant practice ... the virtue talks, the mentoring sessions, the getting back up after falling ...

It all adds up over time. And when it adds up it can be pretty special.

I know the temptation to question, "Is this really worth it? Is it working?" always comes up.

Remember Brandon ... remember the million drops of water.

IT IS WORTH IT!

Steve Frommeyer
Principal and Head Football Coach Eminence High School
Eminence, KY

The Purpose of Sports - Build Virtue

2011-09-22T04:00:00.004-04:00

At times the competition of sports can bring out the worst in us: jealousy, revenge, hatred, arrogance, fear. At times these weaknesses of ours then rub off on our players.

But sports can also bring out the best in us: heroic willpower, generosity, humility, perseverance ... at its core, this is the true purpose of sports, to build virtue.

Here is a testimony of exactly that. A moment of competitive athletics that brought out the best in everyone present. The photo speaks for itself. I'm sure everyone there that day will remember this forever.

Our game this past Sunday was a very intense one as far as grade school football games go. The game itself matched two undefeated teams who have always competed very well against each other over the last few years, with our St. Gertrude Bulldogs often getting the better of the outcomes. We have a great deal of respect for the Summit Reserve players and coaches and knew going in that the game would be physically challenging. We had no idea just how challenging it would be.

Until mid-way through the 4th quarter, the game was the most physically, tactically, and mentally challenging game in which I have ever coached. The teams were evenly matched and both had driven inside their opponent's 3 yard line without scoring during the game. That all changed in an instant when one of our boys made an open field tackle on a wingback reverse to Summit's #32 - one of their top players. In the midst of the tackle, #32landed awkwardly on his shoulder and neck and immediately cried out in pain. While he was moving his arms and legs, he was clearly injured. Immediately, all of our boys dropped to a knee as they've been coached to do. The injured player was attended to by a doctor who was an assistant for Summit, a trainer that is at all of our home games, two dads from our program who are trained EMTs and a mother who is a nurse. I ran and grabbed a back board as another member of our program called 911 for the EMTs to come per the orders of Summit's assistant coach and doctor. Needless to say, many players, coaches, parents, and spectators fell silent and began praying for the best outcome for the Summit player.

Then one of the most remarkable experiences I have had in any setting, much less on a football field, took place. The head coaches from both teams gathered the competing teams at mid-field and we all joined hands, alternating Summit and St. Gertrude, in a prayer circle that spanned 20 yards of the field. A coach from Summit took the lead for the group, explaining that even though we were in heated competition, we were all brothers in the game of football and all children of God. He continued that it was our brother laying there and that he needed our prayers for safety and healing. We all prayer together, some crying, some fighting back tears, just hoping for a sign that #32 would be okay. We got it as he gave us all a thumbs up as the response team carried him to meet the ambulance.

After a few minutes of warm up and some discussion about finishing the game, the contest resumed. After 32 minutes of hard fought football by two great teams, the score remained 0 - 0. Summit won the coin toss and chose to go on offense first. Our Bulldogs held Summit out of the endzone on 4 plays from the 10 and then proceeded to punch it in on 4th down and inches for the overtime win 6 - 0. But, the example of character, perseverance, courage, and charity that was shown by all the players on both teams was so incredibly humbling for all of us there - especially the coaches involved to see these young men show such love and compassion in the face of such adversity. We have no doubt we will see the Summit Knights again before this 2011 season is over and we hope #32 is competing with them again when we do. Different color uniforms or not, they are still our brothers in football and in Christ.

Brian Redden
St. Gertrude Football
Co-Coordinator
Reserve Assistant Coach

Season of Adversity

2011-09-21T04:00:00.001-04:00

As most of you know, SportsLeader is about a lot more than the scoreboard. Striving to win is very important, achieving excellence is always the goal and objective but at the same time we want our coaches, athletes, parents and family members to WIN in life.

This is not always easy and the path to these lessons is uphill to say the least.

There is one team which is a part of the SportsLeader family, the head coach requested anonymity, which has suffered enough adversity to last a few decades ... all in the first month of the season.

Week 1: A player's Mom died in a gruesome motorcycle accident.

Week 2: Another player's Mom died in a car accident due to a drunk driver

Week 3: A former student, player and teammate committed suicide. No note was left but he took his life when all of his buddies were leaving for college. He did not get accepted to any of his college choices.

Week 4: The wife of an assistant coach went to the hospital to get checked for a pain in her back. They found a tumor attached to one of her vertebra and it turned out to be cancer. They hospitalized her that night and are starting radiation treatments today. She has to go in once a day for 25 treatments.

REQUEST:

"We would love to have our SportsLeader families say a prayer in her name. I know the power of pray and the power in numbers. Her name is Carrie."

The head coach has been extremely strong through all of this. He related some good stories to me, amidst tears, of how at the funerals the players have done an amazing job showing compassion, empathy and kindness to all of the family members. Something to truly be proud of.

One of the pastors presiding at one of the funerals said, "That was the most amazing display of love I have ever witnessed in all my years of doing this. Thank you."

All of this puts things in perspective very quickly.

Victory Day - Special Needs Children, Football, Cheer and Virtue

2011-09-20T07:40:00.000-04:00

Aaron Segedi, a SportsLeader coach from Trenton High School in Michigan, has started a tradition that I think every school should emulate. Hosting a day for special needs children to come together and play football or cheer surrounded by family and friends.

But he went a step further and invited 3 other schools from within their conference to come and live the experience as well. Teams they line up against every year and compete: Wyandotte, Woodhaven and Carlson.

This was all blended in to their virtue theme of the week: Selflessness.

Here below are 2 articles by Byron Trimble of the Trenton Patch. One is pre-event and the other post.

Maybe you can have a Victory Day next year with teams from your conference. Maybe in 5 years there will be 50 victory days happening ...

Virtue = Strength, Lou

Trenton Football Players Team Up With Special Needs Children For One Game

The second annual community football game, or Victory Day, for special needs children from the downriver area will be at 10:30 a.m. this Saturday at Trenton High School.

On Sept. 17, the Trenton varsity football team will host the second annual Victory Day for children from Josephine Brighton Work Skills Center, the Madison/Downriver Regional Trainable Center or the Lincoln Center--Downriver schools for students who are physically or cognitively impaired or autistic--at Trenton High School's football stadium.

In this game, 40 young boys and girls get to take the field at the football stadium -- P.A. announcer, referees, and cheerleaders to boot -- and will be paired with one of the Trojan players or cheerleaders, what for many of them, might be the only football game of their lives.

That's not all. Each child will get a jersey, a medal, an introduction to the crowd, and an opportunity to catch or run for a touchdown. TheTrenton Marching Band will play the national anthem as well as form a tunnel in the end zone for player introductions.

Former Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr, Mayor Gerald Brown and city and school officials will be in attendance, with Coach Carr addressing the group before game time.

"It's absolutely one of the coolest events I've ever been a part of," Trenton varsity football assistant coach and event organizer Aaron Segedi said. "The looks on their faces are priceless. Absolutely priceless."

After the game, the Trenton Touchdown Club will serve hot dogs and juice for the families and Carroll’s Photography will also be available to take pictures of the event for each child.

The event will go from 10:30 a.m. till noon.

"There was a dad who was so excited walking up to me," Segedi said when asked about a highlight from last year. "He said to me, 'For the first time ever, I got to be ancy the night before my son's football game. Thank you so much!' That just shows it's not just about the kids, but the parents too."

...

"Victory Day" Was A Win For Everyone

The kids in the jerseys and scoring touchdowns were not the only ones who walked away from Saturday with smiles on their faces.

"We made a lot of days today," beamed Aaron Segedi, Trenton varsity football assistant coach and "Victory Day" coordinator. If you know Segedi at all, this is far from a boastful statement. He's talking about the volunteers as much as he is the participants.

"Everybody here walks away with a smile on their face," Trojan head coach Bob Czarnecki said.

The most noticeable smiles on Saturday were the ones lighting up the faces of the children.

"The smiles on their faces are the highlight for me," said senior Trenton football player Jeff Jones who was buddies with Tra Gaston for the day. "Big Tra" had one of the more memorable touchdown runs of the day by opting to run at the defenders instead of away from them and pushing them over with a tidal wave of stiff arms.

"I've wanted to score a touchdown my whole life," Tra said.

Trenton sophomore Chase Abraham got to be a mentor for the first time this year and was paired with Adrian Tyler. Adrian's favorite part of the day seemed to be letting Abraham hold a blocking pad up and then running into at fullspeed.

"Seeing them have fun is what I like best about it," said Abraham. "Just knowing that they probably don't get to have fun like this that often. It's cool."

Junior cheerleader Kaitlin Tracy was paired with Brooke McNally at last year's "Victory Day" and developed a unique relationship when Brooke's parents brought her to see Tracy cheer at a lot of the home games. The two were paired again this year.

"It's incredible to get help them experience something like this," Tracy said while she stood next to her young friend who was practicing her touchdown dance for when she got her chance to score. "It's neat to be involved with one kid like I have, too. It was so sweet. Last year she cried when she had to leave me."

Segedi said that this event is all apart of the football program's leadership training as it tries to use a game to make quality young men. This week's theme, appropriate with Saturday's event, was selflessness.

But the Trojans were not the only players Downriver to learn that trait Saturday. Segedi invited coaches from Carlson, Woodhaven, and Wyandotte High Schools to bring some of their players to help out.

One of those players were Carlson star Kyle Ready.

"I noticed the joy they got from a lot of the little things," Ready said referring to things like tackling dummies and standing on the sideline for the national anthem. "I'm definitely going to learn to cherish the moments more."

Segedi said he spent last year running around making sure everything was in order too much and made sure that this year he sat back and simply soaked in the moments. One of those moments was when an autistic eight-year-old boy's mother, with tears in her eyes, approached him. She said her son, Robbie, absolutely loves football and spends most of his days playing football in the yard by himself for hours. Saturday, he played football on field, in a jersey, with fans, with tacklers.

"She told me her son said that this was the best day of his life and thank you," Segedi said with a smile.

Everyone had a smile on their face which is why one of the ugly truths of football did not exist Saturday. It's true in any type of competition--someone always wins, someone always loses.

No one lost in this game. Not on Saturday. Not at "Victory Day".

Does Turning Purple Help You Win?

2011-09-19T06:38:00.000-04:00

I don't mean to pick on Coach Brian Kelly. I'm sure he is working on this challenge just like many of us have to.

The challenge: Controlling ourselves in the face of adversity.

If you saw any of the Notre Dame-South Florida game a few weeks ago, you may have been just as frustrated. The photo comes after the Irish committed approximately their 75th turnover in the red zone. It was a difficult moment to say the least whether you were routing for ND or not.

But, we CAN objectively state that turning purple did not help Notre Dame win. They went on to lose this game 23-20.

Now, can we say turning purple helps you lose? Maybe.

If you have chewed your players out to such a degree, as the game progresses their mental state might be:

9 gallons of worrying about making a mistake and causing my coach to threaten my life's existence

1 teaspoon of focusing on making a play by doing my job to help the team

A good recipe this does not make.

In the movie Gridiron Gang, the head football coach loses it in similar fashion, cussing out a player who draws a 15 yard penalty ... As he is screaming at him he says, "You have to have discipline and self control." The player looks back at him and says, "Tell me about it, Coach."

At this point in the movie, the coach begins to make a change in his life. Let's do the same.

Growth Through SportsLeader

2011-09-18T07:28:00.000-04:00

Mentoring is a huge part of our virtues program. It takes some getting used to in order to blend it into your practice schedule but once you do the fruits are pretty powerful. Here is an example of exactly that.
...
I wanted to tell you about a conversation I had with my starting quarterback during our one on one time and give you a progress report on our SportsLeader Program.

This is my first year as head coach of the 7/8 grade football team at St. Gertrude. It was my understanding that last year the players were a little rambunctious in school. My starting quarterback was not one of the rowdy ones, but he admittedly enjoyed laughing at the antics. Through our virtue talks of Charity, Humility and Courage, he has stepped up as a leader to stop the silliness in school by his teammates.

During one of our sessions he told me it was bothering him how some of the players were acting in school. I asked him what he thinks a complete man would do. He said to me he would take action and courageously call the teammates out and remind them what was expected of them as football players. So we decided through our conflict resolution that he would have a team meeting after practice, away from the coaches and call those players out and ask the team to help him to encourage his teammates to do the right thing.

I checked in with him the next couple of weeks and he reported those kids are acting better and he felt good about having a role in that.

I've had conversations with one of the 6/7/8 grade teachers and he has reported to me that he has seen an improvement in the football players this year over years past. This teacher knowing we are doing SportsLeader uses it to his advantage in class, and it's an effective tool. He just lets them know he will tell their coach and they will be motivated to do the right thing. (One of my players asked him if he understood what he was saying, afraid of the motivation to come, then asked him not to tell. lol). This teacher said he is seeing the biggest impact in the younger players, as they've not developed the bad habits the older players had yet. He is excited to see where those players will be in 3 or 4 years from now, growing up in SportsLeader through our football program.

I've also had conversations with parents and they are reporting they are seeing a difference in their son's. The biggest thing is the boys are feeling as if they are respected from their coaches because we are taking the time to talk to them and show we care! The parents are grateful they have the support of coaches in forming their son's into quality young men.

God Bless You,
Sal
~Choose to be Awesome and make today an Outstanding day!

Flexing Personal Courage

2011-09-17T04:00:00.000-04:00

Schools across the country are beginning to see the need to dedicate a full time person to Virtue and Athletics.

Coach Dan Duddy of Monsignor Donovan High School in Toms River NJ shares his personal journey and the exciting steps underway in his new position.

...

I have recently been hired by our Principal and the Pastor/Director of our parish community consisting of a grade school, a high school, and our huge church to inject Sportsleader throughout our high school building, consisting of 35 sports, which I have personally been able to do for the past 6 years in my football program of which I am head coach.

I am what is called “Pastoral Minister of Athletics” following the title of a dedicated gentleman at Moeller High School of Cincinnati Dan Dever, and somewhat common among our leading Catholic Universities.

It was a bold and cutting edge offer from our leadership. As coaches we are the leaders of the most influential sector in our nation, athletics.

Therefore we are in fact the most influential men and women in the strongest nation in the world, and in dealing with our youth; we hold the greatest impact on the future of the WORLD.

Having never entertained retirement from my past job (as of August 1st) as teacher in a public high school, I suddenly found myself with the decision of “handing in my papers”.

It made no sense to do so to most people.

After weighing the pro’s and cons by listing them in separate columns and evaluating the list, I found that the “negatives” list was much longer that the “positives” list.

In fact there was only one item on the positive list, but it outweighed all the negatives.

“Flexing my own personal courage”, was the lone item that overpowered them all.

I would never be able to live through the haunting of not taking on this mission.

“I would leave all doubts about job security, finances, ridicule and conflict from ‘naysayers’ and put them into the hands of my faith”, I thought…and so I have.

This is what Sportsleader is about in 2011 – “BOLDNESS” and “COURAGE” by our coaches.

I have been very pleased to meet or come to know more deeply wonderful coaches and support staff at my new school that is embracing this mission with me.

Our boys and girls soccer coaches, a great and dedicated married couple with successful traditions, are embracing the program and will be kicking off The Virtue Themes of the Week next week.

Our Girls tennis coaches have already begun provoking a specific resolve to action from their athletes within this week’s theme – “Boldness”.

Next week’s “Theme of the Week” will be sponsored by the tennis program – “Patience”, will be the “Sports Virtue Theme of the Week” as it is announced throughout the building daily and posted on a massive bulletin board with all the sample resolutions and quotes that are in our Sportsleader playbook.

On Friday the Sports Virtue Athletes of the Week will be announced to the school for all to hear and celebrate.

I’m living with an excitement that is loaded with challenges, bumps, and triumph. Be BOLD and COURAGEOUS about what is RIGHT.

We need each other for strength. Know that I am here working and gaining strength from you, and keep stepping up to the plate.

The world needs you. You’ve been called.

An Experience They Will Never Forget

2011-09-16T00:01:00.001-04:00

Here is another testimony about the power of Father-Son jersey night.

Please encourage the other head coaches of different sports in your school to begin this tradition.

Remember to L.E.A.D

Love Others

Encourage Others

Actively Resolve

Deny Yourself

...

Lou,

Held the first Xenia Jersey night ceremony following our normal Thursday evening meal. We have 20 seniors who were presented their Jerseys by their significant males in their lives. Most were Dads and step Dads. We had to read a letter from one dad who was starting a new job and couldn't attend. I presented one jersey to a young man whose dad returns from work by plane each Friday. This was without question one of the most awesome experiences I have had in coaching.

I have been fortunate enough to coach an undefeated season, three trips to the playoffs, a regional championship game, and a Big 33 All-star game. I can't remember an evening where I went home more proud of what I do that I did tonight. I think that we have created a tradition in Xenia that is powerful. I don't think that there was a young player in attendance who wasn't thinking that their night would come and that they would get to hear from their dad that he loved them and appreciated them.

Thank you. You continued to challenge me to do this, it was outside my comfort zone, but it was powerful beyond my imagination. Kudos to you and to Sports Leader. You should be so proud to be doing what you are doing at this time in our land. I am so appreciative of your efforts and persistence with me and our program. I know that our seniors and their significant males have had an experience that won't go forgotten.

Bob DeLong

Head Football Coach Xenia High School

Xenia, Ohio

An Athlete Essay - A New Beginning

2011-09-15T07:02:00.000-04:00

One of the coaches new to our SportsLeader association is Coach Jon Clark. This is his first year as the head football coach of Madison Southern High School in Berea, KY. He has done a pretty amazing job rolling out all of the different elements of the virtue program and the fruits speak for themselves.

Here below is an essay written by one of his players - a testimony to the power of virtuous coaching. It shows how important the player-coach relationship is ... that the virtue of the coach truly does make a difference.

Just imagine if every coaching staff was like this across the country. I highlighted some phrases that hit me the most.

...

A New Beginning
By Zachary Morgan

The theme for the 2011 Madison Southern Football Team is “A New Beginning”, and that is exactly what this football program has been to me. Before I started playing football I was struggling to find a true hobby, something to be passionate about and that wasn’t the only issue I was having. In school, my grades were fine but at the same time, I knew I wasn’t meeting my full potential. Also, I can’t forget to mention how out of shape I was, even though I’m still out of shape today, it’s night and day compared to where I was before football. Another obstacle for me has been my medical condition known as Aspergers. Aspergers is a high-functioning subset of Autism that enables me to achieve greater heights academically but at the same time limits me socially and also makes coordination somewhat of an issue. Even though it is football that has shaped my life, I ultimately never would have been a part of the team without the help of Coach Jon Clark and the other Coaches.

If someone had told me a year ago that I would be where I am today with the football program, or if they had told me that I’d even be playing football at all, I’d look at them as if they were crazy. And they probably would have been if it weren’t for Coach Clark. When I first heard about a new Madison Southern Football Coach I decided to read up on him and see what he had done in the past. I was shocked at the experience level of Coach Clark, with him having experience from coaching at the high school level and coaching at some successful college programs, I right away saw this as a great opportunity for me to not only find something to be passionate about but also as a way for me to be a part of something bigger than myself, as a way to be part of a team.

Later, after some thinking, I decided I would make an attempt to join the program. After emailing Coach Clark and after a very encouraging phone call, I knew this was going to be a great experience for me. Since I was so out of shape, a plan was put into place to get me where I needed to be physically. Coach Clark, along with Coach Boon and Coach Skinner, worked with me individually after school for about a month at my own pace. When I first started working with the coaches, I couldn’t even squat without any weight, and at the end of that month there was a definite improvement. After that month the coaches and I agreed that I was ready to join the rest of the team during morning workouts before school.

The anxiety coming from the anticipation of the first morning workout was intense. The anxiety I had walking into the gym that first morning workout was probably my first and pretty much my most difficult emotional obstacle to overcome. This was mainly because of my Aspergers and the social difficulties it presented. Even though I did know a few people that were on the team, most of them were new to me. Even not knowing most of the group, with the help of the friends I knew and even the ones I didn’t, I felt like I fit right in. So even though the workout was physical it was still a bigger growth socially and emotionally for me than it was physically.
After another month or so of morning workouts, Spring football came around and I was looking forward to it quite a bit. It was going to be the first time I put on football equipment since the 4th grade. With Spring football there also came another obstacle, the heat. The medication I take for my Aspergers makes me much more heat intolerant. This required me to not only be more hydrated but also to be more cautious of heat related injuries such as heat stroke and dehydration. There were times during the practices where I had difficulties, but in the end I overcame them. This was made possible due to the coaches and the understanding they showed when it comes to the obstacles that stood in my way and of course with the motivation from my teammates. After a long week of practice it was finally time to hit the field for the last time before we got our new turf.

To end Spring football, there was going to be an intra-squad scrimmage on the last Friday of the two week period. It was all I could think about in the days prior to the scrimmage. After school that Friday I could barely wait an hour before showing up to the locker room. When I got to the locker room, on top of everybody’s locker was their jersey that they were to wear that night along with their pants and all their pads. There was a depth chart and roster on the wall, music was playing and as I walked around the corner to my locker and saw the neatly folded, white jersey on top, I knew Spring ball had paid off. Before I knew it, it was game time and we were headed out to the field.

It was a cool crisp evening, the lights had just come on and as we walked on the field the band was playing the school fight song, the stands were loud and people were everywhere. The field numbers had been set up along with the pylons. Everyone’s breath was visible as we started stretching and as game time came closer and closer I had chills running down my spine. And when game time finally came around the chills stopped, almost as if adrenaline had taken over, it was like no other feeling in the world. After the scrimmage I felt proud of myself and my teammates around me. There was no score taken that night, but even if it were I feel as if it wouldn’t have mattered. It was a victory for me and the entire team. We had completed Spring ball and it was back to lifting until the 2nd week in July.

After a few more months of lifting we began conditioning alongside our lifts. We were not only preparing for the season but also for our upcoming camp. This was no ordinary football camp; in fact there was no football at all during the camp. It was all about team building and coming together as a team. This was just another brilliant idea brought to the program by the new coaching staff. There were several things to look forward to about team camp, for instance the new helmet design was to be revealed. Along with those things to look forward to came some uneasy feelings regarding the physical aspect of camp. This was especially true because of the heat, not to mention the fact that it was being held at a National Guard training facility.

The bus ride there was nerve-racking and it wasn’t just me freaking out, a lot of other players were worried about the difficulty of the camp. And Coach Clark telling us to make sure we had tennis shoes on and that they were tied before we got there had us even more scared. When we got there we were welcomed by a National Guard drill sergeant banging on the side of the bus yelling at us to get off the bus and head over to a nearby grassy area for some PT (physical training). If we started with “Up Downs”, “Flutter Kicks”, and “Push Ups” many players, myself included, wondered what else camp had in store for us.

Later on in camp, we were introduced to the “Confidence Course” which is a scaled down version of the obstacle course used to train the National Guard recruits. Everyone on the team went individually but it was far from an individual task. Teammates were encouraged to cheer their fellow teammate on as he ran the course. Although the course is scaled down, it is hardly a walk in the park. Not even the most athletic people on the team found this course easy. When I started out, I didn’t think I could do it and the truth is I couldn’t have without the help of my teammates cheering me on. As I came onto the final stretch I was surprised to see some of my teammates running with me and helping me push through to the finish line.

Near the end of camp Coach Clark went on to tell us about the horse Secretariat and his Triple Crown victory and how it inspired the nation. Coach Clark also was able to relate the story to things like determination and inspiration. One of my favorite things he said was “If a horse can inspire so many people, certainly 80 football players can.”

More than eight months after my original decision to join the football team this journey has culminated in Field Dedication Night. I find a strong parallel between the inauguration of our new football field and the new life I feel I’ve found with and through this football team.

We began our evening offsite sharing a meal with our brothers on our team and our coaches. The bus brought us back to school where our family, friends, cheerleaders, band, and fans were waiting for us and lined our walk to our locker room and field. As I proudly put on my new number 77 jersey I can’t begin to tell you how proud I was to represent my school and my teammates. As we took to the field with our coaches it felt as though the moment I had been waiting for had finally come. I stood on the field and I witnessed military personnel parachute in the American Flag and the game ball. As I looked up into the sky and saw the parachutes open, I knew anything is possible.

When I first started out with football I had many worries, one of them being how we will fare on the scoreboard but now I realize that is not the most important aspect of this team, of course we want to win, but as long as we try our hardest it doesn’t matter what the scoreboard says. After looking back at all the obstacles I overcame. This is truly a “New Beginning” for me and for this football program and I am glad to be a part of this family brought together by Coach Clark.

One Man Can Make a Huge Difference

2011-09-14T07:14:00.000-04:00

A number of people have really opposed SportsLeader coming into their school as of late. A number of leaders have refused to take the charge for fear of what the boosters might say. A number of coaches have said no because they're afraid the kids will think it's stupid.

Here below is a series of emails from a coach I could not be more proud of. He is from a very small community in rural Illinois. He recently coached through a 24 game losing streak.

He is an example of why virtue is necessary, why virtue works. One man can make a huge difference.

Don't be afraid.

Virtue = Strength, Lou

Lou,

Thanks for your call. Coincidentally, I was walking into church when you called. So you got ignored for a pretty important speaker!

Friday night was a blast. The kids were ecstatic! Breaking a 24 game losing streak meant a lot to them. Personally, it was strange for me. Not quite the euphoria I expected or the relief. Felt more like a win should, good and some validation for a lot of hard work. But the most enjoyable was the watching the players enjoy their reward. And watching my two boys enjoy a victory. They can hardly remember the last one (Chase can't at all).

Our jersey night was awesome again. The mentors were spectacular and the kids spoke with such meaning and passion that it motivated us all. We didn't have every boy there, but we only had one without a mentor. He had come and asked me to speak for him that morning. He had tears in his eyes because his dad couldn't make it and it had meant a lot to him last year. I said that I gladly would. As the night began, I contemplated having one of the other coaches talk for him for two reasons, 1) I was very overwhelmed with getting the whole night together, and 2) this young man's mother was the one who wrote the letter to the editor last year that was a not-so-veiled request for the school board to fire me. After thinking about it, talking for him was the right thing to do. As I saw the tears in his eyes as I spoke about him, I knew it was worth it. And he asked me, in front of everyone, nothing about coaching, he asked me to continue being there for them and mentoring them, because they will all continue to need it. Doing what is right, not what is easy, really feels good sometimes.

Here is some player feedback about jersey night:

"Me and my dad became closer because of the jersey night. Now, he is a lot more involved with the team than he was before." - Justin P.

This young man's dad was kicked out of a Freshmen game 2 years ago for verbally assaulting a coach and loudly criticizing other players. Now he is a valuable member of our parent support group.

"The mentor meeting is something that I really enjoy doing. I think that it brings the team and their mentors closer together, and being closer as a team is what a team needs to be successful." - Trevor H.

This young man has a father who works out of state. Each year he, and his older brother, have brought a male family friend whom they admire. Each one of them has quit football only to return to it. They each commented to me how if they hadn't come back to football, they wouldn't have had the mentor (jersey) night experience.

As far as mentoring, it is going really well. Our water breaks/mentoring sessions are the highlight of the practice. We have yet to have a bad second half of practice this year. I have had a couple chances to stand back and watch the other guys mentor and it is amazing. 8 or so male conversations going on at once. Great. Very proud of my coaches. The senior kids have asked if they can start leading some small group or one on one sessions. ABSOLUTELY! Really proud of them.

If you need any validation for SportsLeader, go to this link

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/sports/fox_jox/chicago-bears-coach-week-two-bickerman-reinhart-seaburg-20110906

I was nominated for Chicago Bears coach of the week for week 2. There is a message board at the bottom that you should read. I did not win, nor did I deserve to, but read what people wrote about me. You will see Sports Leader smeared all over it, not in name, but in what it stands for. I didn't win the prize, but I won. And Sports Leader deserves much of the credit.

Here below are just a few of over 100:

A huge thank you for everything you have done for our program and my staff and players. We are making positive strides everyday. Again, thanks.

Sincerely,
Mike Bickerman

8th grade Science/ Physical Science
Head Football Coach
Rushville-Industry High School

I echo all of the previous comments here for Coach Bickerman. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone else who embodies all of the traits of character. As a mother of two young boys, I look forward to the day they have the opportunity to sit in his classroom or play football for him. He is a candidate truly deserving of this honor and recognition.

...

One of the programs Coach Bickerman has started ,is before the first game of the season we have a father son meeting (or a man the players look up to).It a nite when the father tells his son a least 1 thing he loves about him ,the player present his dad or mentor with his other game jersery. Coach Bickerman has a heart for the young men he Coaches on and off the field. As a parent its good to see a coach ,who care more about my son as person then just a football player.I played football myself in school and we won alot but i didnt have the respect for my coach that my son and his teammates has for Coach Bickerman .Coach Bickerman deserves this award not for wins and loses but for the TEACHER he is

...

Coach Mike Bickerman started at Rushville-Industry my senior year of high school, and he has been, by far, my favorite coach the school has had. I was in the marching band at RIHS, and Coach Bickerman included not only the fans, but also the marching band. He made it so that we felt like a part of the team, which made us play and cheer even more for our team. Coach Bickerman has had such a great influence on the students of RIHS, and I think he's done an amazing job rebuilding the Rocket football team after losing so many valuable players. Go Coach Bickerman!!!

...

Coach Mike Bickerman should be coach of the week; if you had coach of the year I would nominate him for that. Coach Bickerman teaches his players more than what is used on the football field. He teaches his players about respect, leadership, compasion, hardwork, and integrity. Every year I watch Coach Bickerman work with his players I gain more respect for him as a person, teacher, and coach. He encourages his players and students to do their best, and he leads by example. Coach Bickerman never lets the score determine the teams success. He ask only that each player give 100% and that they encourage and support their team, fans, and community. I am proud to have this man lead our team on and off the field.

...

Coach Mike Bickerman and the Rushville-Industry Rockets have showed great character during a 24 game losing streak that finally ended last Friday night. During the hard time, Coach Bickerman continued to show and convey the idea that hard work and perseverance would pay off eventually. During that losing streak, Coach Bickerman did not allow the team to become discouraged. Instead, he continually coached them and showed them that it is important not only to be good football players, but also good men as well. He has continually brought in mentors for the young men and worked to get them involved in positive efforts in the community such as participating in the wounded warrior program, a local effort to provide summer lunches to children called Chow for Children and raising funds and collecting food for the local food pantry. I have known of no coach in the area who puts more work and effort into his program than Coach Bickerman, not only in preparing the young men for football games, but also preparing them for life away from the football field. Coach Bickerman is very deserving of this honor

...

There is no one more deserving of this honor than Coach Mike Bickerman. There have already been so many comments remarking on his character, his leadership, and his oustanding success as a coach and role model to the team and the community. Having had him as a teacher, I know all of this to be true. Coach Bickerman has raised up some of the finest gentlemen there could be. He has taught them all about how to be honorable men of character throughout their lives. He has gotten them involved in the community in so many ways, and he has taught them so much about servant leadership and how to be truly respectable men of integrity, honor, and character . Not only does he tell them how, but he shows it through the example he sets. He is an excellant role model for any person, young or old, and he definitely deserves this award. Being in the Rushville-Industry Marching Band, some of the most memorable moments of my high school years have been from playing half-time shows and playing our school fight song as these great young men run through the tunnel of band members. Coach Bickerman has truly changed almost all of these players' outlooks on the game of football and life. These boys went through a rough time of losses, but Coach Bickerman kept the boys working hard and persevering through it all, and it finally paid off. Nothing could have been sweeter than hearing Coach Bickerman ring the victory bell last Friday night. Whether the team wins or loses, whether you were a student or team member, everyone has learned something great from him. Who could be more deserving of this award?

Creating a Family Atmosphere

2011-09-13T06:18:00.000-04:00

The Flint (Michigan) Powers Catholic girls cross country team is one of the first cross country teams to embrace SportsLeader and they have done an amazing job. Some people have had the impression that SportsLeader is only for boys. Not so.

Here are some comments about father-daughter jersey night and team virtue camp.
...
I think Jersey night was a very big hit! Huge compliments to Powers Catholic. Many others mentioned the family atmosphere, and the closeness and the feeling of home, etc. There was a lot of confidence that Powers was a great choice, especially coming from Freshman parents!
Dave

Just a quick note to thank you and Dave W. for the jersey event this evening. As we discussed - the lessons our children learn from participating in sports will serve them well in all of the endeavors they choose to chase in life.
Chuck

Coach Quinn,
I didn't get a chance to tell you tonight at the jersey ceremony, but I wanted to tell you that the ceremony was very nice and I hope it continues as a Powers tradition. I have noticed Madison has taken a completely different approach compared to last year. She has much more confidence in herself and she is really looking forward to this season. Tonight was great. I really enjoyed it. Thanks again for devoting your time and experience.
Good luck this season,
Matt

Here below is a photo of half the team. An interesting thing to note is that last year they had around 28 girls or so. This year they have 44 I believe and the girls have said that they feel closer, like a tighter-knit family, even though the team is bigger.

Here below are some comments about their team camp they had a few weeks ago.

Hey Coach Quinn!
I absolutely loved camp this year. I thought it was great that all the activities were right there and that we didn't have to drive anywhere. The activities were all fun, especially the zip line and giant swing, and playing volleyball and kayaking was great too. I thought having the creek to sit in was very convenient. I really liked the team meetings we had, even if they got a little long at times. It was an awesome way to get to know the other girls better, and it was nice getting to know the coaches better as well. I LOVE that we all have buddies. I think all the meetings have and will help us grow closer as a team, which is more important than ever because we have so many girls! Thanks for making camp so great!
Lindsay

Coach Quinn,
This is a great program. Thank you for following through with the kids. Morgan has really taken to heart her goals for enhancing her faith and praying more often. I just wanted you to know what you are sharing with them is not falling on deaf ears.
Lisa, Morgan's Mom

A Fitting Tribute

2011-09-12T07:20:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was an anniversary that was both painful and powerful. I'm sure many of you saw the tributes on TV offered by the NFL, all very well done.

One SportsLeader team, Cincinnati St Gertrude, had one as well. The below was read before their game.

Yet another way to relate virtue with everything important in our lives. I wish I had this growing up with my coaches.

...

At 8:45am on Tuesday Sept. 11, 2001 our world changed. All Americans stood in shock at the tragedy we were witnessing. At 9:03am, we were angered at the dark realization that we were under attack. Suddenly we were overwhelmed with mixed emotions. We felt sorrow for the families that just lost loved ones. We felt anger at the cowardly terrorists who had attacked us. We felt confused by the evil and hatred directed at us. We felt fear of what might happen next and where it might happen.

Then we felt pride, pride in America. We mourned the loss of 2,819 innocent lives, 23 New York Police Officers and 343 New York Firefighters. We also witnessed first hand the virtues that make Americans great. We heard stories of every day Americans displaying Charity, Humility and unbreakable Courage.

We felt pride as we heard of those that in this tragedy put the life's of their coworker before their own. 80 people that were at work between the 88th and 92nd floor of the first tower survived the attacks because of the Selfless Charity 2 Port Authority employees had for others. These 2 men gave their lives so 80 others may live. They are just one of many examples of heroic actions that day.

We felt pride as we watched the police officers and firefighters of New York City run to ground zero as thousands were running away. These men and woman displayed Humility as they felt they were just doing their job. Those brave men and women did not think they were special, it was their duty to serve those in danger. They ran in without hesitation.

We feel pride on this Patriots Day, 10 years later, knowing that there are men and women Courageously defending our country in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and National Guard protecting us from the evil of that day, affording us the freedoms we enjoy every day. These brave sailors and soldiers choose to serve in our armed forces, many because of what they witnessed on 9/11/2001.

We remember all of those devastating horrible things but we are encouraged by the brave acts of Charity, Humility and Courage of Americans that day. They exemplify why America is the Land of the Free BECAUSE of the Brave! God Bless America and God Bless those that protect her.

...

One of our speakers from our last coaches clinic was David Craig Penner. He is now a redshirt freshman football player at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. For one of their games they honored their troops with special jerseys.

Virtue is something to celebrate and we should do all we can to do it!

(Steve Hiscock for Liam Ricahrds Photography)

A Team/School Event to Change Lives: COURAGEOUS

2011-09-09T11:43:00.001-04:00

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;September 30th a movie is being released nationwide called COURAGEOUS.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.courageousthemovie.com/"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;http://www.courageousthemovie.com/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;I'd like to launch a bit of a SportsLeader contest - which school can bring the most people to see it and then email a photo to prove it.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;So look at your calendar and plan ... invite all your players, parents, coaches, managers ... Invite - it is an optional event, not mandatory.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;This can be a virtue event that can bring some great discussion and impact to your community.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Let me know if you plan on doing it - let's encourage one another. I went with Indianapolis Roncalli HS to see the movie Facing the Giants a few years ago and we filled a theater - very inspiring.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Synopsis of the movie&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, David Thomson, and Shane Fuller are confident and focused. Yet at the end of the day,&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they're quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God ... and to their&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;children?&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Filled with action-packed police drama,&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;COURAGEOUS&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;is the fourth film from Sherwood Pictures, the moviemaking ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. Riveted&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;moviegoers will once again find themselves laughing, crying, and cheering as they are challenged and inspired by everyday heroes who long to be the kinds of dads that make a lifelong&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;nbsp;impact on their children.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Protecting the streets is second nature to these men. Raising their children in a God-honoring way? That's courageous.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;div style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; "&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Virtue = Strength, Lou&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/div&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

September 30th a movie is being released nationwide called COURAGEOUS.

http://www.courageousthemovie.com/

I'd like to launch a bit of a SportsLeader contest - which school can bring the most people to see it and then email a photo to prove it.

So look at your calendar and plan ... invite all your players, parents, coaches, managers ... Invite - it is an optional event, not mandatory.

This can be a virtue event that can bring some great discussion and impact to your community.

Let me know if you plan on doing it - let's encourage one another. I went with Indianapolis Roncalli HS to see the movie Facing the Giants a few years ago and we filled a theater - very inspiring.

Synopsis of the movie

Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, David Thomson, and Shane Fuller are confident and focused. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood.

While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they're quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark.

When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God ... and to their children?

Filled with action-packed police drama, COURAGEOUS is the fourth film from Sherwood Pictures, the moviemaking ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. Riveted moviegoers will once again find themselves laughing, crying, and cheering as they are challenged and inspired by everyday heroes who long to be the kinds of dads that make a lifelong impact on their children.

Protecting the streets is second nature to these men. Raising their children in a God-honoring way? That's courageous.

A Definite Positive Impact

2011-09-09T09:12:00.003-04:00

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

Building Relationships

2011-09-02T04:00:00.000-04:00

Way back at the beginning of summer (Memorial Day, wow!) eleven Winton Woods wrestlers participated at Jeff Jordan's State Champ Camp in Urbana, Ohio. This was the second year in a row we attended(thanks to your donations!!) and Coach Jordan and his staff are GREAT! They get to know each wrestler, encourage them daily, work tirelessly to instruct, provide great food and inspire by their examples. By the grace of God, I have gotten to know personally Jeff, Orly, Ben Jordan(wrestling at Wisconsin), and other Graham guys. You would never know they were multiple state champions and collegite wrestlers by their humility, modesty, charity and service. They don't gloat or try to show any of the kids up. They want to share their success with others...which they do so well, 100MPH!

Have a great school year and wrestling season, 2011-12!
Coach Willertz
Winton Woods Wrestling: Faith, Focus and Fight!!

From Hesitant to Tremendous

2011-08-31T04:00:00.000-04:00

Steve Frommeyer

Eminence High School

I was one of those coaches who was very hesitant about doing the jersey night program. We had so many players without dads or without strong male role-models in their lives, that I wondered if it wouldn’t do more harm than good. With Lou Judd’s constant encouragement, we did our first program last season. It was a huge success. This year’s program was even bigger and better. We had all but two players in attendance and everyone was so positive and supportive.

We started the evening by viewing the clip of Michigan State’s QB Kirk Cousins at the Big Ten Media Day program. We then had the jersey presentations. The dads and/or male role models present were so affirming and supportive. As before, a few of the presentations got emotional but in a very appropriate way.

After the presentations, we had former players come and speak about what it meant to wear the “warrior” jersey. It was a tremendous kickoff to the season! Our kids went out the next night and played extremely well, winning 30-6!

However, the biggest success was bringing the players together with very positive male role-models to help them understand what being a “man” is really all about!

This is truly why I got into coaching

2011-08-29T04:00:00.000-04:00

We had our our father-son jersey night a few days ago. We had 17 seniors and each one was represented by either their father or important male.

This is truly why I got into coaching.

It was so moving.

One of our seniors is a third generation Flyer and to see the pride on his face giving that jersey to his son and telling him how much he loved him and how proud of him he was. PRICELESS.

I am truly blessed to be a coach.

Chris Tracy
Head Football Coach
Franklin County HS

I walk away from this campout a different man

2011-08-26T04:00:00.001-04:00

By Sal Fucito
Cincinnati St Gertrude Head Football Coach
7th-8th Grade

This weekend our football program at St. Gertrude had their first ever Father Son Campout as part of our SportsLeader Virtues Program. This was absolutely a God ordained moving experience for me and I'd like to share with everyone how.

It is a fight to see my son. The relationship with his mother is not the best at all. Despite my failed attempts to get my son on weekends that are not "mine", I've not given up trying. This weekend was no exception. At first she said no, but the night before I received a text from him saying he could go. That alone moved me to tears that I was finally going to be able to take my son camping with me.

Friday night, it was an honor to witness men and their son's setting up their camp. Dad's and boys working together. Aaron and I were no different. He's only 8 yet he worked with the enthusiasm and tenacity of a warrior focused on their battle to get that tent set up. Aaron and I had it set up in no time.

After searching for fire wood and smores sticks, we built a cross together to carry while learning the stations of the cross. Aarong wanted to build a bigger cross than the other boys his age. He carried that thing high. As we sat around the bonfire and ate smores, men got up to give testimonies of defining moments in their lives. Awesome stories from these dad's. Then one of the boys got up to talk, a 6th grader. Very couragious and inspiring. My son looked at me and asked if he could talk. Of course I said sure, just make sure you are loud enough for all 70 people to hear you.

Aaron made one attempt and chickened out. Just not quite ready I guess. Then he made a second attempt and wound up being our last speaker. What Aaron had to say really showed me that my perserverance in fighting to see him is working. He stood in front of these strangers, men of all ages, and said "Thank You" to me for bringing him to this campout. He also said "I Love You". Oh I could not be any prouder of my son. Every week is a fight with him because he does not want to be held accountable for his actions at our home. When he is corrected he cries to go to his mothers house. It breaks my heart. BUT, last night, this weekend, he stood in front of 70 people and said thank you and he loves me. That makes all the fighting I've done the last 8 years to be his dad worth it.

I walk away from this campout a different man. Hopefully a different father and a different husband. As I shared with the men today, I've realized I have all the patience in the world with my players. We drill and drill over our steps and our techniques. But when I get home, I do not have the same patience with my family. Why not? Why does it bother me they do not have it right yet? Never mind that I know that Romans 3:23 says "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God". Everyone makes mistakes and none, no not one is perfect. So maybe I need to be more of a coach in my own home than the parent I've thought I was. Maybe I need to teach my kids in stead of yell at them and demand. Is it easy? NO. Is it possible? Absolutely.

Nonetheless, I know my son loves me and he was the highlight of my weekend. I know I'm not perfect, but a work in progress. God is moving in my life and in my home. I just need to align myself with His plan for me. I see it in my wife and in my children. Their desire for God in our life! I am the husband and I am to lead them. It is time I do my job. We need men to lead their families and to teach their son's how to be men and show their daughters the example for the husband they shall seek out. It's on us Men. I'm ready.

Make Planning a Priority

2011-08-24T04:00:00.000-04:00

This year I have been blessed to get to know a coach who does an amazing job of planning and blending in virtues and coaching - Dave Quinn, Girls Cross Country at Powers Catholic High School in Flint, Michigan.

Here below was his plan for their recent pre-season camp. They have so many girls coming out for the team because Dave and his staff do such a great job of building a family - creating an atmosphere that you want to be a part of, that you want to belong to ...

Dave is just as busy as the rest of us but he makes it a priority. Thanks Dave!

...

I write this letter to you on the eve of the start of the 2011 Powers Cross Country Camp. As of now, we have 41 girls on the 2011 team. This is almost twice the size of the team just a few years ago!

Here is my plan:

1. Arrive at Camp, and get the team ready for their first run of the day. This is the tough one, 4 - timed miles! Freshman will only do 2-3. Eat lunch after the workout, followed by a swim, or some other fun.
2. Check - in (2:30) and get settled into the Cabins.
3. Fun time at Camp (while events are available to the team)
4. Dinner

5. Early evening, Introduce the team to Camp, go over team rules, expectations,
a. Handout questionnaires and get them all filled out.
b. Reveal the "Buddy" list. Each upperclassman will be a "Buddy" to one Freshman runner. Throughout the season, they will make a special effort to be a friend to this new runner, and look out for them, encourage them, show them the "ropes", and help them, not only at practice, and races, but at school as well.
c. Collect the questionnaires, split them into Mentor groups with Shelley and Trini. Each of us will review the questionnaires.

6. Tuesday morning or night
a. Talk # 1. Women of Strength and Character
b. Have the team fill out the "Goals" sheets. Collect them and turn them over to each coach.
c. Discuss and promote the use of the 48 hr rule.
d. Short group discussion from the questionnaires or goals sheets

7. Wednesday morning or night
a. Talk # 2. Virtues - Charity, Humility, and Courage
b. Read and discuss the Kolbe story…
c. Discuss as a group
.
8. Thursday morning or night
a. Talk # 3. Making a Commitment
b. Discuss Mentoring
c. Reveal and Discuss the mentor groups
c. Commit to Sports Leader
- I will Sign a poster board
- assistants will sign it,
- Seniors, followed by juniors, sophomores, and freshman.

A Sight to See - Monday Night Football

2011-08-23T07:34:00.000-04:00

It is not every day that you get to see a SportsLeader player on Monday night football on TV ... much less blocking a punt.

Congrats to Greg Jones - one of our very first SportsLeader alumni to make it to the NFL.

Defining Moments - St Gertrude Football Father-Son Campout

2011-08-22T08:15:00.000-04:00

I was blessed to be a part of a Father-Son Campout this past weekend with 70 Dads and their boys from the St Gertrude football program. Dads and their Boys in grades K-8 made the 90 minute trek to Camp River Ridge for some fun, food, football, faith, fishing ... and other things that begin with F (smile).

We started things off by having a competition to see which team could collect the most wood for the bonfire. The creativity and drive was contagious.

Each Father then built a cross with his son and we prayed the Stations of the Cross so the boys could have a first hand experience of what carrying a cross is really like.

Then it was time to light the bonfire and get those smores going. It took a lot longer than normal to get it raging but with a little perseverance ... We took some pictures and enjoyed the moment.

After we had our fill with the smores, we were graced with a clear sky that was chock full of stars. Looking up and taking it in! Then Coach Sal Fucito introduced our guest speaker - Jeff Gaier, the head wrestling coach at Moeller High School, who has been a part of SportsLeader for 6 years now. He gave a moving testimony of what his family means to him and some recent experiences he has had coaching-fathering-admiring his son Dean ...

Jeff then encouraged the Dads present to share a story of a defining moment in their own lives. It was awesome to see how man after man talked about something personal and important to them ...

We finished the night with a mystery of the rosary and a priestly blessing from Father Matthew.

The following morning the brave left their tents while it was still dark to see if they could catch the big one. Tim Gronotte did just that. Tim has caught a number of sizable catfish over the years generously helping out at these virtue camps. The sun coming up, the mist rising off the lake ...

And then the shouts of a 5 year old reeling in his first fish. It is amazing to see and hear the innocence, the excitement ...

Father Andre Joseph and Father Matthew heard confessions and celebrated Mass as we continued to focus on the 3 core virtues of SportsLeader - Charity, Humility and Courage.

There's nothing quite like leaving Mass and then throwing something at someone else - so off we went for some Father-Son dodgeball. The Dads were restrained a bit by having to throw with their opposite hand - this also provides a good deal of humor. We followed this up with a piggy-back relay race with the Dads carrying their boys ... then the call for breakfast.

Football agility drills, father-son football game, swimming, more fishing ... burgers and dogs for lunch.

We finished things off with a virtue talk about how to build a family crest.

Austin Gutwein - A 9 Year Old Who Stepped Up

2011-08-18T07:29:00.001-04:00

At the age of nine, Austin Gutwein was moved when he learned about something. Austin then USED HIS WILL TO DO something about it.

Many times I think our expectations on our young people are way too low ... "they are only 18, they are just kids" ... we accept and in a way endorse immature behavior from young men and women.

Austin is a great example for us. He was 9 when he began to do something big for others. He wasn't 30 ... he was 9 ... and now at 16 he is still full-speed ahead.

Why Austin and not our players, our kids? Why was Austin mature enough to act in such a way - at age 9?

Let's tell our kids, our players and coaches about Austin - encouraging them that they CAN DO things to serve others, they are not too young.

Get into your small mentor groups and talk about Austin and his story ... maybe one of your players will step up. If a 9 year old can do it ...

Virtue = Strength, Lou

...

In the spring of 2004, I watched a video that showed children who had lost their parents to AIDS. After watching the video, I realized these kids weren't any different from me except they were suffering. I felt God calling me to do something to help them.

I decided to shoot free throws and on World AIDS Day, 2004, I shot 2,057 free throws to represent the 2,057 kids who would be orphaned during my day at school. People sponsored me and we were able to raise almost $3,000. That year, the money was used to provide hope to 8 orphan children.

From that year forward, thousands of people have joined me in a basketball shoot-a-thon called Hoops of Hope. By doing something as simple as shooting free throws, Hoops of Hope participants have raised over $2.3 million. The children left behind by AIDS now have access to food, clothing, shelter, a new school, dormitories, a computer lab, two medical centers and the list goes on.

I believe anyone, no matter what their age or skill, can make a difference.

I hope you'll join us by participating or sponsoring a participant. It's an awesome event that will leave an impact not only on the lives of the kids we're helping, but on yours as well.

In Him,

Austin
_________________________________________________

Now, in its sixth year, Austin’s basketball marathon – Hoops of Hope – has spread around the world. Austin’s passion has motivated tens of thousands of kids, teens, and adults to make a difference. Austin and Hoops of Hope have raised over $2,000,000 for orphaned children in Africa.

Since 2004, Hoops of Hope has helped build 2 medical clinics and a high school serving 1,000 children in rural Zambia, 2 Hope Centers in Swaziland, and built a water project in Kenya.

They have provided hundreds of bicycles and supplied medical clinics with more than 1,000 medical caregiver kits to assist HIV/AIDS infected parents with the basic supplies they need to live longer so they can provide for their children.

The money Austin’s organization has raised has kept thousands of children in Africa from becoming orphans. Hoops of Hope is currently building a second school in India, and this year will provide 1,000 filled backpacks for students at the high school in Zambia.

Since founding Hoops of Hope, Austin has been awarded the Prudential Spirit of Community Service Award, the Baron Prize for Young Heroes, the Build-a- Bear Huggable Heroes Award, and this past Fall was selected as one of the top 10 most caring Americans by the Caring Institute for his work on behalf of AIDS orphans. Austin has been featured in magazines as well as in the national broadcast and electronic news, including CBS Sports' NCAA Pregame Coverage, NBC's Today Show, the NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, Time for Kids, and Christianity Today.

In September of 2009, Thomas Nelson Publishers released Austin’s first book, Take Your Best Shot. For the second year, Austin was one of the speakers on The Revolve Tour 09, where he spoke to thousands of girls about the theme of his book. Throughout the past 6 years, Austin has been a featured keynote speaker at various schools, universities, conferences, and churches around the world with stops in Beijing, Luxembourg, Zambia, Qatar, as well as at the United States Air Force Academy.

Now 16 years old, Austin continues to speak on behalf of children he has met in many of his oversees travels. Austin continues to relay stories to raise awareness and encourage kids to participate and host, Hoops of Hope events. Although many lives have been improved through Austin’s efforts with Hoops of Hope, the impact of his message is still to be determined, as he continues to share and challenge his generation to make a difference, and with God’s help, to take their best shot, and do something bigger than themselves.