Public Speaking

Since the March 2nd tornado that destroyed our school at Henryville and I happened to be inside, I have been recommended to speak about my experience to many groups.  The Indiana University FCA rep Dave Hudson has done most of that recommending and I appreciate it.  Speaking in public is something that used to make me nervous and it still does to some point.  Because, I mean, why whould anyone want to hear what I have to say? 

When I practice a speech, it always seems to sound different in my head than it does when I actually give it.  I feel a responsibility to do a good job, whatever that means.  I probably am as insecure with that as anything I do because I feel that if you are recommended or asked, people should get their moneys worth (I don't get paid, so that takes some pressure off).

As I have spoken so much recently, I am finding that I have become less and less nervous before and during the speech.  I teach and have for going on 14 years, so getting up in front of people and talking is something I do for a living.  Speaking to a crowd of different kids and/or adults is definitely different and I am becoming more comfortable.

I have gotten to where I enjoy speaking to people.  I don't mind talking one on one or in small groups, so to move to larger groups seems natural and I enjoy it.  Again, I am not quite sure why people want to hear what I have to say, but as long as I am asked, I will prepare and do my best to do a "good job". 

I know that in speaking to basketball teams or other sports teams that I don't help coach, I can be much more honest than their coaches may be able to be.  I have no repercussions because I am just a volunteer brought in to speak.  It is actually refreshing to be able to say what I actually believe instead of sugar coating my words and I am smart enough when I am coaching to get right to the line of real trouble.  Some people it doesn't bother, me, it did.  I was able to get the point across without actually saying what most coaches believe.

I hope that speaking to groups is something that continues to present itself for me.  Not that I believe I have anything worth saying but because I enjoy it and maybe I can help in getting my faith across in some ways.  I can't think of something I enjoy doing more than speaking, sharing my faith, and feel that I have maybe said something that could inspire.  Maybe, just maybe I can do that.

Lee Strobel

You do not have to suspend intellect to believe.  leestrobel.com

MercyMe

The Hurt and the Healer

It Won't Take 70 More Years

Silver Creek football defeated Eastern (Pekin) Saturday afternoon for a 44-18 victory.  It was unique because SC football hadn't won a game since 1942.  It is a little unfair to say it took 70 years to win because they just resurrected the program as a varsity team in 2010, but they still hadn't won a varsity game until the other day at Pekin.  The game had been called because of bad weather the night before, so SC had to board up and go back to Washington county with a 30-12 lead.  Not winning on a regular basis had quarterback Brooks Howell having nightmares Friday night before going back "every scenario was running through my head," he admitted.

As a Henryville resident, Henryville student/athlete and a former Henryville varsity coach, it can be a little hard to writ this, but good for them.  Congratulations on a well deserved victory a long time coming.  Maybe it is because my mother in law Anita McKinley has taught at SC elementary for so long, that my wife is a 1997 graduate of SC, that my kids attend SC schools or that Silver Creek H.S. stepped up to help Henryville H.S. win the Lady Antebellum prom contest post tornado, but good for the coaches, players and community.

The football team can be seen in Sellersburg by Highway 31 in front of the school working to improve every day which isn't different from most teams.  But they continued to work and have good attitudes even though they lost their only varsity game in 2010, went winless in 2011, and hadn't won yet this season.  I know I am not going out on a limb when I say it won't take 70 more years for victory #2, but I think it will come sooner than many expect.

I don't know head coach Mike Donahue, but I do know the offensive coordinator Dave Rooney and the defensive coordinator Tony Garrett.  Coach Rooney and Coach Garrett helped coach my daughter's softball team this summer at Silver Creek Little League and I got to know them. I came away impressed that these were the type of people helping Coach Donahue build the Silver Creek football team.

I talked football a little with Coach Rooney, and seeing his and Coach Garrett's attitudes about the SC football program was inspirational to me.  The little we spoke about football, they were positive and not about to give up any time soon on the players in the football program.  They were fun guys that I had zero problems allowing to coach my daughter because you could tell they cared about the kids and weren't coaching for themselves.  They never said a bad word about Coach Donahue (trust me, it can happen especially when not winning) and created in me a new SC football fan.

Those guys along with players like running back Lane Taylor who during the spring baseball season got my 4 year old son out doing a sliding drill with the SC baseball team making his day and probably week, make you feel good for rewarded effort.  When you get to know personally the people involved in any sporting endeavor and when they are quality people, you find yourself cheering a little bit more for them....even if you are from Henryville and they are Dragons.

You're Not Really Mad At Me

(The Godfather of Indonesian Basketball)

In coaching, we deal with many, many issues.  The issues we deal with are so numerous that it can feel like a 200 lb. weight on your shoulders sometimes, most of the time.  But the issue that wore on me the most was dealing with other people who were negative.  And I probably, in 7 years, had two face to face confrontations.  It was the negativity online and veiled comments that you knew were about you on facebook and twitter that were brought to my attention that finally wore me down.  I decided that the negativity was something I didn't want to deal with anymore, no matter the reason for it.

Negative people who attack are often not happy with some other element in their life that they cannot control, so they take it out on you.  I would say that 95% of the attacks on me as a coach were because of this issue.  People who could not control some issue of their life or someone who controlled zero issues in their life and they felt attacking me either online, face to face, or spreading negativity to other people gave them power.

I know this because in coaching at a smaller school I knew what most of the parents or fans were going through in their own lives.  And what they were dealing with was hard, no doubt, we all deal with issues in life that are not good sometimes.  They were able feel strength doing this to someone who wanted nothing but the best for their child.  But it is part of it, it is part of coaching and you either learn to deal with it or get out, I chose to get out....for now.

It is interesting that many of these people who cause issues with their words, whether written or spoken, are also the first to get upset when it is done to them.  James 3:8 says no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  I could not agree more.  I know that when I am frustrated with issues at work, I have to make a concentrated effort to not take it out on my wife and kids.  It is a weakness in every single human being.  Really bad things are done to people every day, but something that we all struggle with on a day to day basis is our words. 

As a coach, I tried to remember that people who attacked me in some way were dealing with something in their own lives and they felt they were able to vent on me, usually in a passive-aggressive way.  I tried to remember that people weren't mad at playing time, or shots taken, they were mad at ex wives/husbands, their children, or their own parents.  They were mad, all right, but they really weren't mad at me....or maybe they were.

Mr. Jeff Leister

Last Friday, a recently retired Science teacher at Henryville High School passed away.  Mr. Leister's death was shocking to both the faculty and staff as he retired from teaching just this past May.

However, in his passing there have been numerous people that have reached out online to express their condolences.  The most impressive thing about this, to me, is that it isn't just recent graduates that have commented or expressed themselves.  Mr. Leister started teaching my senior year of high school in 1988 and to see the hundreds of people's lives he touched over the last 30 years is impressive.

When we retire, or pass away, we can only hope that many people will say good things about us.  More than likely good things will be said, but will they mean them?  The compliments and effects of Mr. Leister's teaching career have been heard loud and clear.  And those "good things" are meant by each and everyone who expresses themselves.

Keep the family and friends of Mr. Leister in your prayers as losing a loved one is never easy, but he can rest easier knowing that his life and it's ripples will continue on for generations here at HHS, but also in the world.