As no doubt for many others who may eventually read this note, one of the most unforgettable lines from one of my absolute favorite movies Brian's Song was when Chicago Bears legendary running back Gayle Sayers said of his best friend and teammate: "I love Brian Piccolo". And then asked all those gathered for a dinner that night at which Sayers received the NFL MVP award "to hit their knees and say a prayer" for his friend who was very ill in hospital.
Well as my wife and life partner (Barbara) Bobbie and I gather today with family and friend for our Thanksgiving, part of us will unashamedly be in a Twin Cities Minnesota hospital with our friend Merlin Dewing. Someone very very very special to us. Of whom it is fair to say that everyone everywhere all around the globe who like us have had their lives graced by his presence and that of his beloved Barbara would say what I am saying here: he is simply the best human being, and the most accomplished and honorable leader and leadership coach of others I have ever known. Compassionate yet tough. Generous and thoughtful and considerate and loyal. Brilliant, athletic, humble yet supremely confident. With an inspirational life story about which books are written and movies made.
We met under unusual circumstances in December 1983 which led to his asking me to work side-by-side with him on a project that to that time had never been successfully accomplished: to find a way to keep a major league sports franchise from moving from one city to another. Said simply and directly: without Merlin Dewing's leadership, the Minnesota Twins would not only have not won two world series since then, and would not be moving into a new stadium next spring, there would in fact be no Minnesota Twins baseball franchise. Yet such an enormous accomplishment speaks only a tad of who he is and everything he's achieved to date.
I could go on and may likely someday. But for today, this Thanksgiving, I just want to offer my eternal personal thanks to Merl for being part of my life, and a world-wide circle of prayer of love and hugs of support for him, Barbie, and the family.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Charlie Weis&Others/The Life of a Coach: One Coach's Thought
By this time next week or the week after a number of college head coaches will no longer hold their positions. While almost all I only "know" from reading about them in the media, one is someone I have come to know and respect. And all have situations perhaps best personified by witnessing from afar the inexorably slow, painfully played out, likely demise of Notre Dame football Head Coach Charlie Weis.
Perhaps it is because I am a first year women's basketball college Head Coach at an institution unique unto itself as a military junior college with a female enrollment of 33. Or maybe it's is due to my other long time career as an advisor and coach to senior executives and Boards of Directors of for and not-for- profit organizations around the world. Whatever, as detached as these imminent coaching changes are to my life and how I identify myself, they do raise questions that deserve airing too infrequently dealt with publicly:
I don't know and have never met Coach Weis. Still I cannot help but wonder about the impact on his family and friends brought about by all the speculation & commentary of his about to be firing (unless there is a humongous surprise).
It cannot be anything but dreadful.
Similarly I cannot help but wonder what it says about Notre Dame (along with West Point and the Naval Academy, my favorite American academic and sports institutions) how this has been allowed to play out.
What it makes me wonder about is what exactly is owed by a college coach?
Where are the lines drawn between performance off and on the field (or court, or baseball diamond, or ice etc)?
And if and how my perspective would be different if I were a Trustee or loyal supporter of the school's athletics department?
While I recognize Coach Weis said himself that a team record of 6-5 was not good enough, is a winning (albeit not overwhelmingly so) career record more important than what a Head Coach does for the community he or she is a part of or the academic performance of team members?
Or seen in a different light, would being 9-3 or 10-2 or even 12-0 be acceptable under any circumstances? No matter what happens off the playing field?
In other words, what if Charlie Weis' teams had gone unbeaten this year? But instead of a 96% graduation rate his players have experienced over the duration of his being Notre Dame Head Coach, only 5% 10% or 20% or 30% of his players had graduated: Would that be worthy of a new contract?
Where should the lines be drawn?
What are, what should be the expectations from the school administration? Alumni?
It is an issue I have long thought about. Going back to when I first came to the US from Canada as a highly popular issues-oriented radio and television talk show host with the reputation for asking the questions no one dared ask, I once had as my guest one of the country's best known and respected NCAA Divsion One Head Coaches. Whose eventual contract renewal was not in question. Assumed to be a done deal for someone who clearly had not anticipated being asked:
What's the overall graduation rate of the players you've recruited over the years?
Put simply, the answer was zero...none...nada.
Not one had graduated.
Yet for years he'd been held up by the media and alumni and school adminstrations to be a successful Head Coach.
Why?
Because his teams won.
But was that enough? Is it? Should it be?
Where should the lines be drawn?
In a similar vein, even if a college head coach has an overwhelming winning record, or better yet wins a conference, even national championship, what if one or more players on the team were caught, arrested, if not convicted for felonies ranging from armed robbery to sexual assault.
Is he or she a head coach to be lionized & held out to be a terrific success by alumni or media or the school adminstration?
Where should the lines be drawn?
What is the ultimate responsibility of a College Head Coach?
And while you are thinking about that, here's something else to think about: with the country at war what would you say are the appropriate expections of a military academy Head Coach?
Where should the lines be drawn between success on and off the playing field at Air Force, or West Point or Annapolis?
What does any Head Coach owe his or her institution?
Vice Versa?....
Perhaps it is because I am a first year women's basketball college Head Coach at an institution unique unto itself as a military junior college with a female enrollment of 33. Or maybe it's is due to my other long time career as an advisor and coach to senior executives and Boards of Directors of for and not-for- profit organizations around the world. Whatever, as detached as these imminent coaching changes are to my life and how I identify myself, they do raise questions that deserve airing too infrequently dealt with publicly:
I don't know and have never met Coach Weis. Still I cannot help but wonder about the impact on his family and friends brought about by all the speculation & commentary of his about to be firing (unless there is a humongous surprise).
It cannot be anything but dreadful.
Similarly I cannot help but wonder what it says about Notre Dame (along with West Point and the Naval Academy, my favorite American academic and sports institutions) how this has been allowed to play out.
What it makes me wonder about is what exactly is owed by a college coach?
Where are the lines drawn between performance off and on the field (or court, or baseball diamond, or ice etc)?
And if and how my perspective would be different if I were a Trustee or loyal supporter of the school's athletics department?
While I recognize Coach Weis said himself that a team record of 6-5 was not good enough, is a winning (albeit not overwhelmingly so) career record more important than what a Head Coach does for the community he or she is a part of or the academic performance of team members?
Or seen in a different light, would being 9-3 or 10-2 or even 12-0 be acceptable under any circumstances? No matter what happens off the playing field?
In other words, what if Charlie Weis' teams had gone unbeaten this year? But instead of a 96% graduation rate his players have experienced over the duration of his being Notre Dame Head Coach, only 5% 10% or 20% or 30% of his players had graduated: Would that be worthy of a new contract?
Where should the lines be drawn?
What are, what should be the expectations from the school administration? Alumni?
It is an issue I have long thought about. Going back to when I first came to the US from Canada as a highly popular issues-oriented radio and television talk show host with the reputation for asking the questions no one dared ask, I once had as my guest one of the country's best known and respected NCAA Divsion One Head Coaches. Whose eventual contract renewal was not in question. Assumed to be a done deal for someone who clearly had not anticipated being asked:
What's the overall graduation rate of the players you've recruited over the years?
Put simply, the answer was zero...none...nada.
Not one had graduated.
Yet for years he'd been held up by the media and alumni and school adminstrations to be a successful Head Coach.
Why?
Because his teams won.
But was that enough? Is it? Should it be?
Where should the lines be drawn?
In a similar vein, even if a college head coach has an overwhelming winning record, or better yet wins a conference, even national championship, what if one or more players on the team were caught, arrested, if not convicted for felonies ranging from armed robbery to sexual assault.
Is he or she a head coach to be lionized & held out to be a terrific success by alumni or media or the school adminstration?
Where should the lines be drawn?
What is the ultimate responsibility of a College Head Coach?
And while you are thinking about that, here's something else to think about: with the country at war what would you say are the appropriate expections of a military academy Head Coach?
Where should the lines be drawn between success on and off the playing field at Air Force, or West Point or Annapolis?
What does any Head Coach owe his or her institution?
Vice Versa?....
Monday, November 23, 2009
Game 2 vs Mercer CC: A Set-Back Is A Set-Up For A Comeback
When Coach Hunter and I met the players for pre-game dinner, we knew immediately even before the players had changed into their home game uniforms they were emotionally spent from their amazing once in a lifetime first ever win for Valley Forge Military College the previous night. So as frustrating as it was, not too surprisingly we got outplayed in every respect with ill advised shot selection, missed open shots, bad passing, poor rebounding, and untimely mental mistakes. Behind 14-4, changing our defensive scheme from 2-3 to 3-2 and some good shooting temporarily helped close the gap to 17-14 against a well coached team that was playing its sixth or seventh game including scrimmages. However, aided by two back to back turn-overs within two minutes, VFMC found itself at half time behind 24-14. A lead the history-making VFMC "miracle" team--which admitted after the game to being mentally and physically exhausted from the amazing evening before--simply could not overcome, eventually losing 62-24. Of course, in every (win or) loss there are silver linings to be learned. Among which were--once the outcome was obvious, having the opportunity to empty the bench so that every player eligible to play got to experience first hand the speed of the game, while the others got a bigger picture view of play from the bench. And all learned the invaluable lesson of the need to rest after each game. All in all it was quite a week beginning with the nothing short of stunning movie-script like season opening 58-56 victory (first ever win in history for VFMC women's basketball and athletics) against four year NCAA Div2 Davis College. A once in lifetime event no one who was there will ever forget. We reconvene for practice 7pm Monday 11/30/09.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
VFMC vs Davis College: A Memorable (Season-Opening) Game To Remember: Speaks For Itself
Valley Forge Military College put out the following news release on its web-site commemorating a genuine once-in-a-lifetime experience for the players, team manager, coaches, the athletics dept, alumni, professors, administration officials, all the many school support staff, and most gratifyingly for the hundreds of family members and military clad students and tactical officers who came out to support their female basketball bretheren playing for the first time this season:
News
VFMC Lady Trojans win first basketball game!
The 2009-10 Women’s Basketball team, coached by Richard Pomerantz, achieved their first victory in the history of VFMC tonight over Davis College, NY by a score of 58-56! The starting five in this historical game were:
Ariel Coreth (#23)
Chasmon Reed (#21)
Andrell Barnes (#31)
Veronica Ygarza (#32)
Amber Barnes (#33)
Assistant Coaches are Paulette Branson and Brian Hunter.
Congratulations Lady Trojans!
Posted 11/17/2009
News
VFMC Lady Trojans win first basketball game!
The 2009-10 Women’s Basketball team, coached by Richard Pomerantz, achieved their first victory in the history of VFMC tonight over Davis College, NY by a score of 58-56! The starting five in this historical game were:
Ariel Coreth (#23)
Chasmon Reed (#21)
Andrell Barnes (#31)
Veronica Ygarza (#32)
Amber Barnes (#33)
Assistant Coaches are Paulette Branson and Brian Hunter.
Congratulations Lady Trojans!
Posted 11/17/2009
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