I can’t express how sorry I am that I haven’t posted in quite some time. I want this to be a place where people can really follow the life of a young coach, and also this program that I am doing my best to lead. Since my last post, I have been doing a lot of writing about my experiences but not much posting. Instead of catching you all up, I am going to just take you into life as it stands right now.
One thing I have really been trying to contemplate is what is this life of coaching…I sit and watch ESPN at night, and it is all fogged up with the mistakes of coaches and players that put their careers in jeopardy. I feel like our moral compass has been stolen, and our definition of success has been turned on its head. I hope I never work for a boss that asks me to choose winning over doing what is right, and I hope I never put a kids physical ability ahead of their mental and moral ability. I am blessed with a wife who always reminds me of how I got here, and I stay here (in this profession).
That being said, I am very appreciative of our current players. They have done an outstanding job this off-season with dedicating themselves to getting better in all aspects of this world of collegiate volleyball (classroom, weight room, team unity, and on the court). They are a “refuse to not get better” group. What I really like about them is that they are a group that returns six starters that overcame a lot of “failure” last season. They started the season 2-15, and went on to win 12 of their last 16 matches, and made it to the Conference Championship match. Here is a quote from Bill Walsh that describes why I know we will have success here at USD, and why success is not instant, and why we are striving to have success that is maintained over the course of time.
“Pursuing your ambitions, especially those of any magnitude, can be grueling and hazardous, and produce agonizing failure along the way, but achieving those goals is among life’s most gratifying and thrilling experiences. The ability to survive and overcome the former to attain the latter is a fundamental difference between winners and losers.”
I promise I will be better at staying current with this blog. I appreciate all of you that have taken a stake in USD Volleyball, and the development of me as a leader…a leader who strives to do things the right way, and to do right by this program and the players who make it up.
I had the pleasure of watching you play sports. I coached against you. I cheered for you in games we were not competing against each other. I cheered for you in games we did compete with each other! There are good players and then there are good players. You played the entire game… with all you had…..making others around you so much better.
I know these traits are passed on to your team you are coaching today. And your players will be rewarded if they adopt the same attitude you played with ! Not only on the court but in life.I would have been proud to have coached you. I really would have been blessed to play for you !
Helen Keller once said…”I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.” May all your tasks be great & noble Matt ! You’re doing just fine !!!
Your friend,
Rooster