Anyone who knows me well, would not categorize me as a religious person. In fact, I am a self-proclaimed doubter for most of my life. But something significant happened to me this weekend. While reading the book, The Mentor Leader, by Tony Dungy, I came across a passage from the Bible about Faith. ”Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1). First of all, this quote got me thinking about one of the steps along our journey, which is, “belief without proof.” Which I think really means having faith. We haven’t proved ourselves yet, but we have to believe that we are good, and that we deserve to have success. Secondly, it got me thinking about my collegiate career. During every National Anthem I used to speak to my mom’s Uncle Jack who had passed away in 1999. He was a hero of mine, even though most of what I knew of him came from stories my mom told me (I only ever met him once). Although I had my doubts about God, I believed my Uncle Jack was looking upon me. Those silent prayers before each game gave me a great sense of peace that everything would work out for the best. I believed I had the strength and courage to go out and put my best foot forward, and good things would happen because of that. I started really doing some soul-searching when we arrived at our hotel, and did some major contemplating about what it means to have faith. I decided that I needed to talk to our players about faith, and in turn I needed to back up my own words, and have faith myself. I had a long talk with God, and if nothing else, God is a great listener. The sense of relief I felt afterwards was immense, and in turn the pressure was taken off. When the pressure is off, your mind clears, and you can coach at a whole other level. I also got back in touch with my Uncle Jack, and I felt him there with me. He was helping me coach in a calm-assertive state. He helped me make quality decisions, and I know he saw to it that my players brought confidence, strength, and faith to the court.
Very moving Matt! We try to remind Tori of “faith” each time she plays. Her “Uncle Jack” is both of her Grandpa’s. She has their initials written on the inside soles of her game shoes. Our first thought when you won was I wonder what the grandpa’s think. We are so proud of the Yote volleyball team and honored to have Tori be part of it. Thanks for teaching them life lessons!
Matt,
Although we have never met I feel like I do know you. Your mom, my cousin has always been so proud of your accomplishments in sports, whether as a player or a coach. I do know that our Uncle Jack would have been so very very proud of you too. In your recent blog you wrote about Uncle Jack looking down on you. I truly believe that he is watching over all of us. He was such a remarkable man and so very kind and loving. He absolutely loved sports and he and your mom always had a strong bond because of that. He loved following your mom’s involvement in sports as a player and then later as a coach. And then when you came along he was just as excited hearing about your achievements in sports. Even though he is no longer with us I just know that Uncle Jack is always there listening when we reach out to him. He had such a calm manner and he always had faith no matter the situation. To know our Uncle Jack was to love him. He was loved and admired by so very many people. I’m so glad that you feel him with you today because that is how I’ve felt every day since we lost him. I just wish that he was still here with us today so that he could have been here to see what an amazing man you’ve become whether it be as a husband, father, friend and coach. All the young people you’ve coached are so lucky to have you and our Uncle Jack in their lives.
Matt, I look forward to following your path in life for many years to come. I hope that someday we will have the opportunity to spend time together and get to know each other in person instead of just knowing each other through others.
Love, Diane (your Cali cousin)
Matty,
Great words. All coaches, on all levels, of all sports should read this. Thanks for the motivation on this Friday.
Matt, thanks for the comment. I see you are coaching football at North. Good for you. How is it going? My dad said he has been to one game this year, and you guys looked pretty good. My dad also told me that you are working for Milwaukee Sporting Goods. How is that going? What are you doing with them? I hope all is well.