As I lay in bed thinking about going to the gym. My mind starts to talk me out of it. My calf has been tight all week and my low arch is even lower. The pain feels like a sprained ankle but I know it's a fallen arch. The arthritis in my fingers is also painful. But working out is pretty fun and I really look forward to spending the time with my kids. Part of me thinks about this because of the wins and loss column. When Masina loses a match it ruins her day. She throws a tantrum that I think may have been the reason for the storm in south bend. I wake up the kids on Saturday morning and we trudge out into the cold morning. Big Ryan is out visiting this weekend and I tell him we are hitting the gym and we will be back in a bit. We get there and we do the dynamic warm ups and sprints. We get some omni directional running and moving in as well but I'm so winded I don't do any come drills yet. I'm still beat up from the 4 sprints. So I decide against it. The kids are working on their individual drills and I see a comment I was included in on Facebook. It's about the best Hunter High Football team. It's about a team that win state vs a team that went undefeated starting in little league all the way through high school and was expected to win state as high school students. The most important stat in sports is score. It's how you decide who wins and who loses. The question I ask is what is the most important stat in life? What is in the win-loss column? When I was a young coach I thrived on winning, at all costs. I knew that a disciplined squad was important to win the big one. The problem was that many of the kids we coached had larger issues than winning a game. In '99 one of the kids was being investigated for murder. Another had threatened a staff member. Two got in a fight. A few were failing at school. Every once in a while they didn't listen to the coaching staff but there bravado was something to behold. When they stepped out onto the field they believed that they were going to win. They put in the work and they got results. Up until the semi final game where we lost. This hurt. Almost as much as riding a bike with no seat which I don't recommend. That year out head coach decided to move on to another district and he would soon find his way into a state title contender. But that's another story for another day. With the arrival of a throwback to the eighties coach and a young baby daughter he won in the settlement we started "rebuilding." Our return to the semi finals that next year frustrated me. I still felt like wins and losses defined us. So '99, '00 to the semi finals and 01 and 02 were years that prepped us for '03 state title. They say that team was more disciplined and more talented. A couple of those kids ended up in the NFL and a few of them played D1 ball. Great kids no doubt. But I want to share an argument that changed the way I coached and te way I see the game now. Our boys don't have a lot of money. The grew up in the wrong side of the tracks. Many of them couldn't afford cleats. One day I'm sitting in the "wizard's" office and he gets a call. There are a couple of members of the football team that were caught shoplifting. They had stolen roast chicken from the grocery store. I'm dumbfounded. I don't believe what I'm hearing. We are hours before a game and these boys are stealing. The wiz looks at me and says what should we do? Kick em off the team. Duh. That lack of discipline is no good for us. He smiled that knowing smile that comes from working with kids that have disadvantaged backgrounds. And then what? We go on to win a state title. It's been elusive. That's what we are here for to win the big one bro! He told me that's not why he was here. He grew up around here. He's from the west side and he wanted the kids to be successful. He worked in programs where he just had blank checks given to him to take care of what needed to be taken care of. Those kids had opportunities. So he tells me. What happens if I cut these kids from the team? Who takes care of them then? Bro not your job. Isn't it? I'm their father, their big brother, their uncle and their coach. No you are not. I know the title is head coach Hunter football but it's more than that. We close the door. The smell of old sweat and equipment start to fill the room. If I don't help we lose these kids to gangs and everything else that pulls on them. For some of these kids football is the only thing they are passionate about. We would lose our chance to influence them to a better life. I say, we can't win if the team isn't focused or disciplined. He says if they lose in life we lose. That sucks. I have watched many of the boys have their ups and downs. Some are in prison but I wonder sometimes if we were able to keep a few of them from the path of least resistance. We may not have won all our games but there are things more precious than wins and losses. Thanks for the memories Wes Wilckens and the rest of that staff. I learned a great deal about myself. He who loses his life will find it.
