I have always been pretty conservative. Political correctness drives me crazy! Most people would probably call me “old fashioned.” That would be a compliment!!! When I look at this crazy, mixed up world, I get a little sad… thinking about what we are leaving to my grandkids. Some of the viewpoints being expounded upon in today’s politically-charged climate make me shake my head.
But, I take solace that… for the most part, athletics has not been tainted. Oh yes, we went through the “everyone deserves a trophy” days… but most everybody recognized that we need to get back to setting goals and working to achieve them. A championship has to be earned. Competition is what drives us to succeed. We can still teach sportsmanship and respect while we are challenging our players to become the best they can be. When we start letting them get away with stuff, we are creating headaches that will ultimately lead to (as Head Coaches) being fired.
All of this brings to mind the story I read recently that I want to strongly encourage you to find on the internet and read— no! absorb it!!! I think the title is “17 Inches.”
The author is a young high school baseball coach who is attending his first big coaches clinic. He writes about how he ended up in a packed room during the second day of the clinic where a retired college baseball coach named John Solinos was going to be speaking to the crowd. What Coach Solinos shared over the next 30 minutes changed this young coach’s life. If you will read it, I think it will cause you to stop and reflect also. I will not give away the “punch line” of Solinos’ story. Needless to say, it really impacted me! I hope it will for you too.
I found the web address. It’s www.sperrybaseballlife.com/stay-at-17-inches/. Please check it out. You won’t regret it!
