Be Humble this Season

And Give Thanks to All

By Randy Gardner

For the last almost 25 years, give or take a few weeks here and there, especially over the past few months, I have sat at my computer and composed a message that is on the top of my mind at the time. It is hard to believe that 25 years of my life has gone by.

I look back at some of my first columns and read about my thoughts and I realize how young and innocent I was. I was single, no kids, and just starting my career. Now I am a 50 year old man with a wife and 3 kids. Man, has my perspective on life changed a lot. I still get pissed about the same things that I used to, which are things that I try to teach my kids not to do.

First and foremost, don’t be lazy; work hard and good things will happen, and secondly, be humble.

Nobody needs to hear from you about how great you are. This is a lesson too often abused in this day and age with social media. Let others create stardom or their thoughts about you. Don’t build that world for them. These are lessons that right now in life and in sports, are hard to teach. Everyone thinks that to get to the pros it is an easy road. Let’s be honest…you probably aren’t going to make it there. Don’t ever give up trying but be realistic. Education is everything because even if you do make it, it will only last a few short years, and then what?

Again back to promoting yourselves. We see it all too often now, the showboating of everything, a touchdown, a tackle, a good play. Get up and act like you have been there before. This at the pro level trickles down to the youth of today and the world of youth sports is out of control with the showboating. As a coach, you have to stop it before it starts. Walk on and off the field with respect; treat other players with respect ,but most of all, respect yourself and the effort that you give.

As we head into the holiday season, besides sports, my family and my career are the two things that matter most in my life. I have been fortunate in my life to work hard and enjoy my career choices and have gotten a lot of satisfaction out of them. Especially now that I am in the education field, I can see the potential in our young people and take great pride in passing onto them the knowledge about broadcasting that I have gathered throughout my career. I have been blessed with many broadcasting awards but none compare to a student that comes back and tells you thank you and that you changed their life for the better. This is why I teach now and this is why I coach.

There was a great statement once made saying that a coach can touch more lives in a single season than most people do in a lifetime. I had to paraphrase the statement because it means so much to me. I take that statement with me everyday and try to live it. As a coach and a parent, be the example for the youth of today. Take some time this holiday season and try and connect with a former player or a player that you coach now and say thanks to them. Why you ask? Because they are allowing you to influence their life. Remember that. They will.

Happy Holidays and may you have a wonderful New Year.

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