Proof that school activities provide life lessons

One thing I’ve learned from coaching young kids for the past 27 years is how it gives us an opportunity to influence their future, far beyond the X’s and O’s of the sport we’re teaching.

Life lessons are part of the process. Accountability, being on time, accepting defeat and learning how to improve rather than relying on excuses. Teamwork to achieve success above focus on individual glory. All those things come into play.

It’s a responsibility, because you never know which words a certain player may hang on and remember. There are a lot of teaching moments in a practice or during a game where the lesson can translate to real-life situations.

In a fascinating interview last week with Jeff Hundley, chief operating officer of the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, the 1980 Creston graduate told me how he reached back to his Creston football days for coach Dick Bergstrom in addressing his staff in a crisis.

Early on New Year’s morning, an ISIS-inspired former American soldier killed 14 people and injured dozens of others as he drove down a bustling Bourbon Street at a high rate of speed. Early in the investigation there was no assurance that the man acted on his own.

Hundley had met with local and state government officials, as well as College Football Playoff leaders, ESPN and representatives of the competing teams, Notre Dame and Georgia. They had reached an agreement to play the game one day later at 3 p.m. on Jan. 2.

So, as Hundley and his staff gathered for an important meeting to make sure all of the logistics could be adjusted to meet everyone’s needs, he remembered something coach Bergstrom had said before a game. Bergstrom was a great leader with high standards. The perfect coach to relay life lessons to someone working in an important position someday.

“Sometimes you gotta stand up and be counted,” Hundley said, echoing that message from Bergstrom. “Today is one of those times.”

There was no time to crumble under pressure. Things had to get done NOW and done correctly. This was a serious situation. Decisions that were made could affect a lot of people.

From all accounts, Hundley and his team were terrific in delivering the product in a professional manner that met the needs of all parties. He would be the first to tell you that he learned a lot of valuable leadership lessons as a Panther athlete in the late 1970s.

Whether you’re a teacher of the arts or a coach in athletics, you could be influential with your message to a young person. When we talk to players about being accountable to your teammate and doing those extra little things that can be the difference between success and failure, they can be foundational in an important moment many years later.

I think it’s cool that a national figure who had to address media members from around the world that day, reached back to a moment from Creston Panther football when it mattered most. The legacy of coach Bergstrom and many others like him continue to guide people long after they turned in their uniform.

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Contact the writer:

Email: malachy.lp@gmail.com

X: @larrypeterson