Character counts

[Jim calhoun]

Let me first say I in no way am putting down anybody in particular or acting like I’m the role model cause I’m the furthest from perfect, but I really think coaches need to take a step back and look in the mirror and realize our wrestlers watch our lives more than they listen to our words. I’ve been blessed at Plymouth to coach with coaches that in many years have impacted hundreds of lives. I’ve never heard a foul word out of their mouth nor is any wrestler aloud to use profanity. Their goal is always create young men of integrity first and champions in life then champions on the mat. I’m amazed when I see and hear coaches and athletes cuss back and forth.....see wrestlers yell at refs.....throw things in anger and nothing is done. On a positive I’ve watched people I respect and look up to like coach Snyder get in wrestlers faces yet put his arm around them and build them up....coach Harper from little kids to high schoolers speak life into his kids yet in their face. I don’t know a man in the world that loves winning more than coach Read or a man that hates to lose more than him but you ask anyone that’s gone through his program in 30 plus years and you will hear nothing but the utmost respect because of the integrity he walks in. Coaches your integrity is the most 8mportant part of your job with the kids we have in front of us. Impact lives. As our coach always says....”Do the right thing simply because it’s the right thing to do”. Your reputation is what others think of you but your character is what people see and you really are. It’s time coaches we lead from the front! 

[awood1]

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  The coaches you mentioned had mentors / coaches before them that heavily impacted who they are and how they behave today.  I still coach youth sports today and hate losing with a passion.  But at the end of the day, the wins and championships aren't WHY I do it.  I've done it long enough now to know that the biggest reward has nothing to do with competitive events but life skills.  Nothing in my life makes me prouder than looking at the young men today that I was blessed to coach as kids and realizing any positive impact that I had in "who" they are today.  Seeing them as coaches, teachers, sons, husbands, fathers and community members brings a sense of pride that is immeasurable.  I'm glad that I've lived long enough to see it come full circle.  It has brought a sense of perspective and a respect for the mentors and coaches that impacted my life that I wouldn't have thought possible had I not lived it.