"it's not about the ball. it never was."

Okay, I might be drinking the Buckeye Kool-Aid, but regardless... this is an incredibly well-written piece:

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2011/05/the-man-who-wasnt-there

The news about Jimmy T. and all of the drama/investigation/discussion/accusation/blaming/anguish, etc. makes me so aware that all that cognitive and moral development mumbo jumbo I learned in grad school, even the more new-age theories of Spiral Dynamics and Social Change Model of leadership development... make so much sense. People, organizations, and systems and their inability to move past certain "stages"... wow.

Let's be real: No one gets through to each and every student. No one. Though, the good educators/teachers/coaches keep on trying, even when the student may not "get it" 'til much later on in life, or maybe not at all. And even with the ones who don't turn out completely how we'd like them to... we do know that they are at least a little bit better, a little more mature, on a bit of a better path than they would have been without us. That's why we never quit trying, even when it means something not-so-great for us professionally or even personally.

Like Ramzy from Eleven Warriors says in his post, "It's not about the ball. It never was." It's about what happened in between the games, in the few seconds here and there throughout each and every day that The Vest challenged and pushed these students (yes, I said students, not athletes) to be better people (yes, I said people, not players). THAT is the true measure of a man (yes, I said man, not coach.) To me, it's a shame that more people can't see that (or can, but won't).

And yes, he was more than just a football coach to our university. He didn't have to be, but he chose to be a mentor and partner in all things curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular... and he pushed his students to be the same. The man has his own real fans and real friends. I'm not sure we will ever find all of that in a "football coach" again.

So, here's the deal. We all make mistakes. I sure hope you won't be defined by the few you make, but rather by your many accomplishments, by your head and your heart, by your caring nature and your positive intent.

And if after considering all of this you still can't see my point, I suggest you spend some time studying that cognitive/moral development mumbo jumbo I mentioned above.