Final Notes After the Banquet

Again, I want to thank everybody from the bottom of my heart. I want to thank the players, the parents, family members, fans, our coaches, the Booster Club and my bosses Athletic Director Jack Lococo and Varsity Head Coach Mike Martinez.

I have been truly blessed to have been touched by such wonderful people and I thank God you all have crossed paths with me.

There are some final notes I want to pass onto everybody. It came up again at the banquet and I want to pass on what I consider to be my guide to coaching. The book I refer to is 'Season of Life' by Jeffery Marx.



In the book Season of Life, we learn the lessons I have been trying to pass onto our young men throughout the season. Loving one another, building men for others, false masculinity, reconnecting out hearts with our minds and building a community of men. It is an excellent guide to life and it has changed me as a man and it has changed the way I coach. Coach Martinez and I believe it is required reading for all our coaching staff at all levels and we will continue to "build men for others" on the JV and Varsity.

Mr. Kevin Kelly came up to the microphone and spoke on the behalf of the parents. I was touched and moved by his speech and I want to thank him for the things he said. He quoted a speech made by Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President and I want to share that with you:

"The Man In The Arena"
Speech at the Sorbonne
Paris, France
April 23, 1910

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his
place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Finally, as the room started to empty and everybody came up to take photos with me and the other coaches, some of the players left 'Thank You' cards for me at the podium. I didn't get a chance to read them until I got home later in the evening. I want to take a moment and share what they wrote to me and our staff:

"Faith, Family, School, Football"

"I have never, in my life, had a coach who was so dedicated to building men. You have taught me a lot this year about how to be a football player and how to be a man."

"Thank you for believing in me."

"Thank you for pushing me to play football and making it fun"

"Thank you. Since I met you, you have made me a different person. You have made me a man."

"Thank you for teaching me how to be a team player. I will always remember my Freshman year because of you all."

And finally, my favorite...

"At the start of the season, I was a whole different person. I started being somebody I wasn't. I was pleased with how good I was. But that's when it went downhill from there. After a game, you opened my eyes. You said, "When you go home, just look yourself in the mirror and tell me what you see. Do you see a premadonna or do you see a great football player and teammate?" And it made me realize I was becoming something I wasn't. You changed me into a better person and football player. Thank you"

I am sure there are many stories like that. This is my job and this is my love. Making men for others. These kids get it. I will always love them and I will still be around to support them and love them up.