Motivation…one key to being successful

The story is told of a young football player whose father had just passed away. His coach told him how sorry he was about his dad’s passing and wanted to know if there was anything he could do. “Yes, there is one thing,” the young player said, “You can let me start Friday night.”

Well, this astonished the coach because “Joe,” we will call him, even though a fine young man, was not at the level in his football career to be a starter. He was only a sophomore and had gotten to play when the team was 30 points ahead or behind. But the coach said, “Alright Joe, you will start the first series of plays Friday night.”

Come Friday night, the coach was true to his word and Joe started at his inside linebacker position on defense. On the first play from scrimmage, he sacked the opposing quarterback. He was in on the tackle one of the next two plays, forcing the opposition to punt on fourth down.

Joe played so well that first series the coach sent him back in on the next series, the next series and so on. He played the entire football game, recording three quarterback sacks, six solo tackles and eight assists before the game was over.

Joe’s team was not supposed to win the ballgame, but they pulled off a 21-14 upset victory over their bitter rivals, partly due to the outstanding play of the young linebacker.

After the game, the coach came over to Joe in the locker room and congratulated him on his great performance. Then he said, “Joe, what in the world inspired you to play like you played tonight? This is the second year I have coached you and until tonight, I had never seen you play so well.”

Joe looked up at his coach with tears in his eyes, but yet with a smile on his young face and said, “Coach, not many people knew it, but my dad was blind. So you see, tonight was the first time he ever got to watch me play.”

This moving story reminds me of the country music song entitled, “Holes in the Floors of Heaven,” where this granddaughter knows her grandmother is watching over her from up above.

The real point I want to make concerning this story is that Joe was motivated to play an outstanding game of football, far above his level of experience. We all know what a key part motivation can play in our successes. Simply put, if you are going to be a winner in life, you better stay motivated. You better believe you can climb that mountain and be mentally prepared when you tackle it.

Greg Brezina, a former linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons, spoke to those attending the annual Manchester High School Sportsmanship Banquet a few years ago. Greg was a motivational speaker and if those who heard him put his words in action, they were successful.

Charles Ragsdale from Harris County was our speaker at the banquet held at First Baptist Church last Thursday night and he did a very good job as he spoke to the Manchester High School students who were present, our MHS coaches and many others who were in attendance.

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