Making More Than Just Athletes

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I am thankful for my family, my children, my friends and for my players and the impact they left on me.

Part of building men for others is teaching our players to be accountable. I am not immune from that. I have to lead by example. I am not perfect and I make mistakes. One of the things I try to pass onto the players is we are all accountable for what we do or don't do in life. It is up to each of us to right a wrong when we can. Our society is very forgiving and I want to apologize for a mistake I made.

An omission was made on the night of the banquet. I handed out Academic Awards to three players and one name was mysteriously missing. Apparently, there was a clerical error and when a check on grades came to me, the list did not include players that did not have my 6th Period PE Class.

Jordan Robertson, #42, is one of our Safeties. He is enrolled in 6th Period ROTC. He is also a reporter for the school newspaper The Patriot Press. Apparently Jordan was carrying a 4.0 GPA and I did not recognize him at the banquet.

So to Jordan and his parents Diedra and Jack, I apologize for the mistake. I will be making a presentation during his ROTC Class.

To make up the difference, I want to share an article Jordan wrote in the Patriot Press back on September 30th. Enjoy.

Making More Than Just Athletes by Jordan Robertson, Staff Writer

Years spent watching countless hours of ESPN and an untold number of sports movies taught us that the football field is not an uncommon place to find a hero, but amidst the sweltering heat of Patrick Henry High School's artificial turf, there is a hero that defies all the usual personas. As a police officer, head coach LeRoy Dailey of the freshman football team knows how quickly life can end. He knows that in a split second, everything someone has worked towards for his or her entire life, whether it be an illustrious home, an exotic car, or even infamy amongst his or her peers can be become meaningless.

Coach Dailey stresses to each member of his team that no one is remembered for what kind of car they drove, or how many touchdowns scored, but what they made out of their lives.

Coach Dailey puts this best into perspective as he tells me: "Our success will not be measured in wins or losses this year. Our success will be measured 5 to 10 years after our young men graduate. The measure is what kind of loving son they become, what kind of loving husband and father they become and how productive a member of society the become."

After almost 19 years of coaching, Coach Dailey has found out what it takes to make it on and off the football field, and now he's using this knowledge to make more than just athletes.

Coach Dailey does not believe in handouts, nor does he reward players for merely showing up.

"We live in a society where everybody gets a trophy. Personal achievement, hard work and dedication is overlooked for receiving an award for just showing up. This is not a realistic view of the real world." says the freshman Coach, and when asked for his personal philosophy, he turns around slowly and proudly points to bold green letters inscribed across the back of every single Patrick Henry football shirt: COMPETE. Sure enough, nothing is taken for granted on the team and everyday, the competition for starting positions continually causes players to push their limits and become better.

"Our players need to show their coach during the individual and group periods of our practice that the can compete and earn that right to be on the field," says Dailey.

This doctrine has also gone a long way to build character in the team, when a player earns their playing time through hard work, or thier Patrick Henry decal on their helmet for leadership and perseverance, there is no malice, no trivial jealously, but instead a deep admiration and respect.

Through Coach Dailey's teachings, these football players have learned that with hard work, dedication, and some friendly competition, they can not only improve themselves as both athletes and men, but also those around them.

Respect and responsibility are two virtues that are so frequently and generically taught to, or even more so, thrust upon us, but when Coach Dailey implements these values, it is on a much different spectrum.

As young men who at some point in our lives will be joining the workplace, he finds it imperative to not only to reinforce the broad scale of values, but also in the small things that can lead to success down the road. It starts with the simplest of things, such as addressing all coaches as "Sir", then works it's way up to more important codes of conduct.

These more vital requirements usually involve the athlete taking responsibility for them. All the players who miss practice must inform the coaches themselves, and in all matters related to the field of play, it is too the player's job to confront the coaching staff.

"If there is a question about playing time, I want the player to talk to the individual coach and open a dialog on what needs to be done to get on the field. I want the players to be accountable for what needs to be done," remarks Dailey.

Taking responsibility for one's self and learning to give proper respect is one of the most crucial parts of the transition into high school and eventually the adult world.

Coach LeRoy Dailey has redefined a whole generation of student athlete here at Patrick Henry High School. He has taught competition, determination and perseverance while at the same time preaching the merits of respect, responsibility and above all love and commitment.

His only goal is to raise men, not for himself, not for the team, but for others. Coach Dailey wants each player to take what he has learned on the field and apply it to every aspect of life, so that not only may he succeed, but so that can nurture the success of others.

From now on, the life of each and every freshman football player is changed for the better due to the respect, responsibility and love of Coach Dailey that each player has learned to emulate. For every day hence forth, the athletes will be repeating the words of their beloved coach: "Thanks for the love,"