RSS

Tag Archives: coaching

Hanging Up My Whistle

05 Mar

JJFootballIt’s about this time of the year, as Spring starts to slowly make it’s appearance in NY, that the juices start flowing and anticipation builds for workouts and upcoming 7-on-7 competitions all leading up to the start of another high school football season in August. At least that has been the habit for me for 12 years now, but it won’t be like that this year. Why? Because of all the good things that are happening in my life right now, I just can’t continue to do it all, so it’s time for me to hang up my football coach’s whistle. It’s really been a GREAT run! Over the years, I’ve been blessed to coach some great kids and work with some great coaches. Looking back on the 12 seasons I’ve been a football coach, I’ve been incredibly blessed to enjoy a lot of incredible experiences:

  • 9 seasons coaching at the high school I graduated from, John Jay HS (’90-93, ’05-’09)
  • 3 seasons coaching at Our Lady of Lourdes HS, where my three daughters attend (’10-’12)
  • 10 out of 12 seasons with a winning record
  • 2 undefeated seasons
  • 3 League Championships
  • 1 Section One Championship
  • 1 New York State Quarter-Final appearance

All that being said, it’s really the guys (coaches and players) that I’ll miss more than games. Through coaching, I’ve made some awesome friends and shared memories with them that will last a lifetime. So to all my fellow coaches and players through the years, I say, “Thanks for the memories!” I’m a better man because of what we’ve shared together. And to all the ’13 Lourdes football players who will take the field for that first home game this September, just look up in the stands, you’ll see and old familiar face cheering, ‘Let’s Go WARRIORS!!!‘

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 5, 2013 in Coaching

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Are You Ready For Some Football?

16 Aug

Tomorrow starts my 12th season coaching high school football. With that in mind, I thought I’d share a few favorite quotes from legendary college football coach, Bear Bryant:

“It’s not the will to win that matters – everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”

“There’s a lot of blood, sweat, and guts between dreams and success.”

“The old lessons (work, self-discipline, sacrifice, teamwork, fighting to achieve) aren’t being taught by many people other than football coaches these days. The football coach has a captive audience and can teach these lessons because the communication lines between himself and his players are more wide open than between kids and parents. We better teach these lessons or else the country’s future population will be made up of a majority of crooks, drug addicts, or people on relief.”

“Mama wanted me to be a preacher. I told her coachin’ and preachin’ were a lot alike.”

“Little things make the difference. Everyone is well prepared in the big things, but only the winners perfect the little things.”

“People who are in it for their own good are individualists. They don’t share the same heartbeat that makes a team so great. A great unit, whether it be football or any organization, shares the same heartbeat.”

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 16, 2012 in Coaching, Leadership

 

Tags: , , , ,

7 Ways to Connect With Your Teen

09 Aug

A while ago, while attending a meeting at another church, I noticed the youth pastor there pull the hair of one of the girls in the church when she wasn’t looking. When she turned around in shock, he smiled and said, “Hi”. His juvenile antics not only made me immediately lose respect for him, but the young lady with the hurting head couldn’t hide the look of contempt from her face. It’s really sad when adults believe they have to act like teens in order to connect with them. Having three teenage daughters currently in my home and having coached high school football for 12 years, I’ve learned a few things about connecting with teens. Here are a few tips:

1. Take an interest in what they’re interested in. Talk to them about what they like to talk about.

2. Never “talk down” to them, but lift them up with encouraging words. Other teens are more than happy to criticize and tear them down, be an adult.

3. Look them in the eyes and give them your undivided attention. This is another thing that they rarely get from their peers or other adults.

4. Humor helps. Not their humor, but yours.

5. Be yourself. Teens are skilled at spotting fakes.

6. Consistency counts. When they know you’re reliable, they’ll be willing to let you in to their world and thoughts.

7. Keep it cool. Teens don’t talk deep at the flip of a switch. It takes time to build report with them. Once you do, guard the trust that’s been built in the relationship.

If you apply these tips, you won’t have to resort to pulling out hair (yours of theirs) to connect with your teenager ;)

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 9, 2012 in Church Growth, Family, Leadership, Parenting

 

Tags: , , ,

Update on Championship Saturday

07 Nov

We did not prevail in our quest for a championship on Saturday (11/5/11). We lost the Section 1 Championship to Croton High School 21-7. The game was a tough battle and could have still gone either way until Croton scored its third touchdown with 3:37 let in the fourth quarter. It was a great season for the Lourdes High School football team, and a very rewarding season as a coach.

Today was that weird and awkward day when we collect all the equipment, watch the last game film as a team and say goodbye to all of the seniors who will graduate and move on to college in the summer. Now the “off-season” has set in and I get to focus all of my attention of ministry again. As hard as the loss at the end of the season was, I know that in just a few short weeks, I’ll find myself missing the players, coaches, competition and fun of football again. Two-a-days start again in 9 short months. Let’s ROLL!!! :)

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 7, 2011 in Coaching

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Championship Saturday

05 Nov

Today the wait is finally over. This is my eleventh season coaching high school football, and I’ve never coached in a game of this magnitude before. As a coach, I’ve coached League Championship teams (2) and lost a one, but I’ve never coached in a Sectional Championship before. To add to the drama of the situation, the high school where I now coach, Our Lady of Lourdes, has never played in a Sectional Championship before! It’s a wonder I was able to sleep last night. With a win today, Lourdes Football Team will be just two wins away from playing for the State Championship!

After all the work, sweat, practices, hours of film and preparation, we’re finally here. It really makes me take a moment and reflect on how critical perseverance is if anything is going to be accomplished in this life. Whether it’s marriage, parenting, ministry or coaching, nothing significant is ever accomplished without perseverance. As happy as I am to have made it to this big game as a coach, it’s not enough. Now we need to demonstrate the same character that brought us to this point as we play today. No matter what adversity we face today, we will persevere. And when the last whistle blows, we can walk off the field knowing, we played like Champions today!

Let’s go get a Championship today, boys!

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 5, 2011 in Coaching, Leadership

 

Tags: , , , , ,

7 Reasons TRUST Is A Must

17 Oct

Trust is an essential element of any team, whether that’s a church staff or a sports team. Here are 7 reasons why TRUST is a must:

1. Trust heightens focus. You can’t focus on the task at hand if you have doubts about the motives of your team mates.

2. Trust creates a positive environment for growth. Suspicion causes teams to implode.

3. Trust makes others feel more responsible for their actions. Controlling leadership encourage irresponsibility.

4. Trust brings out the best in others. “I believe in you” is one of the strongest statements in the English language.

5. Trust is a force multiplier. A team that is built on trust will accomplish more than a team that lacks trust.

6. Trust strengthens relationships. Doubt and suspicion undermine relationships.

7. Trust adds value. Where trust is lacking, team members feel insecure and unsure.

How’s the trust level on your team? If you feel stuck in a rut in your ministry or organization, it could be time to trust, in order to experience a breakthrough together.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 17, 2011 in Coaching, Leadership, Staff

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

“Low Man Wins”

05 Sep

There is a great coaching adage used in football, “The low man always wins”. This simple statement can/should also be applied to the life of a leader in the church. Spiritual leaders are to exhibit humility and meekness in all that they say and do.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3

In a culture that champions swagger and vibrato, leadership in the church should stand in stark contrast to the world. Our leadership cues should be taken from Christ and not CEOs or celebrities. Remember Jesus words:

“If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Mark 9:35

How do you get “low” as a leader? Maybe we’d experience more wins in the church by getting down and dirty like God instructs us in His Word.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on September 5, 2011 in Coaching, Leadership

 

Tags: , , ,

The Boys Of Fall

19 Aug

Today is the first day of double session for high school football here in New York. I love coaching football and this will be my 11th season doing what I love in the fall. Football has terms and a whole vocabulary all to itself. It’s literally like a different language. Over the years, I’ve heard some really great football quotes and phrases that I repeat constantly week in and week out in practice and during games. It’s often said that football teaches lessons that can be used for the rest of life. This is true for life and leadership in the church too! Here are a few of my favorite football phrases. It’s amazing how many can be useful in and outside of the experiences of ‘The Boys Of Fall’:

-Don’t make a bad play worse.

-Don’t pass one to get one.

-If you listen to the people in the stands, you’ll soon be sitting with them.

-Don’t let good enough be good enough.

-Potential never won a game.

-It takes no talent to hustle.

-Everybody loves a clown, no one respects one.

-The lowest man wins every time.

What about you? What football lingo do you know that can be applied to all of life?

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 19, 2011 in Coaching, Leadership

 

Tags: , , ,

What Is Maturity?

12 Aug

What is maturity? What is the greatest quality of someone who is mature? Does someone who is mature realize they are mature or is it really immature to think you’re mature? These are some of the questions I’ve been asking myself lately. The questions arise mainly from the start of another season coaching high school football. As coaches, we talk a lot about a player being physically mature, but anyone who’s ever worked with teenage boys knows, physical maturity and emotional and relational maturity are two very different things.

Culturally speaking, it seems like maturity is synonymous to being responsible (something that few teenagers really are). I asked two young men (who I believe are very mature for their ages), how they would define maturity and “responsible” was both of their answers. If that’s the case, how are we as parents helping or hindering the growth and maturity of our kids (especially teenagers)?

What about spiritual maturity? Recently, a friend of mine said, he thought the biggest part of being mature is realizing what your personal “issues” are and addressing them through Christ’s power. I’d say maturity is walking in humility (a proper estimation of oneself) before God and others. Maturity doesn’t come with any certain age and there are no guarantees that everyone will become mature. In Scripture, the first verse that comes to my mind when I think about maturity is:

11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 1 Corinthians 13:11

What are your thoughts on the subject? How are you pursuing spiritual maturity with the help of Christ today? Care to share?

 
2 Comments

Posted by on August 12, 2011 in Parenting, Uncategorized

 

Tags: , , ,

I Love My Family

06 Jul

Some people have asked me if I feel like something is missing because I don’t have a son (my wife and I have three daughters). My answer is “NO”. I love my life and I love my family! Although I’m the only male in the house, my wife and my three daughters give me plenty of understanding and space to be a man in a house full of women. In fact, in many ways, I feel like I have it better off because I am the only man in the house. In the autumn, when I’m coaching high school football, the whole family comes out to cheer at all of our home games (and even some of the away ones). The ladies of the house also give me more than my fair share of movie and TV time to watch “guy stuff” and often join me in watching a game or an action movie or historical documentary. I always feel accepted and affirmed in my masculinity (not like and outsider in “girl world”).

The reality of this acceptance was made really clear this past weekend, when we were in Canton, Ohio for a wedding. I’ve always dreamed of visiting the Pro Football Hall Of Fame, and my wife and daughters accompanied me through hall after hall not begrudgingly but with genuine interest and enthusiasm (and took lots of pictures for themselves). It really blessed me so much, that I decided to give each of my girls $25 to spend in the gift shop on souvenirs.There’s no doubt that my girls take their cues from their mother (my awesome wife Susie). She is modeling something for them that will make three young men very happy someday (our future son-in-laws). You see, I believe that I will have three sons one day, I just don’t have to raise them. They’ll be welcomed additions to a family that has already learned how to love, accept and understand a man for who he is.

I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!

 
1 Comment

Posted by on July 6, 2011 in Parenting

 

Tags: , , ,

← Older posts
 
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.