Encouragers

I want to be like these guys.

When I say these guys, I am talking about Rick Litton & Mike Murphy.   You can make a long list of accomplishments for both of these men.  You can find hundreds of people that will give you a story on how Mike or Rick helped them in a time of need.

The plaque in honor of Murph we hung in the Mason County Football Locker Room

In particular, these guys had a special gift of encouragement. I could be at the  end of my rope as a coach. It might be a Saturday morning after a loss or maybe a day in the middle of a long & tough offseason following a disappointing fall.  Since I know God is the source of all good things, I don't think it was a coincidence that during those tough times, my path would cross with Rick or Mike. I could be very discouraged, but after 5 minutes with these guys, I felt totally different/better about the job I was doing as a coach. Those guys could make you feel like you were the best in the business.   It wasn't a rah rah type of talk. Their words were genuine. They believed in me, and helped me to hang in there.

JCB with Rick just a few days before we moved to Harrodsburg in the summer of 2015

Mike died in February of 2011. Rick passed away this past Christmas Day. These guys have left a legacy in how they touched others. I hope that I can be an encourager for others like they were for me and so many people. I hope I can make other people feel better like these two made me feel better. As the new year begins, I want to challenge all of us to be those encouragers and the type of people that look to help others.  Mike & Rick were guys that left a large, positive, & powerful impact on the people that crossed their paths. I hope that can be each of us in 2017.

Christmas Gifts for an Old Football Coach

I am tough to buy for. I don't fish, hunt or golf. And, one positive from that is that I don't spend a dime on any of that stuff. Football is my job, hobby & obsession. Stephanie always does a great job finding me something. 

One gift was a throwback jersey from Packer great Bart Starr!  Before I was a Tarkenton & Viking fan, I was a fan of Lombardi's Packers and their Quarterback. When I opened my jersey, I was very surprised and it was emotional for me.  I can't think of the old Packers without thinking of my Dad. It always makes me think of him and when I was a little guy. 

Not the Lombardi You thought You Knew- Maysville Ledger Independent

Stephanie & I, Christmas, 2016
Wearing my new Bart Starr jersey!

The other "football" gift was Daarik Gray's photo of Alvis Johnson Field. We just completed our first season playing at our new home, which was the home of Harrodsburg HS football and their great coach for so many years, Coach Alvis Johnson. No one has a better place to play than the Titans. 

I am excited to have this in our house, along with our "Flatwoods" sign, the picture of our old Mercer field, and the picture of the entrance to "Blanton Collier Stadium", the home of the Paris Greyhounds. We've got a bunch of stuff from our old stadium at Mason County as well.

Stephanie has a year to figure out another present. As long as she keeps me and doesn't get too frustrated being married for 25 years to an old football coach, I will be happy. God bless the saintly women who remain married to old football coaches like me. They have a special place in heaven!  

Exit Interviews

I try to have exit interviews with every player at the end of the season. I ask all of them four questions:
1- What did you like about playing football here?
2- What did you not like about playing football here?
3- If you become the head coach here today, what will you change?
4- What do you see as your role on the team for 2017 and what are you going to do to make it happen? (grades 9-11) or What are your plans for next fall? (seniors)

Their answers give me some good feedback going forward to make our program better. They may hesitate a little on #2, but question #3 usually gives me some good insight.

I like hearing what our guys think and this is a good way to give them input and a voice in how we do things.

If you have a better plan for exit interviews or a better approach all together, please email me at david.buchanan@mercer.kyschools.us.

Merry Christmas!

A great gift & shooting the elephant in the room

This past Thursday at our football banquet, Gabby Banks & Morgan Reed gave me one of the nicest gifts I've ever received at the end of the season. It was an engraved, framed picture from their appearance on the Scholastic Ball Report.  It is already hanging up in my office at home and I am very proud of it.

I saw recently where an older coach was fired for "failing to adapt."  The elephant in the room for all of us old coaches is our resistance to change. Gabby & Morgan shot that elephant between the eyes for me and Titan football. I can be the old coach. They handled the social media, represented our program in a variety of ways, and made Mercer football modern & current.

To all the old coaches & to the people that are helping them to "adapt", Merry Christmas!