Author: CoachKD

 Why do I do it?

Erhhh…

Why do WE do it?

I mean really!?  On the drive to work, practice, coffee….when you have a few minutes to yourself…..why do we start asking ourselves questions?  And I’m not talking about those nice little “what will I have for dinner tonight” or “I wonder who will go to Innisfree with me Saturday for lunch” questions either!  I’m talking about those questions that come around when you’ve had time to think about things….  let me refresh your memory:

-Why didn’t I get that job?

-Why do my aunt’s and uncle’s hands hurt?

-Why did the tornado hit our city in the places it did?

-Why did that patient survive and that child not?

-What would my Dad think about how things have turned out?

-What would really make me happy……….

Ok, so I started this week off with a BANG!!  Yes, you’ve had those questions and you can bet your bottom dollar I’ve had several of them as well!  Point is, we all have these questions floating around in our head!  For I long time I would ruminate on these life questions and then re-acclimate myself to the “Oh well, guess I’ll table it to another day” cliche’!

Well, today is that day!!!!  Let’s try to uncover our questions and just why we ask them!  Maybe WE might find some answers…

The answer, my friends, is that we are all on a journey!  Our very own, paced journey.  When these questions start working on me….usually when I’m alone….in the truck……for WAY too long!  I get curious and  I can call people in my core…

(Michael and Ryan have been recipients of several of these calls)

…ask them questions and they will give me a perspective I have never even considered….their journey…their perspective!

About 3 years ago, my uncle and I were taking one of our regular trips to the Tellico River to do some fly fishing.  On our trip through the North Georgia and East Tennessee mountains we were discussing family history and my uncle told he the story of the day my father passed.  From start to finish, his perspective on each and every single detail of what happened and how.

……………I don’t think I did a very good job of hiding the tears as they poured down the three weeks of growth I was proudly displaying….but I NEEDED to hear those details!  I had been waiting 33 years to hear them.  Question put to rest.  It wasn’t that I didn’t know what happened, of course, it was just that I heard the story as a grown man from another grown man…different place in my journey….different perspective of my question!

I know what your thinking….why is the world is he telling us this???!!! Because my Dad is included in many of my “life questions”.  And because SIMPLY,  there are times in life when even though you don’t have all the answers to your life questions, you understand and accept them for what they are…..

We Get There….When We Get There

I have read the story of Abraham and Sarah many times over the past few years.  I have read it in NIV, Holman, and now I’m finishing up a year in the ESV…… and this story jumps off the pages during this stage of my journey…

In Genesis 17:17-22, 18:10-15, Abraham and Sarah want a child of their own.  And they have been praying…and trying…and praying…and trying…. and p.r.a.—– you get the cycle.  Realize now, they were no spring chickens!

Ok, bad comparison.

Let’s just put it this way…we aren’t talking Tom Brady and Giselle Bundchen here!!  Sarah was more in the Betty White stage of life at this point I’m guessing.    Now, there is a ton of stuff going on in this story outside their “youth” but I want to point out a couple of statements by Abraham and Sarah (formerly Sarai):

“The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.”  And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.”

“So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord (Abraham) is old, shall I have pleasure (of being a mother)?”

“The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?”  IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD?  AT THE APPOINTED TIME I WILL RETURN TO YOU, ABOUT THIS TIME NEXT YEAR, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON.”

But Sarah denied it, saying, ” I did not laugh,” for she was afraid.  And the Lord said,

“NO,  BUT YOU DID LAUGH.”

My questions to you guys is this:  Do you think Sarai (her name before God told them they would be blessed) ever had these questions too….

-How many nights had she woke early in the a.m. and asked God for a child in her hundred years? or (-Why didn’t I get the job?)

-Why won’t our bodies work right?  (Why do their hands hurt?)

-Why us? (Why did the storm hit the places it did?)

-Why do THEY get a child and we do not? (Why did that person get a life and the other one have one taken?)

-What will  our legacy be? (I wonder what my Dad would think about how things have turned out?)

-Will a child will make me ..US.. happy?  (I will be happy when….?)

Of course she did…..SHE DID LAUGH…DIDN’T SHE!  …..different journey…different perspective…..

Ladies of Gentlemen, we are all…or have been Sarah at one time or another.  If you have a question and you find yourself just wanting to tell someone….text me or email me.

Speaking of things that are difficult, this message was tough as heck to write but I had to do it!  This whole blog/ message thing is tough!  But it has to be done…if only for 1 person!  Through the years we have had some heart-to-heart talks that I vividly remember today and (as most of you know) those experiences eventually help someone through these messages.

We are all on a journey with different questions in our heads……hearts….and lives.   One day…..we either will have our answers….or we will accept that we are to trust OUR FATHER!  These questions may not be resolved in our ‘timeline’ but I truly believe that is a large part of what makes life worthwhile.  At the end of the day…….in our own unique way…….

WE WILL GET THERE……WHEN WE GET THERE!

This week, give yourself the credit you deserve for fighting your tail off in this thing called life!  I mean it each week whenI tell you that I love you!  Each and every one of you have made an impact on me and each other along the way. So, when you are worried ….just remind yourself some of the things we have survived:

-a winter in upstate NY and the 200/300 WAR!

-a one-win season in VA.

-Losing to La Monroe at home in 2007.

-moving into an apt in Greenville, MS.

-April 27, 2011 F4 Tornado in Tuscaloosa, AL.

-Hurricane Katrina and Sandy!

-Turnover in staffs at schools.

-20k hospital bills.

We may not get all the answers we want….But We Will Get There….When we Get There!

Much Love!

CoachKD

#wegettherewhenwegetthere

Good Morning Guys!!!  This week’s message is for anyone who has ever opened a newspaper after a game and felt sick at what you read.

My first year as a Coordinator I was talking to my Head Coach about our game plan.  Somewhere between Punt Coverage and the weather report we decided to get lunch.  I mentioned a local restaurant and he said, “Don’t Eat There….The Food is Great…But The Conversation Sucks!”  I was dumbfounded.  He was warning me that if I went there… I would soon be the victim of gossip.  And as a member of the community in the “spotlight”, I needed to be conscious of that.  The Head Man was trying to help me filter out negativity!

I don’t care who you are…when a teammate, media outlet, fellow church member, or even a neighbor say something negative about you…it is simply not a good feeling….OK..OK..it flat out irritates you.

Negative talk, or “low-hanging fruit” as Bishop T.D. Jakes refers to it, is energy-consuming and sadly, a part of our lives.  It can destroy our teams, friendships, and marriages.  As student-athletes and coaches, we all must confront “low-hanging fruit” at some point and learn our own method of filtering it out.

Think back to the last time you had to handle a similar situation yourself.  Was it a friend?  Journalist? Teammate? Significant other? Was the person close to you?  Does the person even know you? The world will tell you the right thing to do is confront the slanderer and call them out!    You know….flex YOUR muscle and let them know what’s up!!

Let me suggest something else.  Put your mind on important things in your life and GRIND your GAME!  Focus on your daily itinerary and even the tasks you don’t want to do!!  Go to the gym, find your Young Jeezy playlist, and do work!!!!!!  Get your MIND RIGHT! And Get OVER IT!  Your grind and success is what put you into the spotlight to begin with! Stay away from the negativity and stay out of the mud!  This quote still sits in my office, guys:

“Don’t wrestle with a pig.  Both of you get muddy…but the pig enjoys it!”—George Bernard Shaw

A perfect example of “low-hanging fruit” takes place in Numbers 12:1-16.  Enter our man, Moses once again.  Moses had been on the grind for quite some time.  God had been using him for a while at this point. God had used him to direct the Israelites through some perilous situations including obtaining food, water, escaping slavery, etc…And God always does with a flavor for the dramatic…Seriously, a staff turning into a snake and back into a staff!

Even with all of these provisions and miracles….the people complain! And complain.  Moses knew God…and he knew his people….and he was doing he best to lead.  Each complaint was personal! Each complaint was directed at Moses ability and leadership.  As the story goes, one day Miriam and Aaron speak negatively about Moses and his relationship with God.  GOD STEPS IN!!  God calls all three of them in for a “talk”.  Imagine getting that summons!!!!  He asks Miriam and Aaron why they spoke negatively about Moses…a person to whom “God Speaks Fact-to-Face”!  In today’s language, “Now you know Moses is my chosen boy…you mess with him and his calling….and you are messing with ME!”  God stands up for Moses and bluntly sends a POWERFUL message to the world for centuries to come!  Moses and his game plan is being directed by ME!   Read it for the details!

This is important!! As difficult as it is and as wounded as you may feel…you have to trust in your faith and your work ethic!  When someone has slandered you…or broke your loyalty….keep your head in the “high-hanging fruit” and let God take care of the rest.  I’m pretty sure He is qualified.  The sooner we learn this skill the better off our lives will be!  More importantly, when we hear someone speaking negatively about someone else, we need to stand up and leave the conversation.  When you step in and stand up in those scenarios…you will find that those conversations do not happen as often in your presence.You will become a person who “DOESN’T SUBSCRIBE“.

So, as these situations arise over the next few weeks…use these meditations and focus on them:

“I will only value the feedback of those that truly matter…that I have identified…and that truly matter!  My Confidants!”

“Other’s opinions of me are none of my business and I will not SUBSCRIBE!”

“Is my current conversation high or low-hanging fruit?”

“What am I thinking about?  And if it’s not positive, find something that is!”

And my favorite:

“Don’t let my worry level go outside my pay grade!”

Real Talk:  Relationships can get messy.  Teams and their chemistry will go through many seasons and cycles relationaly.  We are going to be hurt from time to time…but just MAKE SURE WE ARE MAKING NEW MISTAKES…NOT OLD ONES!

Make it our mission to keep our team’s conversation positive and goal-oriented!  Champions are wired that way!

I love you guys!  Be Men of Character and keep our words in the high-hanging fruit this week!

CoachKD

#moveweight

Good Morning from Baton Rouge, LA!  I am visiting the LSU Tigers and their Special Teams Staff!  I hope this weeks message finds you settling into Spring!

We’ve all been there!  We walked out of an exam, job interview, conversation with a friend or significant other, or a big game and said, “Wow, I really wish I would have known about (insert situation)  before that!”  It can be a very frustrating and well…downright humbling experience.

This week as I thought about spring ball starting and the preparation for the upcoming season, Darren Maracin sent me a picture from his cousins entry into West Point and the USMA.  This reminded me of the importance of “Briefing” yourself and your “core group” for situations and in this context….WAR!  As a coach, I place an enormous amount of effort and detail into film and opponent preparation.  I want my guys to know what their opponent is going to do before they do it. I WANT THEM TO BE FULLY PREPARED AND ACCOUNTABLE!

Have you ever found yourself “taken surprise”?   Have you ever said something along the lines of “I had no idea that TE could block like that!” or “I had no idea THAT would be on the test!” or better yet “I didn’t know my significant other was capable of doing that…”?

Maybe a plan is needed to prepare thoroughly…..

This is important!!  How much time do you invest preparing for your day-to-day life?  Practices, interviews, games, exams, relationships, workouts, church services, tithes, conversations….etc.

One of the greatest pregame briefings in history happened between God, Moses, and his soldiers!  Moses was an interesting character.  He wouldn’t be your first round pick to do much of anything.  But….that’s the way God works!  In Numbers 13:1-33 God instructed him to send spies into the Land of Canaan to basically “watch film”,  “study”, and be ready to share their knowledge with the team in preparation for battle.  He gave them a mission and told them to report  back 6 distinct things.  Yes, SIX:

Is the opponent…

1.  Strong or Weak:  (Mental, Spiritual, Physical)
2. Few or many
3. Good or Bad
4. Camps or Strongholds (How are they organized)
5. Rich or Poor (what is their mindset)
6. Trees or None (what grows there)  (Fruitful or not)

Pretty cool, huh?!   I’ll let you read the story to see what happened.    Now, I want you to flip the script!!  Take your blinders off!  We all have them!  Be your opponent for a  few minutes.  Take a look at your life and ask those six, specific questions!  DO IT!  Where are you an easy target? Where are you weak?

When you lift….are you there to talk to the opposite sex and “look good” or do you have a battle plan?  Do you brief yourself on the way to the gym….Or do you just go?

When you study…are you focused on the material or on the fun you are not having at the bar/band party?  How about thinking about the people who sacrificed to get you to your school to take that exam?  That one hurt….didn’t it!?

To be fully “briefed” and prepared involves knowing everything about your opponent, where you are weak, and how those factors combine to affect the game!

I want all of you to be fully prepared with your next situation and opportunity when it comes around!  I’ll leave this quote here…this is what I look for in my core:

“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn’t even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle.  Ah, but the one, one is a warrior and he will bring the others back”–Heraclitus

I love you guys!  Keep those pads popping this week!

CoachKD

#coachkd