Thanks for the Mentoring!

I ran into one of my high school football coaches last week.  I hadn't seen him in...oh...I don't know.  Maybe 30 years.   

  

It didn't seem like he had changed much.  He had long ago lost a lot of weight--well over a hundred pounds while I was away at college.  I had seen his new, svelte self but, like I said, it had been a while.  We were both at an Upward basketball game for our grandchildren. 

In the brief moments that we were able to chat, I tried to tell him some of the things that he had done for me.   People kept interrupting (in a nice way).

I was able to introduce him to my daughter and a couple of the grandkids and shared something with them that he told me when I was a senior in high school.

We had just lost a really tough game that likely would keep us out of playoff contention (it did).  I was broken hearted and he came up to me, put his big arm around my shoulder, and told me that he was proud of me.  That I had given it my all.

I doubt that he realized what an impact that he had on me with that.  Sure, I remember the game.  At Cleveland.  Final score 28-35.  The player that I battled most of the night was already headed to Kentucky.

But I can feel his arm on my shoulders and hear the words he spoke even now.  And this is 45+ years later.

It was a lesson in effort.  And pride.  And maybe even perspective.

I really hope that coaches and teachers and other adults in positions to influence and lead teenagers understand how much impact their words and actions have on those in the midst of what surely is their most impressionable years.

I hope that teenagers stop to listen to the wisdom and counsel that is coming their way, sometimes in rare and special moments. 

I've already told you here (several times really) about my high school coach who remarked "if he works at it, he can be a good one" when asked if I was any good.

That comment transformed me from an underachieving slacker into someone who truly believed that if I worked hard at something, anything, that I could accomplish it.  I took that initiative, that work ethic, on to several college degrees and a career that has been maybe somewhat successful.

Don't pass up any opportunity to thank those that have been a positive influence on your life.  Coaches.  School teachers. Sunday School teachers. Scout leaders.  Maybe just the nice guy next door.

You never know when, if at all, another opportunity might arise. 

Thanks, Coach Dutton.