A Different Kind Of Coach
Published January 3, 2012
Two weeks ago, while relaxing at home, I received a phone call from my old college football coach, Charles Wesley Moore. It was a pleasant surprise inasmuch as the last time I had actually spoken to Coach Moore on the telephone was during a recruiting call my senior year in high school over thirty years ago. His phone call led to a home visit and the ultimate signing of a National Letter of Intent that paid for a college education and changed my life. He was a fixture in my development for at least ten to twenty years yet I could only recall one prior telephone conversation with him.
When I heard his voice it shocked and immediately teleported me back to my college days as a football player at Bethune-Cookman College. Coach Moore, all six foot five and two hundred seventy five pounds, intimidated all of us in the mid 1970's and the mere sound of his voice caused the same fear to return to my soul now. Even today as he approaches his 70's the man still commands the same amount of respect as he did when he led us to the glory years of conference championships.
We talked on the phone for over an hour and I still responded to his questions with "sir, yes sir". After withstanding my offering of apologies for cowardly bowing to him with those responses he began to tell me how much he respected and admired the man I had become. His comments took me completely by suprise. Although he had known me for a large portion of my life, I could only remember the countless times Coach Moore would cuss me out and get in my face demanding that I be the very best I could be. For most of my college career I thought the man hated my guts.
Coaches have a way of cutting through all the minutia and attacking the heart of the matter. They use various tactics that may or may not be politically correct according to the times but what seems to transcend the years and political climate is what resides in the heart of a true coach. Does he or she truly care? Many times,today's technology can zoom in on the emotions during battle when a coach is 'red hot'. A coach's image is cemented in snapshots, sound bites and video clips and in many cases, those images are negative. Only Coach Moore's team could tell you how loving, caring and committed he was to changing the lives of his Wildcats.
What Coach Moore thought of me mattered then and it still matters now. I never wanted to let him down.
Coaches have that rare abililty to peer into your soul and see who is hiding inside, be it a chump or a champion they know how to flip the switch in us that transforms potential into productivity. Only coaches have the vision to see stuff in us that we could never see ourselves.
What he said on the recent phone call inspired me. I was so proud that he was proud of me but what truly touched me was that he took the time to actually call me. He was the bigger man then and by his actions he seemed to be the bigger man now. He choked up when he told me that he was honored to have been the man to coach and teach me...and yes, Charles Wesley Moore, while leading us to conference championships, taught me more than how to read a 4-4 front and 5-3 defense while running the wishbone offense. He taught me life lessons even when I did not feel the need to learn them.
There is no greater honor than being a coach. The word coach has its' origin around 1550-60 and is derived from the french word "coche", which means tutor or mentor... One who carries the student through examinations. Coaches are the ultimate teachers who develop game plans for success in our games of choice and the game of our lives.
For every aspiring dancer, performer or athlete, somewhere in their past is the influence of a coach. While television, sports pages and publications may always tend to feature the ultra successful record setting coach who earns millions , most fans are oblivious those whose sacrificed their time simply because their goal was to have an impact on young people.
I am so thankful that I had great coaches in my life. Not the ones who were only concerned with adding to their personal won/loss records by sacrificing the careers of young people for their own personal benefit, but the few who understood the original meaning of the word. Somehow Coach Moore had knowledge of the true origin and definition of the word "coach"...he had to have prior knowlege because he mentored and tutored me and was "one who carried the student through examinations".
Make it your goal today to contact the true coaches who had a positive impact on your development...tell them thank you for the sacrifices they made in their own personal lives to make yours better. Their goal was to lead you to victory, maybe today is your day to return the favor.
