Professionalism, Motivation, and more

Tim Rogers has a great post related to motivation and personal triumph.  You can read his post by following the link below:

Motivational Minute - And you think this is tough?

As a former educator, high school soccer and wrestling coach, and school administrator it reminded me of those dedicated athletes I had the privilege to work with over the years.  Some of them had natural ability while some had to work hard to achieve success.  Everyone loved watching those with natural ability perform; I reveled in the success eventually achieved by those who worked hard.

I also admired those coaches who approached their work with the highest level of professionalism.  I once had a youngster who played soccer for me that I worked with on place kicking after soccer (and over the summer before school began).  I arranged for him to demonstrate his skills to the football coach and he soon became a "dual sport" athlete.  He was successful for both the soccer and football teams.  His efforts in both sports brought unity among athletes of both sports and before long we had several football players attending our soccer games.

When it was time to work for this youngster to assist him in getting college assistance, I wrote to several collegiate football coaches and sent video tapes to support my player.  He eventually played at the college level but what stood out most to me during the process was the different responses I got from college football coaches. 

One coach stands out amongst the rest.  Joe Paterno not only responded to my communication but he also signed his letter in his own hand while most coaches merely sent back form letters (if anything at all).

Joe Paterno exemplifies real "class" and professionalism.  He reminds us all that we need to maintain the highest level of professionalism in the work we do.  He reminds us that every person we come in contact with is important and we need to treat them accordingly.

There truly is a lesson to be learned in the way Joe Paterno conducts his business.