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Zusatztext “This is a must read for all coaches! athletic directors! and parents.” —Dr. Jeanette Boxill! Ph. D.! Director! Parr Center for Ethics! University of North Carolina Informationen zum Autor Joe Ehrmann is a former NFL player, named to the All-Century and All-American football teams at Syracuse University (where he also lettered in lacrosse), former Baltimore Colts "Man of the Year" award winner, also named "Man of the Year" by the Frederick Douglass Society and the National Fatherhood Initiative, and co-founder (with his wife, Paula) of Building Men and Women for Others, Inc and Coach for America. He lives in Baltimore, MD. Klappentext Ehrmann, whom "Parade" calls "the most important coach in America," describes his coaching philosophy and explains how sports can transform lives. INTRODUCTION The InSideOut Process The black sky hung heavy over Baltimore that October night. Streetlights all over our neighborhood were burned out. Clouds clung to the tops of the row houses, and as I drove, the mist rose so thickly that it felt as if the car was colliding with it. I was driving home with my four-year-old son, Barney, asleep in the seat beside me. He rested his head on the armrest. Ice cream stained his cheek. I turned off talk radio to savor his peaceful breathing. It was my weekly father-son night with Barney. I had a speech scheduled that evening and thought it might be fun to take him along. My wife, Paula, dressed him up in the same outfit I was wearing—blue blazer, red tie, and khaki pants. She handed me his coloring book and crayons as we walked out the door. I sat him in the front row and told him that if he behaved, I would take him to the local ice cream shop and he could order anything he wanted. As I spoke from the podium, I realized that I couldn’t concentrate. It was a few years into my ministry. I had started to enjoy public speaking and loved engaging my audience. It gave me a sensation like the single-mindedness and adrenaline rush that I got from sports. But tonight I felt nervous and distracted. I kept watching Barney and he kept watching me. Even though my brain was sending the right words to my mouth, my deeper mind kept focusing on my son. I was overcome with how great he looked and how much I loved him. After the speech and handshakes, I went over to him and hugged him. “Dad, that was really good!” he said. My heart was touched. It was so like Barney to be thoughtful beyond his years. I got him his ice cream—he ordered a hot fudge sundae and a chocolate milkshake. I just couldn’t say no. As the bright light of the ice cream shop illuminated the ice cream covering Barney’s chin and clothes, I thought about how Paula would react to my sweet indulgence. Far too much sugar, and the stains to prove it! Outside, the city was empty and the mist was thick; a few roaming cats and random rats spooked me. As we got closer to home, I looked down at Barney again. Suddenly, I began to have the most mystical and magical experience of my life. It seemed as though my soul left my body and connected with his. I had an overwhelming sense of how much I loved him, how special and important he was to me. Out of all the children in the world, this magnificent boy was my son. And I was his dad. And in the throes of this spiritual connection, it seemed as if the mist started coming in through the car vents and engulfing us. I pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. A sense of being haunted came over me, a sense that maybe there were a few shadows and ghosts lingering in the dark that needed to come out into the light. And then for the first time in my adult life, I managed to articulate something that had always eaten at me: “My father never saw me this way.” I was acutely aware of the difference between the love I f...
Info autore
Joe Ehrmann is a former NFL player, named to the All-Century and All-American football teams at Syracuse University (where he also lettered in lacrosse), former Baltimore Colts "Man of the Year" award winner, also named "Man of the Year" by the Frederick Douglass Society and the National Fatherhood Initiative, and co-founder (with his wife, Paula) of Building Men and Women for Others, Inc and Coach for America. He lives in Baltimore, MD.
