In this blog post, I want to talk about mentors. To start with, I was curious about what the word actually meant, so I googled it. Now, I don’t trust everything I find on google, nor do I ever google very deeply (go further than the first option or two they give you), but this is what I found out: Seems like Mentor was a character from Homer’s Odyssey. He was given the duty of taking care of Odysseus’ house and son while Odysseus (King of Ithaca) was out doing battle in the Trojan War. I guess Mentor did a great job, and even helped find (with the help of Athena) and return the lost king after the war. So, ‘mentor’ was eventually used as a label for someone that was a wise and trusted advisor.
From the same google search, I found mentoringdefined as: ‘A fundamental form of human development where one person invests time, energy, and personal know-how in assisting the growth of another person’
That gives us a pretty good starting point, as I want to share with you a little about the person that I consider to be my mentor. First off….I want to emphasize that there are lots of great coaches that were huge influences on me. Some that I know personally, some that don’t know me from Adam. But, to me, mentors are the ones that when a tough decision needs to be made, you ask yourself: ‘what would my mentor do?’
The person that I consider to be my mentor passed away several years ago. I regret that I never took the time to thank him for his influence on my career, and therefore my life. Somehow, I think he knew…..but, I never told him, and that has always bothered me. This blog is a tribute to him, but I also want to use it to encourage you to take the time to let your mentor (or mentors) know how much you appreciate their role in your career and life. Physically write them a note or a card and send it to them. I know they will appreciate it….but, I also suspect that it will make you feel at least as good as it makes them feel!!
If you stop reading from here, that’s fine…I hope you at least think about contacting your mentor….but I really hope you keep reading and find out a little about my mentor.
What would Coach Sherwood do? I can’t use his first name there, he was-is-and always will be, Coach Sherwood to me….but his given name was Greg Sherwood. I also can’t tell you how many times I asked myself that question during my 29 years in the profession……what would Coach Sherwood do?
Some boring background information (except that I think it is a good lesson on not being too locked into your own plans and being open to other options as they present themselves….I think that applies to coaching philosophies as well): When I graduated from Tech, I had no intentions of moving anywhere. I wanted a job in the Lubbock ISD…didn’t really matter which school the job was at, I wanted to stay in Lubbock. So, that was the only place that I applied. The LISD used to be notorious for waiting till late in the summer before making most of their hires….so, I was patient after applying. I had a Math certification, so I was pretty confident that I would get a job. Finally, in early July, I got an interview with Pete Ragus, the AD in Lubbock. He didn’t offer a job or a contract during the interview, but indicated that I would have a spot.
During the summer, I was a lifeguard for Lubbock Parks and Rec, and a few days after interviewing with LISD, I got a call while working at Maxey Pool. It was from the principal at Coronado JH in Plainview…they had a 7th grade teaching/coaching position open and he wanted me to come up and visit. (We didn’t have cell phones then, how in the heck did we ever get in touch with each other?!)
I hadn’t heard anything definitive from LISD yet, so I agreed to come up and visit with them. I think there was a day or two between that phone call and the day I was going up there…..but, in that gap ironically enough, Coach Ragus called and said he had a spot for me at Matthews JH, teaching/coaching 7th grade boys. I was excited and told him that I wanted the job…..BUT, Plainview had called, and I had set up an interview with them the next day and I felt like I ought to honor it. He told me that he understood and that the job offer would be there when I got back from Plainview.
The next day, as I was about to head up to Plainview, my pickup wouldn’t start. I don’t remember what was wrong….but I remember thinking: ‘I don’t even want to go to Plainview! I have an offer in Lubbock, which is where I want to be anyway. I probably ought to just take this as a sign and cancel the interview.’ I don’t know why, but I borrowed my brother’s Trail Blazer and went on up to Plainview.
I was sitting in the principal’s office Coronado JH (Plainview’s 7th grade campus) visiting with him, when Coach Sherwood came in. Coach Sherwood was the Head FB Coach and Athletic Director for Plainview….he was a big man (literally and figuratively, but I hadn’t learned of the figurative part yet). I had never met him, only knew who he was because Plainview had played Coronado (a high school in Lubbock and my alma mater) in football. I didn’t play football, I was just one of the idiot teenage punks in the stands that used to make fun of him because of his size and because of Plainview’s motto of ‘Angry Red, Nuff Said’….we thought it was stupid.
The principal had told me that Coach Sherwood was going to stop by but he couldn’t stay long, as he was catching a flight to the Texas High School Coaches Association summer clinic. He was the incoming President of the Association.
Coach Sherwood introduced himself to me, shook my hand, and sat down. Mr. Kunkel (the principal) talked for a minute or two, then offered him a copy of my wimpy little resume…..and I’ll never forget this: Coach Sherwood waved his hand and said, ‘I don’t need it, I’ve already checked him out thru some other people, and I think we need to hire him‘. He was in the office for literally 5 minutes or less….but the impression he made on me was permanent.
After he left, Mr Kunkel and I finished our interview and tour of the campus. I asked him where he had gotten my name and resume from (since I hadn’t applied anywhere but Lubbock). He said that he had gotten it from the Texas Tech Placement Office…he had asked them for the resumes of any graduates that were certified in Math. I couldn’t imagine whom Coach Sherwood had ‘checked me out with’…..I was literally a nobody with no connections at all in the profession. Looking back thru veteran eyes, I doubt he knew anyone that knew me…..they needed a math teacher, he needed a coach, and it was getting late in the summer.
The entire drive up to Plainview, I was asking myself: ‘why am I wasting my time driving up here?’ The entire drive back to Lubbock, I was thinking: ‘I need to take the job in Plainview!’ And, that’s what I did…5 minutes with Coach Sherwood had set the course for the rest of my career. I called Coach Ragus the next day and told him of my decision. He said that he wasn’t surprised, Coach Sherwood usually got who he wanted.
I spent 2 years in Plainview…first year as a 7th grade coach, and moving up to Freshman coach my second year…. just soaking up everything I could about being a ‘Coach’. There were incredible people on staff there also….it was absolutely the best move of my life. Coach Sherwood, and the other coaches in Plainview, taught me what being a ‘coach’ was all about. I observed, and learned. Whether it involved me or not, I watched how Coach Sherwood handled situations with players and situations with coaches…..I was a sponge.
I stayed in touch with Coach Sherwood after I left to start my head coaching career. Ironically enough, he moved on from Plainview to the Athletic Director position in Lubbock. After becoming an AD myself for a few years, I often asked him ‘what do you think?’ I remember calling him during a tough time, asking his advice….he told me: ‘when I hired you, I told you that I would take care of you….I will get you a position here in Lubbock if you want it.’ At that point in my life, I wasn’t ready to go back to Lubbock, but it was good to have that feeling of a ‘safety net’. Later on, during a tough stretch as AD, I went out to Lubbock to visit with him. Again, he told me he had a spot if I wanted it, but if some changes happened where I was at, I would be better off staying there. But, it wasn’t always a safety net that he offered….I remember him giving me advice that went against what I wanted to do….because that’s what mentors do, they give you honest advice.
There you have it, my mentor: Coach Greg Sherwood. He was a coach and an athletic director…..that means he often made decisions that not everyone agreed with, so I have no doubt that there are people that don’t hold him in as high esteem as I do…..but there aren’t many. The football stadium in Plainview is named after him. I think he coached basketball somewhere along the way….but he is known as a football coach. He didn’t teach me a single thing about the X’s/Os’s of basketball or anything about basketball philosophy. He did however, teach me everything about being a ‘coach’. And, that was way more valuable and important to me than the in’s and out’s of man defense of the Hi-Lo offense.
Be open minded about your plans and goals…..be a sponge, learn from everybody…..and take the time to thank those that are important to you along the way.