Your Creed

I am constantly reminded that, as coaches, we are an amalgam… a combination… of all of the coaches we have played for or coached with throughout our lifetimes.

The philosophy we believe in… the techniques we teach… how we teach…

And the converse is true.   We mentor… teach… inspire all of the players and coaches in our sphere.

We are at the same time a “branch” of one coaching tree, and the “roots” of yet another

I have been very fortunate to have many great individuals influence the way I coach and teach (see posts Genealogy, Your Tree, Immortality).

I bring this all up today because of a post on a Facebook group I belong to (CMSU Fighting Mules Football Alumni) that referenced the “Muleball Creed”.

muleball-creedThe Muleball Creed was (and still is) deeply rooted in the folks that played for and coached with Terry Noland during his tenure as head football coach at the University of Central Missouri.

It was in every playbook, posted on our office walls, part of our workouts, discussed during pre-game, and eventually worked is way into the core… the psyche… the very fabric of the people in our program.

It states simply…

“Man’s greatest moment of happiness is to be tested beyond what he thought might be his breaking point and still succeed!”

We all memorized it, believed it, and could recite it at will… in fact I just typed it out verbatim 20 years after leaving UCM… and most everyone else that played and coached there during those years could probably do the same.

It is strikingly familiar to my Creed… Catch Phrase… Mantra…

“You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you… Don’t Believe It!”

My” Creed?…It IS what I believe… but hardly… exclusively… originally… mine.

Related Posts:

Remember – You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It! 

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Honorific … Coach

A couple of weeks ago I had the great fortune to spend the evening with a group of former players from my University of Central Missouri coaching days.

It was not a formal gathering, but rather a somewhat spur of the moment get-together organized by one of the players, essentially texting… “hey it has been a while… lets get together some evening this week”… and we did!

I cannot express how proud I am of this group of men. They were great players for us back in the day, and each one very successful in their chosen fields today.   Most have families, and many have sons or daughters that are now participating in sports.

The thing that really struck me, and filled me with tearful, emotional pride later when I thought about it was this one thing…

They all still call me “Coach”

They have not played for me in 20 years.

For them, and for me, the title “Coach” is an honorific… a title showing respect.

I was proud to be their coach 20 years ago, and am proud that they still think of me as “Coach”

Then I started thinking about the people who I still bestow the honorific title “Coach” on…. some who I played for 40 years ago…. some who I never played for…

merrellA few who popped into my mind…

  • Coach Merrell… Fred Merrell at Blue Springs High School
  • Coach Noland… Terry Noland at the University of Central Missouri
  • Coach Temples… Amy Jackson Broughton… at Truman High School
  • Coach Hamilton… Larry Hamilton at William Jewell College

Respect

Coach….

Who will still call you “Coach” twenty years from now?

Who do you still bestow that honorific on today?

Ours is an awesome job, with awesome responsibility.

Related Posts:

You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you… Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com