During the busyness of spring baseball last year at Notre Dame, I was encouraged to read a book by Todd Gongwer called Lead… for God’s Sake. I met Todd at a Notre Dame Christian Athlete event and was even more inspire after to pick up his book and begin reading. Without giving too much away, the main character of the book is a young high school basketball coach Steve Rocker who despite all his successful coaching careers is now lost in finding the cure to his team’s failures on the court. Coach Rocker is also a husband and father struggling to balance his time and energy between his team and family.
As Coach Rocker continues to lose games and his players’ interest, he surprises himself as he finds help from the high school’s school janitor Joe Taylor. Joe helps Coach Rockers discover the fundamental answers to a meaningful life. As Gongwer explains "if you’ve ever asked yourself WHY you do what you do, or what your PURPOSE is in leadership, or in life- this book is for you!”. As lives intersect throughout the book, Gongwer brilliantly creates a parable that merges together inspiring lessons of leadership in the midst of a relatable and heartwarming story. Coaches Lou Holtz and Urban Meyer are a few who have read the book and their commentaries can be found on the cover or in the book’s introduction. Lou Holtz writes “This is a book I could not put down until I finished it. Every parent, coach, manager, and leader should read it. I wish I had read it 30 years ago.” Trust me when I say this book has the power to transform you in every area of life. I am sure it will teach you like it taught me to LEAD… for God’s Sake.
- Kaleen DeFilippis
Social Foundations of Coaching Spring 2012
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