At the end of June, I was able to attend the annual Play Like A Champion Today ® Leadership Conference at the University of Notre Dame. Keynote for our last dinner there was Elliot Uzelac, Head Football Coach for Benton Harbor High School. The
story
he told has a Hollywood feel to it - where the "losing ways and attitude of Benton Harbor High reflected the fate and the feel of the community at large" and both are transformed through the exploits of a winning football team.
You see, Coach Uzelac was a retired, ex-collegiate head and assistant football coach who entered the fray of a community hit hard by lack of economic opportunity and violence. A 74-year old Caucasian man who had taken on the task of building a football program at a predominantly African-American high school that was in such disarray that he was hired on a Thursday when his first practice was on Monday.
In his talk, Coach Uzelac shared his leadership principles that were core to his efforts of the turnaround and what he worked to instill in his coaching staff and players:
- Trust - make sure if we say something that it happens because these kids have been lied to their whole lives;
- Teach - step by step from the feet up in technique and philosophy so that they become confident in their own ability;
- Belief -the word stupid better not be spoken on the field - tell them that they can do it,;
- Expectations - don't feel sorry for them - demand productivity and high standards - no excuses;
- Accountability - do the right thing, on and off the field, because bad things happen if you don't;
He told them that they would make the playoffs that year and went on to prove that his concern was not solely about winning on the field - he did not take a salary, worked to provide tutors and meals for the players and fundraised to improve the athletic facilities.
He then facilitated the transformation process, as
detailed early in their season
that did not concern itself with the results but the growth of the young men in his care, "All I worry about is us. I can't control what our opponents do, but I can control what we do. If we get better each and every game, it gives us a better chance for the next one."
As a longtime Benton Harbor resident and equipment manager noted in the
ESPN short
, they needed "somebody to love them, somebody to support them".
The underlying foundation of the story has merit for all of us, even if we don't face the same adversity that his young football players and members of the Benton Harbor community do every day of their lives. At the root of it is what we are all called to do.
It struck me that shortly after hearing Coach Uzelac, the
readings at Sunday Mass
reflected the heart of the Benton Harbor resurrection.
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said,
"Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law?
How do you read it?"
He said in reply,
"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself."
He replied to him, "You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live."
The scholar follows up by asking, "Who is my neighbor?" at which point Jesus shares the parable of the Good Samaritan. Beyond differences which might normally separate us, Jesus effectively tells him that a neighbor is one who is in need.
Elliot Uzelac and others around him who he enlisted, responded to those in need.
We are thankful and appreciative of those who respond by loving their neighbor, who respond to those in need, through their leadership and service in CYO Athletics. There are many who give of themselves, their expertise, and their passion to make our program what it is for the young people, families and communities we serve.
On Thursday, June 9, we celebrated many of those individuals at the Champions of Faith Celebration. Please see the item in this e-letter that recognizes those that received recognition that night.
In the words of Ruth Harvey, Benton Harbor HS equipment manager,
"God placed him here. It was a need.
He had a need and we had a need.
And both needs met each other.
And look what happened."
May we be thankful to God for those he places in our lives to love us as neighbor, thankful for the opportunities he places before us where we are granted the gift and the grace to love our neighbors and thankful for what happens when needs meet each other!
Blessings,
Tauno
