I grew up in a very challenging environment, and I can still recall when my high school basketball coach, a man by the name of Win Evans, took me aside and spoke such encouraging words to me. To this day, I still remember him convincing me I had value and should utilize my God-given talents.
Isn’t it remarkable how a brief conversation can have such a huge impact? That moment with Coach Evans inspired me for years to come. It made me feel important and gave me self-worth. Even though I was young, I set out to do exactly what he said I could do.
I’ve written many times before of the places and events that have brought me to where I am today, but there are also several men who have been monumental in shaping my character.
Fast-forward from that conversation with Coach Evans all the way through my 32 years in the coaching ranks, and I think about the men I was blessed to coach beside. Men like Dan Stavely, who invited me to get involved with FCA and Bible studies while at the University of Colorado, and Pro Football Hall of Famer Raymond Berry, the head coach of the New England Patriots while I was there as a coordinator. Coach Stavely lived out a coach's influence on my life and hundreds of other student-athletes at his Friday morning Bible studies and through his one-on-one counseling. Coach Berry's model as a husband and father, and how he handled enormous pressure and public criticism because of his strong faith in Christ, truly influenced me.
I also think of Hall of Famer Tom Landry, the one coach I most wanted to model my career after. After I was fired by the Minnesota Vikings, he reached out and invited me to his home for several days to encourage me. During that time it became so obvious that his Christian faith, along with his family, were the top priorities in his life.
There were plenty of others I’m leaving out, but I mention those specific men, each a coach, because they each filled the role of “mentor” in my life for a certain period of time.
During a recent visit to the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, I was reminded of the impact even I made as a coach. A young man who played for me 30 years earlier happened to be there as well. After exchanging hugs and hellos, he revealed that he’d been sober and drug-free for 22 years, saying, “Coach, we were too young to understand what you were saying and modeling to us. But now I know, and I’m grateful to have had people like you in my life.”
FCA understands stories like that. We know how pivotal a role today’s coach plays in athletes’ lives, and we believe strongly that these men and women have such a blessed opportunity to let the Holy Spirit work through them, their athletes and, in turn, their campuses and communities. That’s why we take what we do so seriously.
Whether or not you’re a coach, wherever you might find yourself in the role of mentor, be confident that—just like Coach Evans told me—you can make a significant difference in this world. And those you lead, guide and direct need to hear the same.
Model the Master,
Les Steckel
FCA President/CEO
–This article appears in the March/April 2015 issue of FCA Magazine. To view the issue in its entirety digitally, click here: March/April 2015 FCA Mag Digital
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