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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2006 > December > 29 > Entry
The power of encouragement
Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz
Over the holidays, I’m reading the autobiography of former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz. In one way, Holtz’s story is classic — poor kid overcomes odds and reaches great heights through hard work.
But unlike many other folks who made this climb, Holtz benefited from a very supportive family. And the turning point in his life came during a conversation with his parents and a coach who had a different vision for Holtz than everyone else in his life.
It’s a good demonstration of the life-changing power of teachers and coaches.
As Holtz tells it, he was by far the smallest and least suited player on his high school football team. And he didn’t have a reputation for great classroom smarts either. But he loved playing football and earned a reputation for not only knowing exactly what he was supposed to be doing on the football field at all times, but also knowing — and sometimes reminding teammates — exactly what the assignments were for the other 10 players on his side the field.
At the end of Holtz’s junior year, his school’s football coach got a job at a bigger school. Before he left, he called Holtz and his parents in for conference where he stunned all three by suggesting Lou ought to go to college and become a football coach. Holtz’s father was a bus driver and ex-coal miner from West Virginia. The thought had never occurred to anyone in the Holtz family that any of them should, or even could, go to college.
But that one conversation changed the direction of Holtz’s life. He probably would have ended up working in an East Liverpool, Ohio, hospital like his sister without that coach’s words. Instead the whole family pitched in to send Holtz to Kent State University.
Can you imagine what any of the folks involved in that conference — the coach, Holtz’s parents, even Lou himself — would had said if you’d have told them then that this boy could someday be the head football coach at Notre Dame? While Holtz was leading the Irish, he learned that the coach who inspired that early change of direction was still alive and retired in Southern California. For years, he was Holtz’s sideline guest for the annual Notre Dame-Southern California game.
It just goes to show what a little encouragement from the right teacher (or coach) can do for a young person.
(Image credit: Motivational Celebrity Speakers)
Permalink | Comments (9) | Categories: My Favorite Posts, Teaching and Learning
Comments
By Keith
January 1, 2007 10:37 AM | Link to this
The story above says that Holtz had supportive parents. That’s the story. The mea culpa folks want others to accept responsibility for the irreparable damage done by parents who don’t marry and establish a home, by parents who aren’t even mature enough to not have kids until they can afford to rear them, by parents who expect society to give them a living and a lifestyle that they themselves haven’t worked for and gained. It’s their responsibility to rear their kids. I realize the concept is there to tell folks they can’t achieve without the self-annointed leaders of the poor helping them conquer society (and who earn glorious amounts of money for themselves and their friends in the process but do little or negative things for the poor and downtrodden whom they pretend to support)and that lends the negativity. Add to that the glorification of an anti-authority lifestyle in music and videos and movies promoting lack of respect and legality as the correct lifestyle; and then when they end up in prison it’s society’s fault. … . . Spare me the village theme. It doesn’t work. Been there. Done that. It’s up to the parents.… . . Which we don’t require in this society anymore… . And by the way, when was the last time you saw Penn Station glorify the high school student earning a scholarship to Case Western? Or the car dealer honoring the scholar of the week at one of the county”s schools? It”s all athleticsBy Rick
December 31, 2006 1:23 PM | Link to this
Scott, you are entirely correct. Haven’t you folks seen those billboards about how to raise kids? One of which says, “Tell me I can do it.” In the poor communities there is a culture of deprecation, of telling kids they can’t do it, they are worthless, etc. Motivating kids is important, whether it be in sports, academics, health, etc.By Scott Elliott
December 30, 2006 8:38 PM | Link to this
Well, Keith and Mary, I can’t defend the over-emphasis on sports at all levels schooling. There is no doubt the money could be better spent and, for many athletes, the hours and hours spent practicing probably would be better put to use in skill-building of a different sort. And I know I am part of the problem, since I enjoy following high school and college sports. I agree that it would be better if athletics were kept in proper perspective. Even so, let me just say again that this post was really not about sports. It was about the opportunity teachers have (even if they are coaches) to inspire and change lives. Also, I’d argue again that even if the problems of athletics out-weigh the benefits overall, there still are individual instaces in which students benefit in life-changing ways.By Oldprof
December 30, 2006 4:55 PM | Link to this
In that spirit, I note that Scott has distinguished himself as a professional journalist, and I invite us all to join in praising his work and wishing him every success in 2007 and beyond.By Mary
December 30, 2006 9:05 AM | Link to this
Scott, you have sat on your objective reporter’s hat by planting a sport’s hatred hat on my head. I have been an avid sports participant (not just a spectator) and still believe in some form of exercise and physical fitness for all (as well as healthy food). However, for people to constantly beat the drum that sports is the only avenue or principal avenue to college scholarships, or even the main function of a college education or the epitomy of manhood and leadership, is a sicko and dysfunctional cultural problem.By keith
December 30, 2006 9:02 AM | Link to this
I listened to the glorification of sports as a necessary component of schools for decades. I wonder what would have been the response if Lou Holtz’s math teacher had stopped by and said he needed to go to college because he should become a math teacher? Or perhaps if the social studies teacher… Naaaah. No reaction that way, because sports is all important in helping lives. If I hear one more time about how wonderful it is that sports soaks up all that school funding (both operating and capital), I’ll vomit. Didn’t I see a few million from the state funds to go to Welcome stadium announced this week? What about a few million for… oh… physics instruction facilities? Naaaah, wouldn’t happen. If I could relate every incidence of improper behavior by coaches and athletic staff through my decades in schools, I’d probably have a small book. And I didn’t even hear many of the juicy stories by the coaches with close contact with students since I didn’t make a career of digging for dirt. Idealizing athletics allows the improprieties to flourish along with some good things. But having watched millions for gyms in buildings and stadiums built instead of better academic facilities for education…, doesn’t cut it. People get what they want from their schools. I recall one small provincial town nearby where someone said the school system was doing a great job because their football team was 8 up with 1 loss. Please don’t say I have a hatred of sports; I’ve been there and seen for myself.By Scott Elliott
December 30, 2006 12:28 AM | Link to this
Mary, this is really not a post about sports or motivation, but rather about the power of teachers — in the classroom, on the ballfield, etc. — to see more in a student than he or she sees and to inspire them to reach their potential with a simple nudge in the right direction. I think your hatred of sports clouds your view here. How could it have possibly been better for Lou Holtz to spend his life sweeping floors in East Liverpool rather than teaching and inspiring generations of young men (and countless other admirers)? His job was in football, yes, but in many cases he inspired non-football success in his ex-players, too. I am quite willing to acknowledge that there are many things wrong with athletics and its marriage to schools. But can’t you agree some good comes of it too? There are many cases like Holtz in which athletics was an avenue for young men and women to improve themselves and their life chances. Usually, it’s not about the sport itself. It’s about learning in an alternative setting and discovering something about yourself.By Dave
December 29, 2006 9:08 PM | Link to this
By any standard, Lou Holtz is one of the best motivational speakers you will EVER hear. For every person who influenced him, he has influenced hundreds. The folks who encouraged him had a greater impact than they could ever have realized. Really makes you think about what you say to others, doesn’t it?By Mary
December 29, 2006 8:11 PM | Link to this
Who is to say the world would not be better off if Lou Holtz had worked at the Liverpool, Ohio Hospital like his sister. Sorry, Scott, I miss the deep meaning of all this motivational sports stuff. Where’s the beef for society and others besides Lou HoltZ - like say, Homer Hickam another West Virginian and author/subject of “October Sky” who had few encouraging him to pursue science and his career in NASA. Where was his coach other than his dying teacher when his dad was discouraging him in science and pressuring him to be a football star? How many lives do football coaches save or nurture compared to nurses?