"There is nothing better than achievement and winning."
from Mr. Meyerle
Whenever your favorite NFL team acquires Peyton Manning as their new quarterback, the spring season is off to a good start. No one questions all the positive attributes that come with Manning being a part of a team. More than a great quarterback, Manning is a genuine, good person. As much as I look forward to watching Bronco games this fall, and Peyton being a part of the Broncos, I have mixed emotions about Tim Tebow leaving. Tebow is another genuine, quality person. I don’t care what your religious faith is. Nor does it matter what your political affiliations are when looking at Tebow as a person. He stands for good and demonstrates it. Will he be a great quarterback as Manning already is? I don’t know of anyone that would suggest such a thing, but as Tebow proves, there are many ways to help a team.
From my 19 years of head coaching experience, I know firsthand how a quality person like Tebow can inspire others on the team. When he took a poor team that was 1-4 and contributed to his club winning six games in a row in a variety of fashions, it gets people’s attention. I mean the man inspired me in my own basement, so I can only imagine what he did in person. The man is a warrior, a fierce competitor, a winner. What he did for my favorite NFL team is something I will never forget.
Chances are my kids have a better chance of being like Manning or Tebow as people, more than excelling as a NFL quarterbacking level. I hope my kids learn as much as they can about both men, be inspired by what they stand for, and practice their behaviors.
A good friend recently gave me a copy of a book titled “Heart of a Student Athlete” by Karl Mecklenburg (yes, another Bronco). It is a great book for students and parents to read. It puts activities, relationships and life in perspective. It spells out what it takes to succeed at a high level. Few would have predicted Mecklenburg’s NFL success. I know Denver never won the Super Bowl in the 80’s going 0-3 by wide deficits. Like all Bronco fans, I heard all the jokes. However, to come back year after year after such devastating defeats and play in for the NFL Championship speaks volumes about the dedication and effort of those on the team. Minnesota experienced much the same thing in the 70’s and Buffalo in the 90’s. Only three Broncos players experienced all or some of the devastating Super Bowl defeats in 1987, 1988 & 1990 and the two Super Bowl championships in 1998 and 1999 (Steve Atwater, Tyrone Braxton and John Elway) . What must have their determination and perseverance been like to achieve such a feat a decade later?
Mecklenburg outlines six keys to success: Teamwork, Courage, Honesty/Forgiveness, Dedication, Desire and Goal Setting. He uses his own experiences as an NFL All Pro and being a husband and father as examples.
One notable excerpt reads “Your kids won’t be clones of you, but your values and your work ethic will have an impact on them. Point out positive examples of work ethic in adults and other kids. He’s a hard-working guy, or she’s a hard-working gal should be top praise. Don’t forget to praise your own children’s efforts whenever possible. There is nothing more common than wasted talent. Only with great effort can potential be fully reborn as success.”
The book has many great quotes. Here is one: “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” ~Michelangelo
The book is a quick read, one that can be completed in a few nights. I highly recommend it.
As we get into the spring sports season at the local level, I am disappointed in the number of our track participants at Diller-Odell. We have 18 boys and 16 girls participating in track. I am disappointed as it is the only spring sport we offer at Diller-Odell Schools. The other spring NSAA sports are baseball, soccer, boys golf or girls tennis, none of which we offer.
Track can be used as a platform or spring board to develop a person into a better athlete. Endurance, flexibility and competition are all advantages of track participation. These are all factors that help our success in other sports. Most coaches would agree that success in track is a great measurement of athletic ability and upcoming success in other sports.
The reasons that I hear from students for not being involved in track are as follows: “I have to work”, “I hate to run”,” I need some down time” or “it’s just track.” Such attitudes are not positive or healthy and must change to have successful athletic programs throughout the school year round.
I am not suggesting some students don’t have valid reasons for not being involved in track, but I will offer that by choosing to not participate or making it a priority, each individual is not further enhancing their skills as an athlete. Thus, when the next year rolls around, we have a number of students that have not done as much as they could do to get bigger, faster, and stronger and be as fierce of a competitor as they should be.
Mr. Ropers, Mr. Schluter, Ms. Vrbka, myself and others all encouraged individuals to participate in track prior to the start of the season. Any student that does not take advantage of being on Mr. Ropers’ track team, listening and learning is missing out. Thus, the chance to improve our athletic programs overall suffers. Staff members can lead and encourage, but in the end the student will make their own choice of what is important to them and how good they want to become. The importance of track needs to be stressed by the community. State Championships are not won in a single season; they are years in the making.
People will always question coaches. Watch the NFL for one weekend and you will question decisions that are made by professionals. However, going forward, when a softball, volleyball, football or basketball season may not be going as well as we would hope, and it is the popular flavor to question the coach and their strategies, we should first look at the overall dedication to success of our students. We need to ask our students if they have done everything they can do to be the best student-athlete for our school, and have we supported their participation? That is what we all can do to help, because we all are not going to coach. Have we pushed our kids to become better student-athletes? If we have not, we cannot be naïve……..it matters.
To our students: We are a small school that relies on wide participation. Be a difference maker in the future. Work harder. Be a fierce competitor. There is nothing better than achievement and winning. Refuse to lose, as it us truly miserable. Just ask Manning and Tebow.
M. Meyerle