A Special Opportunity Blessing

Many years, I traveled the country from Boston to San Diego to Appleton to Topeka giving presentations to athletic directors' conventions and to high school athletic families, which consisted of student-athletes, parents and coaches. My charge was the create an awareness for the need of a well thought out communication process for engagement between student athletes, their parents and school coaches, which ultimately increased the likelihood of a more positive experience for all parties. Regardless what part of this nation I found my audience, I knew they all held one thing in common: 'No youngster ever envisions failure, no mother ever gave birth to failure and no coach wanted to be seen as a failure.'

Parents want four things for their children: Love, Health, Success and Happiness. They must quickly realize that they can give unconditional love but health comes by the Grace of God while success and happiness rests on the shoulders of the individual; parents cannot make it happen for their kid.

Youngsters may be unwilling to admit it but they truly wish to be perceived as capable by their parents and have strong hope for parental validation. Teenagers do not always share total honesty about their abilities and relationship with coaches, which can create misconceptions.

Athletic coaches want to develop and sustain successful (winning) programs, however most coaches are often unwilling to be open to inquiries or questioning, which is to a great extent problematic.

This presentation entitled, "Me My Kid and Sports" was one of three presentations that I truly enjoyed sharing. Before embarking on what would be some 16-years of speaking engagements at hundreds of venues, I talked with my friend and school administrator, Robert Crowe who was accustomed to the speaking circuit seeking his advice. He told me to have a clever opening and
call to action closing...and with little time elapse between the two."

I did not seek my wife's opinion but of course, she had a suggestion also>>
She said, "Don't try to be funny and don't try to appear intelligent...Just Be Yourself."