Brick by Brick

Last week I wished you a week of getting started on reading a book of your choice to take your personal development to another level. Which book did you choose? I just finished Killing JFK by Bill O’Reilly. This series is nonfiction and written in such a way that it parallels the lives of JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald. Fascinating!

Have you ever started a business from the ground up? Have you ever had a dream that you pursued? This past weekend, Jon and I watched the celebration of 17 seniors on Missouri Baptist University football team as it was their last home game. 10 of those seniors were with the program for the past four years. There was only one young man there from the very beginning five years ago.

Bringing a football program to MBU began as a dream by President Alton Lacey and became a reality in March of 2013. Jason was named as the very first head coach. There was nothing other than the field at a neighboring high school for practice and future games. There were no facilities, no assistant coaches, no trainers, no players, no equipment, no storage for the equipment, no offense or defense…NOTHING!

Assistant coaches were approached with a dream and the challenge of starting a program from the ground up. Brick by brick. Players and parents were approached with a dream, a vision, being a part of something special. It was the passion and the vision of what was coming.

Equipment was stored in a small storage area, cubbies were bought from Home Depot, and practice times had to be early in the morning when the high school wasn’t using the field. Brick by brick. Plans were starting to be put together for a brand-new facility, trees were being cleared, some players left, new ones came on board. Brick by brick.

Fast forward to the fourth season of officially playing football. There’s a facility with locker rooms, coaches’ offices, meeting rooms, and a field that is for practice. Yet to come will be the final additions needed to make the practice field their official playing field for their games. Brick by brick. Accept the Challenge.

What was it that kept the young first-time head coach recruiting better talent, talking to parents, crafting his dream, communicating that vision to everyone from players to parents, to assistant coaches, to the professors, to the administrators, to sponsors and basically anyone that would listen? Why did he continually reach out to others for advice, read books on coaching, and adjust as the program began to develop?

First, true leaders are willing to learn, grow, and change. John Maxwell continually talks about true leaders surrounding themselves with the very best. They’re not intimidated by others with more experience or those who are going to add something new and different. Jason did that and continues to do that.

Second, there has been his deep seeded desire to create a program of integrity, one with a strong foundation of quality football, quality coaching, and quality players. The goal is to not only develop a strong football program with great athletes, but even more important the goal is to develop young men for life.

What was it that 10 players stayed on for four years despite not winning a lot of games? They shared their thoughts during a 45-minute Periscope session. First and foremost, they bought into the vision that Coach B was “selling.” They bought into the importance of building a strong foundation from the very beginning. They understood the importance of learning, growing, studying the game, their position, and pushing through the doubts. They talked about the integrity of the coaches and how much they were learning not only about football but about life as a man. They are not quitters, they developed incredible friendships for a lifetime, they will graduate with a degree, and they bought into building brick by brick. They continually ACCEPT the Challenge. They were proud they were there celebrating their accomplishments, as seniors, knowing their blood, sweat, and hard work has brought the program to another level. Brick by brick. Accept the Challenge!

I share this because we seldom have a chance to build from the ground up and create something that begins as only a vision. Yet, in listening to these seniors, I realized how very special this group has been all along and how unique of a situation they have been in over the past four years. Parents have been there encouraging their sons because they also believed in what Coach B was creating, and how he was making a difference in their son’s life.

There were far more players who left the program. Why? Some weren’t getting the playing time they thought they should have. Some didn’t realize it was much harder on the college level and they weren’t willing to put in the time necessary. Some didn’t do well in the classroom and the list goes on. “Strong minds suffer without complaining; weak minds complain without suffering.”

These 10 young men had challenges as is true on any journey. What they did have and what they held on to is a head coach who believed in them, challenged them, wouldn’t let them settle for just being average, and they knew they were on a journey of a lifetime. Forever, their picture and their accomplishments will be a part of the record books.

Vision – Know your WHY - Patience – Attention to detail – Ups and Downs – Focus – One step at a time – Pushing through – NEVER give up – Celebrate the accomplishments – NEVER settle – 100% commitment – Have fun!

Integrity – Honesty – Respect the process – Learn – Grow – Adjust – NEVER lose sight of the goal – TEAM – Relationships!

Life is a journey. Jason, his staff of coaches, the players, the professors, the Learning Center support staff, and so many others are all a part of making this dream of having MBU football become a reality. This is only the fourth season building a team and creating a legacy for all those who will play in the future.

The 10 seniors are young men who will graduate with a degree and move on with their lives full of memories. They will take all they experienced with them and have a bond of friendship and connection to Missouri Baptist football for the rest of their lives.

“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.”

Colin Powell

I wish you a week to examine something you’ve done in your life and what lessons you learned from that experience.