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Archive for October, 2012

Why I am Voting AGAINST Barack Hussein Obama

Posted by admin October - 29 - 2012 - Monday 1 COMMENT

It was inevitable!

I have tried to keep my opinions to myself as far as where I stand with the impending presidential (and other) elections next week. But, in the last few days, I’ve been asked several times: “Who are you voting for?” After much careful consideration, here is who I am voting for (against!) and why I’ve selected that candidate.

It can best be said this way: I am not voting for Mitt Romney as much as I am voting against Barack Hussein Obama. I am not a registered Republican. I am a Conservative and a Spirit-filled Christian. Mr. Obama is about as far to the “left” as I am to the “right”— when looking at our political, social, economic, military and religious stances.

Mr. Obama’s world view is diametrically opposite mine. He possesses a liberal, left-wing view with socialism being his means of governing. I believe in capitalism and denounce this “entitlement” attitude that the government has perpetuated into this nanny state in which we now live. I also find the socialized medicine bill, known as Obamacare, to be repugnant. It’s one more (giant) example of how our federal government wants to control all aspects of our lives. The government is there to “protect and defend”… not to dictate and control every facet of our life.

From a Christian perspective, I had someone ask rather derisively, “Well, then, how can you vote for a Mormon?!” My response was similar to what a friend shared with my wife, “I am not voting for a spiritual leader. I already have one. His Name is Jesus Christ. I am looking for someone to lead this country politically.” Romney and the Republicans come much closer to accomplishing this than do the Democratic Party and Mr. Obama. I concur with Billy Graham’s statement that has been published in newspapers across the country. Dr. Graham says: “I believe it is vitally important that we cast our ballots for candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of Israel.” The Democratic platform does not stand for biblical principles.

The bottom line is this. I asked myself these 2 questions: 1- “Are we better off now than we were when Mr. Obama won the last election? (For example, why have gas prices at the pump nearly doubled?!)” and 2- “Can this country stay the world leader that it is if Mr. Obama returns for a second term as president?” My answer to both questions is a resounding “no!” His policy of pacifying our Terrorist enemies and creating even more debt to pay for his “nanny state” hand-outs are two examples of how he is leading us down the road to being a second-rate nation.

I am concerned about the world I am leaving my children and granddaughter. I have seen my individual freedoms slowly eroded over the last 3-4 years to meet the “needs of the people.” This is socialism. This country was founded on a Constitution that provides and protects our right to live in a free society. I believe that the Democratic candidate finds this antithetical to his view of how this country should be governed. His vision is that this country be steered toward the “European socialism” model of government. The Republican candidates for both President and Senator in Virginia will attempt to redirect this stance.

The bottom line is this: I simply cannot vote for a candidate who does not possess the same value system that I do. This is why I will be voting against Barack Hussein Obama and voting for Mitt Romney and George Allen next week.

Growing Into Leadership

Posted by admin October - 25 - 2012 - Thursday Comments Off on Growing Into Leadership

I read something this morning which captured my interest. As a coach, if you are not focusing on being a better leader you’re going to suffer the consequences of failed expectations.

A famous line from the old Pogo comic strip shows us that, perhaps, the hardes person in the world for you to lead will be yourself! The line goes, “We have met the enemy, and he is us!” Human nature seems to have given us the ability to size up everyone but ourselves. We have 2 problems that we need to confront:

1) We don’t see ourselves as we see others. If we don’t look at ourselves honestly, we will never understand where our personal difficulties lie. And if we can’t see them, we won’t be able to lead ourselves efficiently.

2) We are harder on others than we are on ourselves. We tend to judge others according to their actions. We tend to judge ourselves based on our intentions. We we do the wrong thing, we let ourselves off the hook because we think our motives were good. The problem is, we are usually willing to do that same thing again and again before making ourselves change!

“Bounce Back” Time

Posted by admin October - 17 - 2012 - Wednesday Comments Off on “Bounce Back” Time

Have you ever heard the little story of how local tribesmen capture monkeys in Africa and India? It’s very simple: monkeys love banana’s. Put a banana inside a trap that looks much like a crab trap (you’d have to live near the ocean like me to know what one looks like!!!) but… it’s a chicken wire trap with one single long tube in one side. You put the bananna inside the open end of the trap. The only way the monkey (crab) can reach the “bait” is to extend his arm down this chicken wire tube and grab the banana. The problem is… the monkey cannot pull the banana out! The tube is too narrow. So he sits there pulling on the bananna for hours. The captor merely shows up the next morning with a burlap sack and throws it over the monkey’s body. Even then, the monkey won’t let go of that banana!

Our players (and coaches) are sometimes like that monkey. We played poorly last Saturday and lost a game that I feel we should have won. Have your players ever continued to “hold on to the banana”; i.e., that loss into the next week’s practice???!! It’s time to LET GO OF THE BANANA!!! It’s “bounce back” time! You need to get focused on THIS week’s game. This little story is a great way to get your team re-focused!

Two are Down!

Posted by admin October - 10 - 2012 - Wednesday Comments Off on Two are Down!

We had a surreal situation occur during our game Friday night. It was a hard-hitting game for both teams. Mid-way through the second quarter the running back from our opponent broke through the line and was heading downfield when I heard a tremendous “crack!” One of their players went helmet to helmet on our free safety. The flag was thrown and the guy was brought down a few yards downfield and the whistle blew. I looked up to see our player who’d been hit in the helmet laying still in the middle of the field.

As I ran to him followed by our Trainer and Team Doctor, something caught my eye way back upfield. It was another player laying on the field! I didn’t know who to run to first. Since everyone seemed to be gravitating towards the boy in the middle of the field, I ran back to the other player. He, too, was still and not speaking. I got his attention and asked him where it hurt. He said, “Coach, it’s my neck.” He was prone on his back so I said emphatically, “Do NOT move!” I began screaming for the Trainers, doctor.. somebody to get over here. When I finally got their attention, they were in shock to see that another player was down.

Someone got over to me so I was able to go to the other player and see what was going on. What I feared was true: he said that his neck hurt also. Two defensive starters both down with neck injuries at the same time. We got them stablizied and called the EMT’s to get 2 ambulances to the stadium as soon as possible. I kept walking between the 2 boys, about 25 yards apart, to check on them and speak words of encouragement. You could’ve heard a pin drop in our stadium. I was praying as I know a lot of others were too! A friend of mine who is a pastor and graduate of our school happened to be in attendance at this game. What he told me later showed me how God works in our lives when we don’t even realize it.

Burt shared with me after the game that he was soooooooo impressed with the character that our players exhibited. Many of them had joined him on the sideline to pray for their fallen teammates. Burt, too, was trying to keep our players calm. As Burt and I walked off the field together after the game, he said to me, “Most teams would’ve fallen apart at that point, Coach. Seeing 2 of their teammates driven away in ambulances would be devastating. But your kids stayed focused, played hard and came away with a nice victory. They showed a lot of character. You should be proud!” I definitely was. What a great bunch of guys God has blessed me with to coach.

I can’t take much credit, though, for the character these boys displayed. Their parents have had them for 15-16 years… instilling these character traits in them. All I do is try to emphasize to our players the importance of displaying such things as determination, confidence, sportsmanship, intensity. We talk about these and other traits every week. The way these boys “hung in there” was a tribute to them, their parents and our coaches for standing together through a tough situation.

By the way, both boys are going to be fine. No paralysis… just some pain that will resolve itself with time.

Is it worth it to spend time teaching “character” to high school athletes? Maybe this story will convince you coaches reading this that it is:
We had a player last year who was our MVP and an All State performer. He was good enough, at a small private school, to get 2-3 offers to be a preferred walk on at a couple of Div.1AA schools to play football. He turned them down to “try out” at a 1A school in the ACC. He didn’t even get to report in early August with the rest of the team. He had to wait until students reported in late August. He, and others, then went through a 3-phase try out (“audition”) for the coaches and… Bobby made the final cut! He is now a member of their varsity team!

Our local paper interviewed him recently to get his take on things. They asked him what he had gained from having been coached by me. He didn’t mention anything of a physical or athletic nature. What he did say that he learned from me and my staff was self-confidence and perseverance. “When I wanted to give up my dream, I remembered what Coach J and the other coaches kept talking about never giving up nor giving in. It kept me going.”

THAT, in my mind, is successful coaching!

Be Courageous

Posted by admin October - 5 - 2012 - Friday Comments Off on Be Courageous

It still resonates in my mind 11 years later. And I shared that moment with my team just before we went on the field a few Fridays ago.

It was Friday night, Sept. 14, 2001— 3 days after the attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. We’d been sent home Tuesday afternoon since everyone was in shock over the events of the day. By Friday I was pleased that the administration was allowing us to play football that night. As we were coming out of our locker room for the game to start, the band was already on the field. We stopped under the stands for the playing of the national anthem. I had a perfect view of the American flag at half staff in our stadium as the band began to play. Tears of sadness for the losses; tears of pride in how our country was already bouncing back and tears of joy for knowing that God was still on His throne rolled down my face. Just an hour earlier in our team meeting, our defensive coordinator shared a story which captured the hearts of our players. Now, 11 years later on Friday, Sept. 14, 2012… I shared that same story with my team.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, United Flight 93 left Newark for San Francisco. It was hijacked by Islamic terrorists who claimed to have a bomb. When they received telephone confirmation that other planes with terrorist on board had hit the World Trade Center, the passengers knew the hijackers’ intentions. Todd Beamer picked up a seat-back phone and reached an operator to whom he described what was unfolding on the plane.

Beamer told her that he and others were going to “jump on” a hijacker who was guarding the passengers in the rear of the plane. Beamer asked the operator to pray the Lord’s Prayer with him. Dropping the phone after praying with the operator, Beamer was heard to say, “Jesus help me.” Then, after reciting the 23rd Psalm, he said, “Are you guys ready? Okay… let’s roll.

Those were the unforgettable last words Beamer spoke before he and others rushed the hijackers. There were screams heard over the phone, then silence. That day brave American civilians, complete strangers, rose up against unbelievable odds and tried to save the aircraft. In so doing, they made the ultimate sacrifice. As we all know, United Flight 93 crashed into a field in Pennsylvania, killing all 44 on board. Of the 4 hijacked planes that morning, theirs was the only one that did not hit its target.

I told my team that those men and women on board that plane showed courage— at the highest level. “Whatever we face tonight in this game, be courageous. Everybody ready? OK… let’s roll!

The Bible says in Deuteronemy, “Be strong and of good courage. The Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Amen!