Learning from My Father
My father and I were not the best of friends when I was young. He was the typical parent in the stands yelling at refs and critiquing my game. This bothered me because he was an excellent baseball player. Basketball was not his thing, and he readily admitted it. Thankfully, my dad is a brilliant man and knows to surround himself with smart people. This is also how he started reffing basketball games.
I was homeschooled growing up. This does not avail itself well to finding basketball players around you. Believe me, it is easy to beat your 6-year-old brother when you are the eldest in the family. However, we found a local school that some of our church family played on. It was an easy fit. The coaches were former division 1 players so I was blessed to learn from them all the way through my high school years.
Since my coaches played and reffed basketball games, they knew what they were talking about. Remember my dad yelling from the stands? One of my coaches approached him one day and suggested he become a referee. My dad did become a referee, and a good one at that. One of my biggest joys growing up was traveling with him to his games. This is some of my favorite father-son time that we had. It is also allowed my dad's perspective to change. He did not yell from the stands nearly as much after this.
My dad was always an athlete and enjoyed competition. It fuels his business - it drives him when he wins or loses. His favorite athlete is Pete Rose - who is also known as Charlie Hustle. Whatever it took to win, Pete Rose did it. My dad handed this gift to me. I actually won a Charlie Hustle award at a basketball camp one year - I thought it ironic. This hustle has carried over into our adult lives as we work a business together. I've watched the ups and downs of raising 6 kids and running million dollar businesses. My 4 brothers and I, learned early on in life and in the sports we played what it means to work. If you want something, earn it. There are no excuses.
A lot of people watch me play and comment how much I sound like my dad. My army general like voice commands attention and the constant hustle usually allows the teams I play on to win. My teams have been blessed to win a lot of championships throughout my life.
Sports, to me, are a gift. They seemed to be a curse when I did not want the limelight and the constant embarrassment from my father. Yet, it has become a beautiful conduit through which I have learned to be a man and lead. It has allowed me and my father to have frank conversations. It is has brought our family great joy to watch each other at our craft. We each have a way of playing and practicing at the sports we play. We encourage one another and most of all challenge each other to develop our character. In the end, it is not whether we win or lose - though that is why we play - it is the people we become in the process. It is the men we become learning how to lead a team, and knowing when we failed. Sports have been a gift to our family, and I am grateful for how they taught us to win.
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