Offering a challenge for America’s coaches

If America’s high school and college coaches, both men and women, knew how much influence they had on the lives of their players, they would take what they do a lot more seriously. Of course, many do realize this, but others don’t. That is what

I want to speak to you about today, especially as it relates to players’ lives after they graduate from high school and college, if they attend.

I don’t have the latest statistics, but only a very small percentage of high school players make it to the next level — either college or professional levels. Most will look around for some type of employment or find their place in society, and will get married at some point in time.

I learned the hard way that the most important skill a high school student can master is the skill of becoming an excellent reader if they didn’t learn it earlier. To be honest, a person cannot do anything in our society if they can’t read and write. It’s the key that opens the doors of opportunity for anything we wish to do. One of the things I learned later in life is the importance of reading inspirational and self-help books or listening to recordings of this kind of information.

Here is an area where our coaches can really be of service to their players. If a coach asked their players to do something, they would be more likely to do it than if they were asked by anyone else in their lives, including mom and dad. What follows is a list of books that I have in my library. I have read each one, some more than once. If a coach asked their players to read one book each month, outside of their class work, over time it would really make a difference. Here is a list of those books I am talking about. I can promise you there are some fantastic books on this list.

The Holy Bible; “The Tipping Point,” by Malcolm Gladwell; “Outliers,” by Malcolm Gladwell; “A Game Plan for Life,” by John Wooden; “Gifted Hands,” by Dr. Ben Carson; “Same Kind of Different As Me,” by Ron Hall; “See You at the Top,” by Zig Ziglar; “The Strong-willed Child,” by Dr. James Dobson; “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” by Dale Carnegie; “He Still Moves Stones,” by Max Lucado; “John Adams,” by David Mccullough; “Words to Lift Your Spirits,” by Coach Dale Brown; “Common Sense,” by Thomas Paine; “People Who Live at the End of Dirt Roads,” by Lee Pitts; “The Thread That Runs So True,” by Jesse Stuart; “A Walk Across America,” by Peter Jenkins; “The Greatest Salesman in the World,” by Og Mandino; “Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do,” by Dr. Robert Shuller; “Psycho Cybernetics,” by Dr. Maxwell Maltz; “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” by Dr. Stephen R. Covey; “None of These Diseases,” by Dr. S.L. Mcmillen; “Uncommon,” by Coach Tony Dungy; “Anti-alzheimer’s Prescription,” by Dr. Vincent Fortanasce; “A Framework for Understanding Poverty,” by Dr. Ruby K. Payne; and “Don’t Make A Budget,” by Ken Robinson.

It’s been said that “if a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it from him.”