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9/19/2005 It may still technically show summer on the calendar (until Sept. 22nd), but fall sports in Novi have been well underway for weeks now. And right on schedule, the football, soccer, cross-country and girls basketball teams are out of the gate quickly, and successfully. That doesn’t happen automatically. In fact it’s usually a tribute to great leadership and coaching. Give it up to Head Coaches Kellepourey, O’Leary, Smith and Kelp, and their respective staffs as well. They’ve got their teams hitting on all cylinders in the early going. Coaching is a terrific profession, but is also unfortunately a dying breed. Good coaches are getting harder and harder to find. What makes a good coach? A good coach is capable of wearing a lot of hats, no pun intended. Coaching is teaching, motivating, thinking, planning, and of course helping people to reach their potential individually and collectively. Coaches must also be able to interact charismatically with a wide variety of people, including overzealous parents that will think nothing of complaining when their superstar child isn’t being utilized properly. Coaches even find themselves on the defense in front of school boards, answering questions about a lot of minutiae. What a waste of valuable resources. But in the end, it is still a high calling because a good coach can have tremendous impact on a young adult, and exude positive influence that can last a lifetime. And did I mention they have a lot of pressure to win as well? In his book Marv Levy, the former Buffalo Bills coach that got his team to four Super Bowls and lost them all, was fond of saying, “Where else would you rather be?” The fact is, Levy got to four Super Bowls, even though it wasn’t good enough for some people. So as the Wildcats take the field for another week of successful performances, the finished product you’re looking at is usually the residue of hard work, dedication, and time devoted to helping our children grow up. That alone, makes them winners. And if your son or daughter is privileged enough to participate, and if you get to watch, then ask yourself, “Where else would you rather be? (c) 2005 Novi
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