Joe Kernan: Safe at Home

This past weekend, during the festivities surrounding the Blue-Gold Game (Notre Dame’s Spring Football Scrimmage), Joe Kernan was honored by the Notre Dame Monogram Club with its Moose Krause Distinguished Service Award. The award is given to a member (Kernan played catcher for the Irish in the 1960s) who exemplifies the Notre Dame ideals in his or her commitment to youth and community.

It wasn’t the first time Kernan was honored on Blue-Gold weekend. At the 1973 game, 20,000 fans rose to their feet in Notre Dame Stadium to welcome him onto the field. Had he made it to the majors? Was he a newly famous celebrity? No. It was just Joe—happy to be home in the place he loved.

Kernan’s plane had been shot down almost a year before on May 7, 1972 in the Vietnam War, and he had spent 11 months as a prisoner of war at the infamous Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi. The prison was known as a place of torture, interrogation, and filth.  As disturbing as enduring time in a dilapidated cell would be, unaware of when he would be released, Joe never lost what people know him best for—his spirit. Jokingly, immediately upon his return home Joe asked a newspaper reporter “Who won the Super Bowl?”

Joe’s life of service didn’t stop after his military career. After serving in South Bend’s city controller’s office in the early 1980s, Kernan was elected mayor of his beloved city in 1987. He served his city until 1996, when Frank O’Bannon selected Joe to be his running mate in his successful election for Indiana Governor. Although he never had any ambition to pursue his state’s highest position, the tragic passing of Governor O’Bannon led to Kernan’s ascent to the Governor’s office, where he finished the term before returning to his beloved city of South Bend, Indiana.

Kernan’s determined spirit never relented in his career. He brought jobs back to the South Bend economy that had struggled since the 1960s. He strengthened the relationship between the University of Notre Dame and his city that is still bearing fruits today. As he led the state’s department of commerce, thousands of jobs were created in the state. His work in the state capitol engineered the expansion of the Indiana Education system, improving all levels of education: early-education programming up through the state’s college system.

Along with his esteemed political career, Kernan may be remembered most for securing minor league baseball’s future in South Bend. The team was a landmark acquisition for the city in the mid 1980s, but by 2005, there was pressure on the team’s ownership to move the much-loved team. Amidst the turmoil, Kernan spearheaded a group that purchased the team with the firm intent to keep the Silver Hawks in South Bend. Joe kept that pledge until just last year when Kernan’s group sold the team to Andrew Berlin a baseball lover in his own right with ties firmly in the Midwest. Because Mr. Berlin too plans to keep the Silver Hawks local, Joe could pass the organization forward knowing he’d fulfilled his commitment to the team and the city.

So thanks to Joe Kernan’s heart for all things South Bend, and all things baseball, we have the opportunity to enjoy evenings at Coveleski Stadium for years to come. It is a

legacy that epitomizes Kernan’s ethos. If you go to a Silver Hawks game today, you’ll continue to be struck by the beauty of the facilities at the Cove, humbled by hospitality of the staff, impressed by the level of play and warmed by the community the team inspires.

Among all the splendor you will see, one thing you might not notice at a Silver Hawks game is the same thing that gets overlooked at a lot of baseball games—the catcher. Even though he’s involved in every play, he rarely gets recognized. He stays at the plate, guides the squad, and protects the team’s assets. And that’s Joe: happy to be at Home Base.

Injuries

Social Foundations of Coaching student, Jordan Stumph Blogs...

Injury is a negative in any person’s life.  For athletes, especially, injuries are extremely devastating. Injury strips an athlete of a constant and a love in their life.  Without sport, some athletes have a hard time coping with things because they cannot participate in something that they have been doing everyday since they were kids.  What makes things worse is when someone gets hurt right before an important time in the season.  This is what happened to me when I was in high school.  In one of my last meets of the season I tore my ACL while shot putting.  It was a freak accident, but it happened and there was nothing I could do about it.  For a short while I was demoralized.  I was going to have to miss the conference, regional, and state meets in my senior year.  In retrospect, my mindset at the beginning of this period in my life was horrible, but I think it was a pretty natural response to such a disappointment. 

Although I felt lousy and helpless, I did have one thing on my side: my coach.  Fortunately for me, Coach Jordan knew exactly what I was going through because he had torn his ACL when he was younger.  My coach gave me the support I needed to stay positive and helped me find other ways to assist my team.  So, I ended up helping to coach some of the younger throwers for the last few weeks of the season.  If it had not been for Coach Jordan, I might have just wallowed in sorrow for a couple weeks, but he made me feel like a needed and useful member of the team.

The season ended and my summer before coming to Notre Dame consisted of getting ready for school and doing a lot of physical therapy on my knee.  Before I became injured, I had been thinking about trying to walk onto the track and field team to throw.  However, I thought that at my torn ACL would close that door and I did not even bother trying to contact the coach.  When Coach Jordan heard this, he gave me a call and told me to email the ND Throws coach because he had already written an email to send him about me.  Luckily I heeded his advice, and within a matter of a couple months I became a member of the Notre Dame Track and Field team.  If Coach Jordan had not believed in me, I do not think I would have believed in myself.  Earlier this year, when I placed fifth in the Big East in the weight throw, he called me to tell me how proud and excited he was for me. This is a great example of a coach who cares about his athletes’ personal lives, sets high (but achievable) goals for them, and sticks with them through thick and thin.  If I ever become a coach, I want to exemplify these same characteristics so that I can make an impact on the lives of my athletes, just like Coach Jordan made an impact on mine.

Reaching the Summitt

To win an Olympic Medal is, for most people, a lifetime achievement. Most people pour so much into their efforts to make it to the top that once they reach that stage, the rest of their professional career is an afterthought. Most people settle with that crowning achievement.

Pat Summitt is not most people.

Her Olympic Silver medal as a player in Montreal in 1976 was outdone by her Gold Medal as a coach in Los Angeles in 1984. And she was just getting started. Summitt went on to become the winningest coach in the history of NCAA basketball, winning 1098 games, including a women’s record 8 national titles. And she did it all without ever saying goodbye to the program that she (essentially) created—the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers Basketball.

A coaching career that has spanned 5 decades, and touched the lives of hundreds of athletes, thousands of fans, and millions of admirers came to an end this week. Coach Summitt stepped aside from her role as head coach of the university she loves, submitting to the struggles that came with dealing with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. She will be dearly missed from a sports landscape that she is largely responsible for shaping.

Pat Summitt has played a pivotal role in the development of Women’s Basketball. She has led with a firm grace that has guided so many young women through the most formative years of their lives. She championed the expansion of the coverage of the sport in national media, including the creation of a professional league for women. She is a committed mother and is an example of a person who devotes equal energy to personal and professional endeavors. Even as die-hard Irish fans, we at Play Like a Champion Today® must credit her with paving the way for Muffett McGraw and the success of the Notre Dame Women’s Basketball Program.

Today, Summitt added yet another medal to her collection. This morning, she joined an elite list of Americans, including Notre Dame’s President Emeritus Theodore Hesburgh, as the latest recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom: the highest civilian awarded to a person for his or her contribution to American society. Her role in the development of young women, as well as the development of women’s sport is undeniable, and we salute her for all she has done.

Even though this accolade surely will not mark the end of her continued positive influence on young women, it is fair to say that she has left the coaching profession where she has been for many years—at the Summitt.

Jackie Robinson: American Hero

Sixty seven years ago today, several black athletes were invited to Fenway Park to “try out” for the Boston Red Sox. While they were on the field, they were harassed by the limited team management that chose to attend, and no players were selected for the team. The humiliated players left the park dejected after the farce, designed to appease a local politician. But just two years later, one of those players, a young WWII veteran from Georgia made history by suiting up as the first player to break the color barrier in the high-level professional sports. His name was Jackie Robinson.

America has always prided itself of being a place of equal opportunity. Our country may not be able to guarantee quality outcomes for all, but as a nation, we strive to give every person a fair chance at success. This was not the case for Jackie Robinson. Even when he made it to the major league level, he had to fight the aggression of hostile fans, teams, and teammates who did not want to see a black man succeed. Even though he achieved immediate and sustained success, Jackie Robinson, and other minority players had to continuously struggle against a culture that was largely intolerant of people of color.

Our children’s athletic heroes come in all shapes, sizes, and colors these days. Players are granted equal access to professional leagues and an athlete’s success is determined by the quality of his or her play, not by race, ethnicity, or other discriminating characteristics. More important than professional leagues though, our schools and community sports leagues now enjoy openness to all people, and thanks to Jackie Robinson, issues of racial discrimination are frowned upon as the exception instead of proliferated as the rule.

As we celebrate the 65^th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s courage, let us also celebrate the role that sport had to play in this historic act of integration! Although unpopular at the time, sport achieved in 1947 what politics did not achieve until 1964 with the passage of the Civil Rights Act. As an ideal, sport has always been an arena in which we can meet others and compete in an objective environment that is inclusive, fun, and harmonious. Thanks to Jackie, we have turned that ideal into reality.

Mike Brey: Coach of the Year!

In 2000, the Notre Dame Men’s Basketball was in a lack-luster state. Following the departure of legendary coach Digger Phelps in 1991, the Fighting Irish floundered in mediocrity for the bulk of the 1990s, posting a record of 128-139 over nine years. This was followed by an abrupt exit of 1-year coach Matt Doherty at the end of the 1999-2000 season.

Athletic Director Kevin White took a chance on hiring the little known head coach of the Delaware Blue Hens, Mike Brey. The list of accolades that have accumulated since then are practically innumerable, including several post-season appearances, three Big East Coach of the Year selections, one of the highest graduation rates in the country, and culminating in his most recent honor as the recipient of the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award.

Play Like a Champion Today® couldn’t be prouder to have a close relationship with such a great role model and coach. He epitomizes what it means to be a good coach, both in his ability to develop fundamental basketball ability in his players, and to make his players get the most out of basketball as they can. In a sport where only 1% of Division I athletes end up going to the pros, the goal of collegiate basketball has to be about more than just the number of wins your team strives for. Wins should be strived for, (and Brey’s 259 wins show that he accomplishes that goal regularly) but Coach Brey realizes that he is coaching people, not just athletes. He develops players to handle a full court press, and to handle challenges in their personal lives. He trains men to prepare for a zone defense and to prepare for their first job interview. If you watch him on the sideline, he stays positive, and uses encouragement to motivate. Brey knows the value of relationships in producing winning teams. 

Coach Brey’s teams have a way of quietly surprising viewers with little-known recruits. His teams have a patient style of play, and win games usually without a superstar. This past season was called by many a surprise. But next year, the Irish won’t be surprising anyone: everyone is seeing that Coach Brey’s ways are a recipe for success.

Leaving as Champions



Anyone who has watched a Notre Dame Women’s basketball game in the last 25 years will recall the well dressed, stoic personality that has guided the Irish bench. Little emotion, in victory or defeat has been seen from the legendary Hall of Fame coach, Muffet McGraw, but last night, a different side of the coach was revealed. Following Notre Dame’s 80-61 loss in the National Championship, Muffet couldn’t find the words to describe how meaningful this senior class has been to her, and the usually glamorous coach was brought to tearful speechlessness.

This year’s senior class is certainly one worth getting emotional over. In all phases of the program, the women who leave the Irish team this year have left a mark on the program’s growing legacy. It was only 30 years ago that the NCAA even began to sponsor a championship for women’s basketball, and since then, success in the sport has been associated almost exclusively with the University of Connecticut and the University of Tennessee. This year’s senior class, led by Coach McGraw, has changed the landscape of the sport, showcasing their skills on the court and in the classroom. Not only was Notre Dame the first school in over 20 years, besides UConn or UT, to make back-to-back trips to the National Championship game, but they accomplished the feat within a program that leads the nation in graduating its athletes.

The Irish fought hard last night, but in the end, the Baylor squad proved to be too much for the Irish to handle. Credit goes to the hard work that the women from Waco, TX have put in over the years developing an excellent team and program. Our hats go off to them, and kudos goes to them for their work in developing the sport.

Thanks to McGraw & Co, women’s basketball is on the rise. More people are watching women’s basketball because of its tremendous showcase of fundamentals and its extremely team-oriented style of play. Fans are getting access to more women’s games in the media, and girls around the country are getting to see role models in a sport that, throughout its history, has been mostly dominated by men.

Most importantly, the entire Notre Dame Women’s basketball team embodies everything that Play Like a Champion Today® stands for. They are tenacious in the way their pursuit of goals that they set. They care for each other like each teammate was a member of her own family. They pursue their work with full hearts, and unwavering integrity. And they handle victory and defeat with equal grace.

For the Irish faithful, it is a sad day. There is no doubt that a championship trophy would have been a welcome addition to Notre Dame’s collection, but we can be proud of what our women accomplished in another great season. The Baylor Bears played extremely well, and walked out as winners, but the Fighting Irish left as they always leave—as champions.

                                                                                       

GROWing Against Bullying



Bullying is a major concern today. Everyone reads about it, and everyone is concerned. How do a lot of schools, leagues, and programs deal with it? They bring in a speaker, they hold meeting or two, they punish perpetrators, and they pray for the best. This a good top-down start, but bullying is a complex problem, and it requires a committed, grassroots solution.

This weekend, the documentary Bully was released, and is a powerful tool in the campaign against bullying. It lights a fire in viewers, but on top of the awareness that the film creates, a coordinated, effective framework is needed for communities to use to combat this societal ill. Play Like a Champion Today™ offers that framework. We use, just as we do on the playing field, our GROW approach:

Goals-Stop bullying, and create healthy, fun environment for all children.

+          Relationships-So often in bullying, we think about the bully and the victim, but there is a key player in the approach to stop bullying: the bystander. We need to create spaces for open discussions among our children, so that bullies aren’t the top-dog on the playground, and victims do not feel alone. As adults, let us engage all children to talk about their experiences with bullying, and encourage them to let their feelings be heard.

+          Ownership-This is a problem happening in OUR communities. WE are responsible for it. And our children are responsible for it, too. We need to get the kids involved. Get them talking to us, but more importantly each other, about their thoughts on bullying. Bullying will stop if our children can create an environment in which they realize the importance of inclusion, and when they hold each other accountable for their actions. This cannot be a one-time discussion, and shouldn’t wait to come as a reaction to a tragedy. It should be a proactive, ongoing atmosphere that is encouraged by adults, but owned by children.

=          Winning-In this case, being a winner means that we have playgrounds, sports leagues, and school hallways that are safe and fun. Winning is seeing the yellow school bus as a sign of hope for a new day, and not a portal to a dark place. Winning is a day when phone calls from school are about good performance, and not another fight.

We are on the frontlines of a new battle with a familiar foe. We have long known what we are up against, and Play Like a Champion Today™ now empowers our communities with the best tools. Let us use these tools to make our world better for our children.