Get Your Game Face On

By Rebecca Dussault

Skiing and Triathlon World Class Athlete

Everyone has felt the dread of competition upon themselves be it for a spot in the school play, a game or race, a job opportunity, a chance to head a committee or even to be the victor at the end of the board game.  We want the good feeling of having won and loathe the process through which we must go to get there.  Trial by fire as it were has never, is never, and will never be a comfortable thing.  Yet, we must submit to the challenge.

How do you prepare for these events of life?  Are you confident trusting in the Lord and your experiences from the past? Do you make adequate preparations for what you’re undertaking?  Do you cower and compare yourself to others until you’ve mentally belittled all of your accomplishments and reduced yourself to a place where grace cannot fully work in you?  We’ve all ridden the seesaw of courage and doubt, of confidence and  discouragement.  We all want success, it is natural.  What’s our method of getting there?

What I add when I experience these times, be they small or large, is the patient acceptance which comes from the Lord.  “All things work together for good to them that love Him and are called according to His purpose.” (Rom 8:28)  Some races I win and believe I’ve done most everything right and others I loose which helps me learn a lesson and be better prepared for the next one.

In the end it is peace in knowing that the Lord is King of victory and defeat.  See if in your next competition you can have a peace knowing HE will supply the grace and the result, when left up to Him, will be perfect for our human growth and learning.  

The evolution of our virtue program over the past four years

By Dan Duddy

Head Football Coach NJ

We have been doing “Virtue” for four years now and I thought I would reflect on the growth and evolution of it.

I am entering my 5^th season as head coach at a Catholic school in NJ. I was head coach at Central Regional High School, a public high school just down the road for 13 years previously.

At Central I prayed with my team before and after games. It was illegal to do so. We were one of the most respected programs in the Shore, 43 high schools.

I left Central because I was personally unfulfilled for some unknown reason. 

I visited our Perpetual Adoration chapel constantly because I was miserable. The Lord called me to this High School and I got the head coaching job there.

 My first season.

 I wanted to make the statement that spirituality was going to be emphasized to our team. We prayed every day after every team get-together, practice, games and meetings. I was enjoying the freedom to do so, and was called to do more.

Our record was 0-10, not even close to winning any game.

I continued the Perpetual Adoration for at least one hour per week, every week.

        I went to my very first retreat, met a priest who knew I was a coach and indirectly I met Lou Judd, then somehow I flew to his home near Cincinnati airport and learned how to integrate spirituality much more deeply into my program through SportsLeader.

I came to know then, now fulfilled, why I felt unfulfilled at Central.

 My second season. 

Now with Lou’s friendship, we began to mentor our players in the areas of Charity, Humility and Courage. My goal was to become a team of action and become relationship-based between staff and team. I wanted to begin to have our athletes to understand and value the manliness of all the men of the New Testament. We began to study the bible together.

We won four games – we were 4-6. Great season for our school.

My third season:

We added Virtue camp. We would get every single coach involved. We became very aggressive in getting the saints in front of our players; we would close our eyes and “Relate”, not to compare. Our biggest award at the banquet was the “Virtue Award”, a standing ovation. We continued to evolve in man-to-man mentoring.

We won five games, should have won 6. We were 5-5. Only the second time in a decade that they did not have a losing season. We won games in over time or late in the fourth quarter.

My fourth season:

We took on the personalities of the masculine saints, those who we studied for their masculine virtues. We took on the identity of the “Sons of Thunder”, James and John, The sons of Zebedee. Our Lord gave them this nickname for their feistiness, so we took it too. Our mentoring became theme based week to week. Lou gave me an incredible curriculum of 21 themes and film clips along with pertinent bible verses.

We continued all of our traditions, but our bible and mentoring sessions were so deep and meaningful. Our whole staff took resolutions to action in their lives as well.

We won 6 games should have won 7. We were 6-4.

We avenged losses from the previous year and finished with the number one offense in the shore conference of 43 high schools.

This 5^th season is right now:

We have started a football team-led community based group to promote young men of action for the Catholic Church. The church is suffering and we are taking action.

We are returning to church on a regular basis, recruiting others, attending confessions, becoming a presence at Abortion Mills and Porn shops and Strip joints to invite men to be more virtuous and abandon these habits of weakness and vice.

I will let you know our record, but that will take care of itself. When it became secondary to me, it got better on its own.


If you would like to hear Dan give a talk to his team here below are 2 links:


http://sportsleaderusa.blogspot.com/2009/10/blog-post_15.html


http://sportsleaderusa.blogspot.com/2009/10/father-and-son-jersey-night-part-2.html

Why Do a Senior Send-Off?

By Chris Willertz

Head Wrestling Coach, Cincinnati OH

• Why invite a group of senior boys (wrestlers in my case) on a 5 hour trip to climb a mountain??
• What does this have to do with wrestling?
• We do our “senior week” at the end of our season on campus.
• How much did it cost?!
• You gave up a weekend with your family to do what?
• Are you crazy?  You are too old to try to climb a mountain!

These are all valid arguments. To me, climbing a mountain and inviting my boys to Mt. Leconte in the Smokey Mountains outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee the weekend of March 19^th-20^th just made too much sense. For one, it is strenuous, very strenuous, climbing over 6000 feet, traveling over 10 miles up and down the mountain for a 6-8 hours was what I wanted.  

Secondly, it was WILD, not too wild but wild.  There are parts of the trail that are risky, you are hiking right next to the cliff wall and the drop off is far, just three or four feet of you.  If you are afraid of heights, a mountain takes the cake!  There is the danger of wild animals ….animals you’ve only read about or seen in zoos; bears, snakes, spiders, wolves, etc..  There is the wildness of bad weather, snow, rain, extreme cold that makes the experience uncomfortable and adventurous.

Thirdly, climbing a mountain is an incredible accomplishment, sadly these days a rare accomplishment of teenage boys, who don’t leave the comforts of their video games, i-pods and cell phones.  How many of YOU have ever climbed a mountain?  

But the biggest reason I wanted to climb a mountain was because I wanted to invite my wrestlers to hear the voice of God.  I firmly believe (especially after reading John Eldridge’s Wild at Heart back in the winter of 2003) that God is everywhere, but He is especially present “out in the wilderness”.  The boys needed to hear what God wants to say to them.  

They didn’t hear it on the way to Gatlinburg. They were listening to their I-pods and texting the whole trip.  They don’t hear it every day at school or at home because they are constantly talking, goofing off, listening to their I-pods or texting.  They don’t hear it at church because most don’t go to church and the ones that do don’t want to be there; they’ve turned off God even before they walk in the door.  

So maybe it doesn’t have to be a mountain, but it HAS to be SOMEWHERE in nature away from their comfort zone.  They have to enter an alien world, a world where they don’t fit in, a world where they have to listen, to pay attention, to focus, to feel their environment.  Once their senses are heightened, they are ripe to hear God’s call. (Of course the boys were not allowed to bring I-pods or cell phones on the hike and I even patted them down to make sure!)

I want to invite my wrestlers to experience God.  Maybe you disagree.  Maybe you think your job is to teach your sport, period.  Maybe you do more, like emphasize character and virtue (hard work, courage, etc.)  Maybe you think you should win and that’s your focus.  Or getting your kids into college is your goal.  There are many reasons why coaches coach.  I want my wrestlers to be great wrestlers, I want my wrestlers to be virtuous, I want my wrestlers to win and I want them to go to college.  But what I REALLY want, is for them to meet God. They have to make that choice, but it is one I hope for.

We are living in a culture that is becoming more and more godless, every day.  There is no place for God.  We can get by without God, heck we can thrive without God.  This is a hoax, it’s a lie.  It’s my job to expose my wrestlers to this lie.  Don’t believe it!  God is real and what is more, He created you, He loves you and He has a mission for you.  

Once this message is realized (as I am sure you can attest) your life takes on a whole new meaning.  You are a new man, you have a spirit and a joy that can’t be explained.  Don’t you want your athletes to have this type of joy?  If you could play a part in giving this to your guys, wouldn’t you do it??  

There is a crisis in our culture today, many men do not know who they are, or who they are supposed to be.  They don’t know where they are at or where they are supposed to go.  They don’t know what they are supposed to do or how to do what they are supposed to do.  We are a culture with a huge portion of of wimpy and directionless men. And we know it but we don’t know what to do about it.

BUT NOT MY WRESTLERS! I want my wrestlers to know what their mission is and to truly get after it -without whining, without coming up with every possible excuse, without blaming everyone else ... I want my wrestlers to be MEN.

Knowing God and knowing your mission does not mean you will be sinless, that you won’t fall and make mistakes.  Just ask Peter.  They may not realize their mission until they are on their deathbed.  Some may tragically never realize their mission.  I’m wise enough to know this.  But that’s not the point.  I did what I felt called to do.  I took them to climb a mountain, so God could speak to their hearts.  I don’t know what God said to them individually.  But I know He spoke to them.  And I know He spoke to me as well.  He said, “Well done, my true and faithful servant……I am proud of you!”  That is enough for me to do it again and again and again and again.

Think about what you want to do for your athletes.  What is special about your program, what is special about you, what will be special about your guys?  You need to figure this out, you need to figure out why you are coaching and what you want to transmit to your kids.  If you are unsure…………try climbing a mountain……it worked for me.  

God Bless and get it done!

Coach Willertz

Senior Send-Off

Have you ever done something special with your Seniors (or 8th graders) as kind of a send-off? I remember watching the movie Friday Night Lights ... one of the last scenes is the head coach taking all of his Senior names from their magnets and throwing them one by one in the garbage ... what a way to end the movie. What a way to "end" your coaching experience with those young men.

We can do better. Here is what Coach Chris Willertz just did with his seniors. You still have time to do something. It could be as simple as having the guys over for pizza ...

God bless, Lou

www.sportsleader.org

This is our senior trip to Mt. Leconte in the Smoky Mts.  5 of the 6 senior wrestlers attended along with my son and my good friend Randy Morris.  We drove down Friday night, arriving at 11:00PM, got to bed by 1:00AM, woke up at 6:30AM and were climbing by 8:06AM.

The Great Smoky Mountain National Park are among the tallest mountains in the Appalachian chain. The tallest mountain in the East, but not the highest, Mount Le Conte towers to 6,593 feet. 

For a point of reference of tallest mountains in the USA, the mountain coming in 180th place is 12,050 ft. Mt. Leconte is 10.6 miles up and down hiking.  We reached the top by 11:45AM, although it got pretty scary....there was so much snow that we didn't expect.

On the top of the mountain, I presented the guys with "Wild at Heart" by John Eldridge.  Officially their lives are now different, they are expected to act like men, to start working on a mission.  If not.........this season has been a waste.  Let's grow up and embrace MANHOOD!

The trip down was tough at least thru the tricky part due to the snow ... Once we cleared it, the sun came out and it was gorgeous!!  God had answered our prayers, he helped us through the storm and boy was it beautiful!  Iel, Pryde, Lonzi and Darrius sprinted down the rest of the way in a little more than two hours!  The old man(me) and Rashawn took our time and made it down before 4:00PM.

We had a nice discussion once we finished (although I was cramping pretty good!) and I think we are on our way.  The guys had a once in a lifetime experience-but I think they took even more from it.....life is about pushing yourself, you are more than you think you are, you have more in your tank....and the only way you can discover yourself is by pushing yourself.  Is it scary?  You bet!  But it is worth it.

Thanks for making this happen, people.  And if you want to experience a lifetime experience we're doing it again next year.  You are always invited!

Coach Willertz
Winton Woods Wrestling
"Where we seperate the men from the boys!"  "Our mission is to train warrior boys into championship wrestlers and championship men!" 

Jimmy Valvano 1993 ESPY Speech

Valvano was diagnosed with bone cancer in June 1992. 

Shortly before his death, he spoke at the inaugural ESPY awards, presented by ESPN, on March 3, 1993. While accepting the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award, he announced the creation of the "Jimmy V Foundation", an organization dedicated to finding a cure for cancer. One particularly poignant section of Valvano's speech is as follows:

To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.

Jim Valvano died less than two months after his famous ESPY speech and after a year-long battle with cancer. His tombstone reads: "Take time every day to laugh, to think, to cry."

SportsLeader for Girls Version / Coach Rod Huber Top 10 lessons

SportsLeader now has a girl's version as well. Head Football Coach and Principal Steve Frommeyer has been running SportsLeader at his public high school and middle school in Eminence, KY for a few years now and when he heard about the girls program he wanted to see if he would have any takers ... Well below you can see he did.

I would like to congratulate these excellent coaches who are the very first to strive to bring SportsLeader to all of their girls' sports teams.
Maybe you can spread the word at your school ...

Also here is a video by Coach Rod Huber, head coach of The College of Mt. St. Joseph football team in Cincinnati, OH Division 3, giving his top 10 lessons for coaches.

http://sportsleaderusa.blogspot.com/2009/11/rod-huber-top-10-lessons-for-coaches.html

From left to right back row
Carter Martin HS Basketball, Dawn Welch MS Basketball, Jackie Hayes and Bill Covington HS Softball
Front row
Stephanie Meadows HS Volleyball and Melissa Raisor Cheerleading

Germane Lindsey - First Div I Wrestling All American

Congrats to Head Coach Jeff Gaier.


Cincinnati Moeller High School and SportsLeader graduate Germane Lindsey became Moeller High School's first ever Division I College Wrestling All American over the weekend by finishing 6th in the NCAA National Tournament. The top 8 wrestlers in each weight class are awarded the distinction of All American.



OMAHA, Neb.- Ohio Wrestling finished its weekend of competition at the 2010 NCAA Championships on Saturday, finishing tied for 35th place as a team. The Bobcat wrestlers finished with a record of 9-11 in their 20 total bouts throughout the three days of competition. Germane Lindsey headlined the impressive Ohio performances, finishing sixth place overall at 141 pounds to earn the Green and White’s 24th All-American honors in program history.

“Ohio University has a great history in wrestling and every guy in our room is trying to add to it,” said head coach Joel Greenlee. “We’re very proud of Germane. Sometimes this tournament isn’t necessarily about being the most talented guy or the best technician or anything like that…rather sometimes it just comes down to being a tough guy. I thought that’s how he wrestled all week. He wrestled hard for seven minutes every match and good things happened for him.”

As a reminder of what can be the result of years of hard work and dedication, Ohio Wrestling has emblazoned on a wall in its practice room the names of every Bobcat who has achieved All-American status or won a Mid-American Conference championship.

“It is definitely going to feel good to add his name to the wall,” added Greenlee.

Last year Germane Won Ohio team's Most Valuable Wrestler award and has won the team's Hardest Worker award the past two years.

HIGH SCHOOL: 155-26 career record at Moeller High School ... Two-time state placer ... Won state championship once ... First-team All-Conference and All-Region ... Graduated from Moeller as the No. 2 ranked wrestler at 141-pounds in the state of Ohio ... Ranked No. 11 in the nation ... Lettered in football and wrestling.

A Dad's Perspective on SportsLeader

Tim Mackey of Cincinnati OH shares his experience. His son Chad recently won the SportsLeader award at Moeller High School.

The Weak Willed

By Randy Traeger

Head Football Coach, Oregon

One of the most powerful concepts that SportsLeader has given us is “The Challenge to be a Strong Man”. How the root of most evil is found in our own selfishness and laziness, and how we men must use our Intellect, Conscience, and WILL to overcome that selfishness and laziness.  Certainly Intellect and Conscience play key roles, but it seems as though our biggest battles involve the “WILL”.

We see players with strong wills and weak wills every day.  It’s generally the “weak willed” that have the most struggles.  Our post modern feel good “relative” media has conditioned our players to be consumers who are easily impressionable. Many of our kids are easily swayed by advertising hype, propaganda or emotional manipulation tactics.  They do not possess an adequate ability to discern the quality of an assertion, they have a lack of discipline, and or confused moral priorities. This “weak willed” state can manifest itself in many ways on our team:

• Poor study habits which lead to academic problems.
• Drug and alcohol use.
• Violent self destructive behavior.
• Discipline problems in school
• Inappropriate sexual conduct. 
• Poor relationships with family, adults, and peers. 

So how do we help our players develop stronger wills?

1. Make sure the players are educated about man’s constant struggle against laziness and selfishness and how we use our intellect, conscience, and will (especially our will) to win the war. Many of our kids have never openly discussed these concepts. Simply understanding the concept helps them identify their own weaknesses.  Quite often when we ask players why they “screwed up” they simply respond that “ I was being lazy coach or I was being selfish coach”.  Enough said.
2. We help players develop their own personal and moral priorities. Say them. Write them down. Refer back to them. They have got to have a “priority” compass in place to guide their will, otherwise it’s just “do what feels good.” Having clearly defined priorities helps them make better decisions.
3. We talk to our players about how we all make mistakes and that we need to learn to forgive ourselves and get back up in the battle. This requires discipline. Most coaches remember that hot 80 degree day practice and the crusty old coach screaming at you to “Get Up” off the ground after your 60^th grass drill. That required some will power. That required some discipline.  While today’s coaching dictates a kinder gentler approach, we don’t rob our players of the opportunity to learn discipline, and we have developed several unique drills to teach discipline (kindly and gently!). 
4. We develop our player’s ability to make faster decisions by reinforcing their sound moral character qualities. For example, when we notice honesty in their conversation or behavior, we praise them for it. When we see their patience in a certain situation, we praise them for it. The qualities we praise are the ones they will show us. Now when they reach that decision of the will, it’s easier to pick the virtuous one because that’s the one that coach has reinforced every day. 
5. Finally, we treat building the will just like weightlifting. You won’t get stronger unless you train. So let’s train our will through small acts of self deprivation. Lots of reps with the light weights!
6. We use the concept of being a “slave” to your emotions or the “master” of your emotions. Most kids now days don’t like the idea of being a “slave”. Teach them how to be a “master”. 

God Bless.

Has anyone seen my Father’s Thunder?

By Dan Duddy
Head Football Coach NJ
     I was driving along today and for some reason I remembered something that happened when I was about 19 years old. That was 33 years ago for me. I mean flashbacks happen all the time, but it became so connected to the present, and some pretty freaky revelations came from it.

      I had been troubled with something at that age which is really made for another blog in itself. But the quick version is that I was suffering like never before in my life with “post-high school football superstar now in college and nobody knows me” syndrome,
Otherwise known as “PHSFSNCNKM.”

Just kidding of course about the syndrome initials, but you get the point. I was in serious pain.

      I had gone to see my father several times and he was giving me the very best advice that a non-athlete, high school dropout could. Don’t get me wrong, he is a man’s man, he lied about his age to go to war for his country rather than finish high school, almost losing his right leg doing so. I don’t know of too many men that can match the character of our World War II vets.

     I went to see my ex-high school football coach and he gave me general advice, like you know, “you just need to get re-acquainted with yourself on new terms”, “just take it slow, it happens to everybody” and so on.

     I went home to tell my father and he said “That guy is ‘stealing my thunder!’”.
In case you need help interpreting “Jersey City Tough Guy” this means “I love you and I’ve been telling you the same thing, so what’s wrong with me?”

       Yes, dad was giving me the same messages all along. Many of us coaches are asked by our very own player’s father to talk to their sons, often saying the very same things, but our athletes give much more intense attention to us. But that too is another blog of which I look forward to writing.

     But this is why I write to you today:

       My football program’s athletes’ operative team nickname is the “Sons of Thunder”. Its meaning until this revelation was simply about imitating the manliness of our Lord’s two apostles James and John who HE gave that title to for their feistiness and desire to jump out and fight, which is what we want our young men to do, to have a mission based on the satisfaction of God’s will and be willing to die for it.

     But in this case my dad’s “Thunder” was in fact his desire to have a positive impact on me, give me something to really live my life with as best as he could, and maybe give him thanks for it. Not by saying “thanks”, he wouldn’t stand for that mushy stuff, but by living happily and at ease was thanks enough for him. To live strongly and forward without doubt and suffering is what he wanted. And if it came from his intervention, wow, that would make his life and give him the desire to even give more to me.

       How many times are we stealing God’s Thunder? I am a son of my earthly father’s thunder from here on in. I have come to see his thunder in my life more so recently and I need to tell him that before he dies as he is 84 years old and not well.

God’s Thunder is “manhood” done His way, via His Truths. It is intended to be sent to His world through his fathers and leaders, then to the sons and athletes in our care.

        I want my sons and athletes to be products of my works, an imperfect thunder that is just a mere burp compared to the divinity of God’s Thunder.


      We steal God’s Thunder every time we give ourselves credit for something we have accomplished with the gifts he gave us. Like my passion for writing to you. That passion is truly a gift from Him. It is His Thunder.

       How much do we dislike the gloating of the football player who dances and pounds his chest in the end zone after a touchdown after he has put God’s athletic gifts to him on display? How pleased are we on the other hand when the athlete points his finger to the sky, maybe drops to his knee for a moment and then gently hands the ball to the referee?

       Is our Father in Heaven saying to us at times in our lives “Hey you are stealing my thunder!” Or is he saying to us, “You’re welcome son, I have lots more thunder for you to come”.

       I believe that when we give thanks, and as men we lead our athletes to give thanks, we are given by God a part in a very manly storm, one that will take on all of our adversaries, temptations, weaknesses and enemies.

      We are all sons of His Thunder, and as fathers and coaches here on earth, we must share His Thunder through our very selves and lead sons and athletes to in fact become Sons of Thunder themselves, always giving thanks for being a part of His wonderful storm to true manhood.

     The next time we hear thunder from the sky, maybe it will have a different meaning. I know it will for me, a thankful father and coach.

First Ever Team SportsLeader Award - Chad Mackey

Jeff Gaier, Head Wrestling Coach at Cincinnati Moeller High School, made some SportsLeader history today. He created the first ever team SportsLeader award. It has become such an integral part of their program that it was the first award handed out at the ceremony. The recipient was Senior Chad Mackey.

The SportsLeader Award: Given to the young man who best displays the virtues of Humility, Charity and Courage in the pursuit of becoming the best version of himself with willpower, love and family spirit as his vehicles to achieve this goal.

Dan Dever, the SportsLeader director at Moeller High School, presented the award along with Coach Gaier. Here is a video link of Dan presenting the award

In the photo, from left to Right: Head Coach Jeff Gaier, Asst Coach Ed Jamieson, (Mom) Linda Mackey, Chad, (Dad) Tim Mackey, SportsLeader Director Dan Dever.

Father-Daughter / Dean Hood Video - How to treat a woman

A friend of mine, Coach Ed Jamieson, recommended a book to me a while back - "The Difference a Father Makes" by Ed Tandy McGlasson. It's pocket-sized and only 122 pages.

There is a part that inspired me to write being that today is my oldest daughter's birthday. She turns 5. We're not old enough for the below father-daughter activity yet but maybe you are. Maybe this seems a bit "over the top" for you, maybe not. I think the general idea is excellent: Create a memorable moment to bond with your daughter.

"I took my daughter to an Italian restaurant and bought her a promise ring with little diamonds embedded in the band ... This outing wasn't completely awkward because my daughters and I were already in the habit of going out on little dates ... During my dinner with Jessica, I spent the first portion of our time telling her all the things that I liked about her. As I talked her eyes were welling up with tears ... 

I bent down low, leaned in close to her and said Jessica, I am giving you this ring today. Are you willing to make a covenant before the Lord tonight, that on your wedding night you will be prepared to present this ring to your husband and say to him, "This ring represents a covenant I made with my Dad that I would save myself for marriage. I have done so."

Jessica will you wear this ring? As I slipped the ring on her finger I told her that she is no longer a little girl. She is now a woman ... As I reflect on my daughter's life since that moment, the growth in her life has been remarkable ..."

Here is a link to a 1 minute video with Eastern Kentucky University Head Football Coach Dean Hood talking about the importance of coaches modeling how to treat a woman ...

http://sportsleaderusa.blogspot.com/2009/10/dean-hood-model-part-4-coach-wife-and.html

SportsLeader California

Coaches, I am honored to introduce you to our first team in California. It is awesome seeing this grow around the country and the world. Here is a note from their head coach and some photos. Luis is an amazing example - he is just getting started and is already promoting it to others as much as he can. Thanks, Luis!  

I wanted to let you know that our talks are going good. I must admit that I thought the kids would be able to get the concepts easily but I'm finding that I'm constantly reminding them of the concept of a complete man and our core virtues. I suppose this is normal for 7 to 8 year old boys. So I will continue with the Sports Leader program throughout the season just as planned.  

One thing I have to work on more, which I noticed this past weekend while at the Opening Day, was that I need to remind my coaches to also be attentive to opportunities to teach the Sports Leader program because it is difficult for me alone to keep an eye on everyone and everything.  

Jersey night was a great success, parents really enjoyed doing it. I had a few moms that attended on behalf of their husbands do to work reasons. I was the first to give the jersey to my son Johan and then my coaches followed. 

It was amazing to see the sentiment in the boys faces as they were each receiving their jerseys. At the end of the short ceremony a few parents came up to me and with almost tears in their eyes to thank me for the opportunity. 

I was very proud of having the parents step-up to the plate and give their sons an encouraging talk and their love. I'm attaching several pictures so that you can meet the team. God bless! Coach Luis

Fallacies of Worldly Success

Fallacies of Worldly Success for Men. There are also videos for women if you click on Weekly Gospel videos under recommended links.

1. Overemphasis of their personal status - the status of their job vs the State of their family



2. Overemphasis of fulfilling their earthly passions vs fulfilling their spiritual passions

First SportsLeader Rugby Team

Moeller High School in Cincinnati is SportsLeader's first Rugby team. They had a team retreat recently where they had some fun and put together some core resolutions that all wanted to work on together. SportsLeader's core virtues for season 1 are Charity, Humility and Courage. Season 2 2, which is being released this year, has Sacrifice, Respect and Perseverance.

It's interesting to see that these young men basically came up with the same resolutions.

Also here is a video of an icebreaker they did to have some fun - called Stand By Me.

Building Another Home/ Impacting the Fire Department

Coaches,

Many of you may remember that Kennedy High School FB team from Mt Angel, OR raised $10,000 to build a home for a family in Peru last year ... 5 players also went down over Christmas break to paint the house.

Their goal is to do it again. Last Saturday they hosted a fundraiser dinner and raffle again to build their second home. 170 people came and they raised $6,000. Coaches cooked, Moms put it on plates, players served ... a team effort.

They will now turn to writing letters to friend and family members to raise the rest.

Another impressive moment when Head Coach Randy Traeger received the below email from the head of the local fire department ... You never know how many lives you are influencing.

Randy is one of our speakers at this years clinic on April 24th in Cincinnati.

Greetings Coach Traeger,

Attached you will find a few pages from the Mt Angel Fire District Volunteer Handbook. These are the philosophy pages and as you will see it looks similar to your Kennedy Football philosophy. We hope you do not mind that we are using many of your written words here. Now the men and women of MAFD are being “coached” by your influence and this will continue many years into the future.