A Visit to See My Old Coach

Coach Tommy Wallace was my football and baseball coach forfour years.  He also was my mathteacher for four years in six different courses.  By far, without realizing it, he was the most influential(non-family) adult during my adolescence. I was not Coach’s best student or athlete.  I wasn’t his favorite student either.  In fact, if Coach had a favorite (whichI am sure he did), I don’t know if anyone on his teams or in his classes knewwho it was.  All we knew is that hehad a standard of performance (both on the field and in the class) that heexpected and as long as you were working to meet that standard you got time andsupport, no matter how long it took (I still hear “Run it again, Cain,” in mysleep). And if you quit working, Coach was right there in your ear, talking youout of making a bad decision that could possibly define you for years. 
Because of all of the hours I spent with Coach Wallace(two to five hours a day, every school day for four years) I studied him.  Then, in my own classroom, I modeled myinstructional style after him.  Itwas when I became an administrator that I began to reflect on why Coach Wallacewas different.  I think about thismore often than you might expect.
Here is how I explain Coach Wallace’s lasting impact onhis student’s.  Coach Wallace wasalways a Coach.  It didn’t matterwhere he was standing, on the field, in the locker room, gym, classroom,hallway or cafeteria.  Everyinteraction he had with us was a coaching experience.  And since he was a coach, he didn’t freak out when we didstupid things.  “Run it again,”applied to everything from a play, a throw, a math problem, a disrespectfulcomment, all the way to inadvertent teenage profanity.  Just do it again, and this time let’sdo it right (or at least better). But Coach Wallace also did what all great coaches do; he tied whateverwe were doing to a bigger picture. He showed us how the decisions and actions we made defined us.  So it was imperative to do things rightand do it at full speed.  And if wedid it wrong, make amends and then work harder. 
Coach Wallace coached (and still coaches) kids.  That is the constant. The content isthe variable.
Run It Again...
Your turn...

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