Out of Town

Several people have recently asked me for the latest picture of our kids. Here it is. I know that most of you are sorely disappointed that I'm not in it.

We are on our way to Idaho to visit Sarah's family.

Flying.

With three kids four and under -

although Big E will be turning 5 very soon!

Tragedy in the NCCAA family

I recieved this email yesterday:

We at North Central University experienced a tragic loss over the
Thanksgiving holiday. Amanda Evans, A Freshmen member of our National Championship Cross Country team passed away suddenly from heart failure.

This has been a devastating loss to the entire community, but particularly the Athletics Department. Besides Amanda's connection to Athletics, her boyfriend is a member of the NCU baseball team and has taken the loss extremely hard as he was present at the time of her death.

Please pray for the family . . . and Danny Grass, the boyfriend left behind. Pray that North Central can minister to the family and friends and as well as deal with their own loss.

Sincerely,
Greg Hayton
North Central University
Director of Athletics

Please pray for the family of this young lady and her school. Man knows not his time. . .

A Coach to Learn From

John Gagliardi is a football (American style) coach who I have been following for years because of his success and unique style. He coaches at NCAA III St. Johns in Minnesota and his practices are characterized by no-contact, no wearing pads, no compulsory lifting, no bed checks, no curfews and no addressing him as "coach".

I don't endorse all of his techniques, and as far as I can tell, he is not a believer and so does not included biblical discipleship as one of his goals for his student-athletes. However, I did find some parts of the article to be instructive for those who desire to coach. Here are some excerpts:

“He has shown there are many different ways to have success. He’s
innovative, constantly changing to meet the talent of his team,” Stock said.
“His style has worked, his philosphy has worked. He’s proven there are many
different ways to win football games."

Gagliardi says,

“You’ve got to have good players. I coach a lot better with good players,”he
said. “They’re the ones out there doing the job. We’re very good at
graduating people and every year we graduate irreplaceable players. But
fortunately for me, more irreplaceable players show up every year.”

His athletic director states:

“The one key thing that I have observed in him through the years is his
commitment to do the things that he believes are best for the student-athletes,”
Teaff said. “He’s a humble person, he is unassuming. The ‘big time’ for him is
not as important as the time he spends with the players.”

That coaching philosophy fits well within Division III, which strives
to highlight athletics as part of the overall college experience and as an
activity more for the development of the participants than for the entertainment
of onlookers.

This is how I feel, except for the part about bishops. . .

Gagliardi said being a part of Division III has been a rewarding aspect of his career. Many of his former student-athletes have gone on to be surgeons and
bishops and lawyers and create lives of great accomplishment. “(In Division III), you’ve got real, bona fide student-athletes who can’t get in (to the school) or stay in unless they are really good students. They are good guys from
great families,” he said. “I’ve seen guys become college presidents, go into
every field you can think of. It’s amazing what they can do. It’s hard to
believe they go on to do so many different things, and I’m still at the same
job.”

You can read the entire article here. - C

NCAA III Championships

On the women's side, Wheaton College won their second straight NCAA III Championship over Messiah last weekend. I had the privilege of being the NCAA site rep at the Wheaton sectional on November 17 and 18 when Wheaton defeated Wis.-Steven's Point and Univ of Puget Sound. You can read about the final four here. The Thunder went 27-0 on the season and have won 40 matches in a row dating back to 2006. WC was ranked #1 before the tourney and Messiah was ranked #2.

On the men's side Trinity (Texas) from the Central Region (our region) was defeated 4-3 in penalty kicks by Middlebury. Here is the game story. Too bad the national championship had to be decided by penalties. Middlebury was ranked #11 in the nation prior to the tournament and Trinity was #1.

Guinness World Record and Soccer

An attempt to break a world record took place and Bob Jones University last weekend. Do any of you know if it was successful? - C