Football coaches: built for others.

A couple of years ago, my mom gave me the book, Season of Life: A Football Star, a Boy, a Journey to Manhood for my birthday. Turns out I could not have received a more meaningful or important gift.

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Written by Pulitzer Prize author Jeffrey Marx, and chronicled through his eyes, this is a beautifully told, highly inspiring, and sometimes heart-wrenching story of the coaching and ministering journey of former Baltimore Colts player and team captain, Joe Ehrmann.

I encourage all coaches, especially football coaches, to read this book. It may not entice you to change your coaching style, but if you're not already aware of why you're coaching, you just might experience an epiphany of sorts.

The most important thing that I took from the book was Joe's ardent belief that it was his duty, and the duty of every football coach, to be a man who is "built for others." In fact, Joe's ministry is called "Building Men for Others."

Allow me to tell you how its beautiful message touched my life and affected my own perspectives on the theme.

BUILT FOR OTHERS

Every so often, you hear or read about someone in the coaching profession, football or otherwise, who has done something underhanded or totally unprofessional. Maybe it was some form of cheating or unethical behavior or maybe an incident that brought embarrassment to him, his family, the school, and the community.

The idealist in all of us wants to shun that possibility. But we have to recognize the fact that a few of those coaches actually exist.

I don't know any of those guys, I don't want to know them, and I certainly am not going to write about them.

This is about the truly good people--the selfless ones who make a positive impact every single day on the game of football and the young men who play it: about the men who give honor, dignity, and class to the term coach.

Football coaches are great ambassadors of the game. They bring an unbelievable work ethic and positive attitude to their craft, and they are wonderful role models for our kids--the most important people of all.

It is about mentally, morally, and ethically tough men who never get caught up in the hype, fluff, and hordes of peripheral nonsense that have no substance and serve only to suffocate athletics.

It is about special men who shine with great character in their personal and professional lives, who are totally committed to the game, and are unconditionally loyal to those they serve and represent.

It is about the coaches who say that it's "not about the money," and really mean it.

And in every sense that the term embodies, whether it is coaching in the youth leagues, middle school, high school, college, and, yes, even the NFL, it is about great men who are built for others.

Deep in my heart, I want to believe that this is about you, coach!

A LIFE OF COURAGE

It has been said that life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage--an undeniable and highly visible characteristic of great coaches. And remember: Great courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the ability to fight through it.

The football coaches I know are courageous men with strong ideals, a never-say die approach to motivating young men, and who continually fight the good fight to inspire their players to do the right things.

When negativism surfaces from the do-nothings, the weak-minded, and the cravens who anonymously hide behind computer screens, it only stokes the competitive fires of the true football coaches.

During times when wins are few, the talent is wanting, the depth is nonexistent, and Lady Luck is on a sabbatical, the real football coach will rise above it all and have his finest hour.

Why? It's simple--they never lose sight of their true purpose.

Courageous coaches always have a vision of those kids in the locker room who are looking for guidance, support, inspiration, and a game plan for success.

Those are the really important things they can take with them and use as long as they live. And the great coaches place those above all else.

In short, the coaches I've always admired have good, courageous hearts that are built for others.

I encourage you to live each day with enthusiasm and the courage to do what is right, rather than what is the easiest or most convenient, and to instill these attributes in your players.

A LIFE OF COMMITMENT

There are a lot of excellent football coaches who lead the super life because they have earned it.

Most coaches, however, make a comfortable but average salary, live in modest homes, drive dependable vehicles they can afford, volunteer to several community causes, and are also great fathers and family men. They work the same long hours, deal with many of the same issues and conflicts, and are looked upon for the same type of leadership.

It gives them enormous pride and an unselfish sense of accomplishment to view the growth and development of their players. It is a maturing process that is covered with their coaching fingerprints.

Maybe, just maybe, these coaches are happy doing what they love right where they are doing it. And they are probably doing it where they are needed the most.

Make no mistake: Many of them are just as good at coaching as the guys who got wealthy doing it. They would know, because they once lived in a modest neighborhood and lived the same kind of life as their neighbors.

Coaching aspirations, life's crazy turns, and their decisions may have taken them down different roads, but the starting lines for both were identical in many cases. Their one common thread will always be their commitment to coaching.

Football coaches understand that commitment can be painful at times. It demands ardent effort, sacrifice, and--at the very least--can be uncomfortable and inconvenient.

But, to coaches, commitment is worth it because it can accomplish great things. It brings out the best in them and in those who believe in their vision.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If I could leave you with a final word of encouragement, it would be to let you know how important you are to so many aspects of your young men's lives. You may, in fact, be the closest, strongest, most prominent representation of a father that some of these young men will ever know.

You may be the first one they call when they need advice, counseling, or a shoulder to cry on. In times of great adversity, they will call upon something you said, something that you do not even remember saying, and it will give them strength to continue.

You may be the one they will forever thank for coming into their lives and providing the tough love that they so desperately needed.

Yes, this is an unforgiving profession at times, with livelihoods hinging on the performance of teenagers, and, ultimately, the won/lost column.

But also know this: You are needed by society, by parents, by the schools in your community, and, most importantly, by the kids who quietly yearn for positive role models.

That's right. These kids actually crave disciplined, structured leadership.

Look closely into their eyes and you will see it.

Getting a bit long in the tooth will solidify it for you--as it has with me.

To highlight that point, allow me to share a letter I recently received from a former Spartan wide receiver, Plaxico Burress, who is currently with the New York Giants, and has been enjoying a very successful career:

Dear Coach Mannie:

First off, I hope that you and your beautiful family are doing well.

Over ten years have passed since I first stepped onto MSU's campus, and I wish I knew then what I know now--maybe I wouldn't have been so hard-headed. But thanks to you for always pushing me, even though I thought I knew it all.

You will always be one of my favorite people because you always told the truth and never sugarcoated anything. Right now, I'm trying to be the best receiver in the NFL, which takes a lot of hard work. Thanks for showing me how to do it. I will always bleed GREEN AND WHITE!

May God bless you and your family.

Love,

Plax

Thanks for the kind words, Plax. I enjoyed being a small part of your life.

Remember one thing: No matter what your lifetime won/lost record happens to produce, if you are a man who is built for others, you are the truest of all CHAMPIONS!

Ken Mannie ([e-mail])--To order Season Of Life, log on to www.seasonoflife.com

By Ken Mannie, Head Strength/Conditioning Coach Michigan State University