Sport and the Growing Good

Devonte Windham, a graduate of the University of Missouri Law School, is an assistant state public defender in the Madison Trial Office. Originally from the Chicago area, Devonte coaches youth football with the Southside Raiders program in Madison. The Raiders are in their 50th year -- and are widely regarded as one of Madison's excellent community-based youth sports programs. In this episode of the SGG podcast, we discussed: 1.  The role and benefit in his life growing up. 2.  One of his early influential coaches, Coach Kennedy. “He was one of the first coaches who took an interest in my academic realm.” 3.  Seeking out the Southside Raiders program when he was new to Madison. 4.  The historical tradition of the Raiders. 5.  How being part of the Raiders has assisted his transition to the Madison community. 6.  Periodic intersections of his work and youth football life. 7.  The importance of family engagement in youth sports. 8.  Challenges associated with youth football. 9.  A success story with a particular family amid a very difficult time.

Dr. M. Alison Brooks is a professor in the Department of Orthopedics in the Division of Sports Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She played college soccer for one of the all-time college sports dynasties: the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. She is currently a team physician for several UW sports teams and the Associate Director of Concussion and Nutrition Research for the Badger Athletic Performance Program. She joined the SGG podcast to discuss groundbreaking concussion research and football. We discussed: 1.  The role sports played in her life growing up. 2.  The importance of kids having structure in their days. 3.  Studying and playing soccer at the University of North Carolina. 4.  How she ended up pursuing sports medicine. 5.  What makes the concussion study unique, including its size: 45,000+ participants. 6.  An important finding: when athletes delay reporting of their head injury, it costs them more time in the long-run. “They have more severe symptoms and they take longer to get better.” 7.  Another important finding: longer return to play times may result in less frequent repeat concussions. 8.  The majority of athletes who suffer concussions in sports probably don’t develop CTE. 9.  Just having athletes sit and rest for long periods of time isn’t best for recovery. More pro-active rehab approaches are better, including exercise for treatment. 10.  We don’t yet have a definitive test that says, “You have a concussion.” 11.  How do you go about behavior change to better address brain injuries in sports? “It starts with the coach.” 12.  Developing a healthy team culture around head injuries. 13.  “I think we have to be careful about focusing on only the negative and only the risks. Sometimes that gets lost in the discussion…There are research documented benefits of sports…Including reduced risk-taking behavior and leadership, self-esteem, and confidence.” 14.  “There are ways we can reduce risks.” 15.  “There’s not a reason to have lots of contact to the head at a young age.” 16.  Evidence that cumulative number of head impacts (“hit count”) matters. 17.  The joy of working with Wisconsin student-athletes. 18.  The UW athletics administration having the student’s best interest in mind.

Matt Molle is a long-time head football coach and teacher at Seymour High School in Wisconsin. Coach Molle’s success as a coach is well-documented, but many people don’t know how important his roots in the mill town of Niagra were on his trajectory. On this SGG episode, we discussed: 1.  Growing up in Niagra, Wisconsin. “You had a lot of people in your corner.” 2.  The influence his dad and other coaches had on his early development. 3.  Common attributes of the best coaches: Building relationships. “You have to get them to know you care before they care about what you teach them.” 4.  I always admired and respected that my dad made time for everyone.” 5.  Learning “the grinder mentality” as an assistant coach. 6.  How a principal served as an important mentor to him. 7.  Seymour football: Trust, Commitment, Care 8.  “If you’re a person that can trust others and be trusted; If you can show that you care and you’re committed to a cause… it doesn’t matter if we’re talking about football, being a husband, father, brother, whatever the case may be, you’re going to be ok.” 9.  Leadership classes in the spring. 10.  Showing what “the TCC” look like (videos, pictures, discussions, etc.) 11.  Using TCC for evaluation of the team. 12.  “You’re wearing #4. Let me tell you about these guys who wore #4 before you…” 13.  How he’s changed over the years: “I’ve become more reflective.” 14.  Another change: structure of practice. 15.  How he reflects: with his wife, writing things down, end of year debriefing, taking moments to acknowledge the present moments. 16.  Balancing the various roles in his life. 17.  Routines: early rise and workout; dog walk; quiet lunch period. 18.  His relationship with his former players. 19.  “It’s ok to say ‘I love you.’” 20.  “If all we’ve done is teach you football, we’ve failed.” 21.  Officiating the weddings of former students and athletes.

Coach Dave Keel earned Hall of Fame distinction in both football and softball during his 30+ years of teaching and head coaching at Homestead High School in Wisconsin. Coach Keel is known broadly for his wins on the field, including six football state championships. But those who know Coach Keel are even more impressed by his care for the young people he led. On this SGG episode, we discussed: 1.  Growing up playing football at Milwaukee Hamilton High School and UW-LaCrosse. 2.  Learning from Coach Phil Datka at Germantown High School and from John Brody at Homestead. 3.  Common attributes of his mentors: their love of the young people. 4.  Developing the tenets of his program. 5.  One tenet: Getting the most people on the field as possible. “We’re going to have 22 really committed players.” 6.  A second tenet: Get the community involved. 7.  His role within the broader school community. 8.  What makes football unique: it’s uniquely American and it’s significant in our culture and it embodies what our lives are like. “You’ve got two choices when you get knocked down. You can roll over and say, ‘Dang it!’ and walk off the field or you can get up, dust yourself off a little and say.’Hey, I’m going to do my best not to get knocked down again.’” 9.  The social component: Learning to work well with other people through sports. 10.  A difference he’s observed between girls teams and boys teams. 11.  Community impacts of his program. 12.  His efforts in making football safer with USA Football’s Heads Up program: “We’ve seen a tremendous buy-in.” 13.  How he’s changed as a coach over the years. 14.  The leadership skills program he developed at Homestead. 15.  Learning about developing a leadership program from Coach Craig Bohl. 16.  Conflict and “the skill of listening.” 17.  The listening activity he used with his program. 18.  Listening and empathy as being at the heart of conflict resolution. 19.  “Listen with your eyes.” 20.  Recognizing the impact that coaches have upon young people. “Coach, you don’t know this, but for the last four years, you were my father.” 21.  “Every one of these coaches, has that young person on your team…You need to recognize that those little folks out there, there’s more than one that really needs you more than they need the sport… Recognize that and use that to help young people become successful.”

Following up on episode #66 with Zander Neuville, we have Zander's coach from Waupaca High School in Wisconsin, John Koronkiewicz. "Coach Koronk" served as a coach and teacher at Waupaca High School for 40 years. He spent 24 years as head coach of the baseball program and 32 years as head coach of the football program. He was elected into the WFCA High School Coaches’ Hall of Fame and also into the National High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame. Coach Koronk won many championships over the years and is respected by coaches across the state. Coach is admired by former players, families, and community members for his positive impact over the years. In this episode (a re-edit of episode 30), we discussed: 1.Playing football for Wisconsin Hall of Famers Jerry Schliem and Russ Young. 2. Growing up playing sports on the farm. 3. His emphasis on creating a positive, fun environment during his initial years at Waupaca—and his emphasis on developing lessons that could be used for life. 4. Leaving the field in a positive mood each day. 5. “Attitude, character, enthusiasm, team.” 6. Playing the Beach Boys on Friday afternoons in the classroom. 7. Being yourself, not faking it, and having a passion for the game. 8. Creating the team as a “home away from home.” 9. Coaching as a gift. 10. Finding a niche for each player – and the coaches “owing it” to each player to get him on the field with a meaningful role. 11. Working in the best interest of the kids by being honest and caring. 12. Coaching as a service to others – not an enhancement of one’s own ambitions. 13. Continuing to learn, even amid long periods of success. “Losing can become a habit – as can winning.” 14. Building a program that the community could be proud of. 15. Doing the best you can and setting a good example for kids. 16. Being proud of and keeping friendships with past players and assistant coaches, including Amherst’s Mark Lusic. 17. The identity of Wisconsin football.

Zander Neuville was a student and football player at Waupaca High School and the University of Wisconsin. Afterinjuries ended his promising career as a tight end, Zander was ready to transition to new horizons. He’s currently in medical school at Northwestern University. Zander joined the SGG podcast and offered rich perspective on the coaches and doctors who influenced him along his journey. We discussed: 1.  The role of sports in his childhood. 2.  Being surprised to be recruited by colleges to play football. 3.  His relationship with Waupaca Coach John Koronkiewicz: He was a really helpful mentor to me. 4.  How Coach Koronkiewicz helped connect him with Wisconsin coaches, ultimately contributing to his opportunity to join the team. 5.  Coach Koronkiewicz’s knack for connecting with his players and treating everyone equal opportunity: “He built an environment that everyone wanted to be a part of…Everyone had the highest respect for him.” 6.  Coach Mickey Turner’s effectiveness and modeling as tight end coach. 7.  Strength and Conditioning Coach Ross Kolodzieg’s impact. “He was someone I really connected with…He had gone through everything that we were currently going through…There was a natural trust with him…I leaned on him a lot.” 8.  How the everyday schedule changes for players during injury times. 9.  The close relationship that strength coaches develop with players. 10.  The two phases of injury: initial shock and long-term effects. 11.  “What sticks with me about injuries is how long they can stay with you mentally.” 12.  Career ending injuries as “divorce.” 13.  “It can get taken away really quickly.” 14.  Injury isolation. 15.  How his own injuries related to his pursuit of medical school. 16.  The injuries were bad for my football career, but I feel like it’s been a positive for my medical school work.” 17.  His relationship with Dr. Baer, the surgeon who operated on him numerous times. 18.  The friendships and exposure to different people that he gained from playing at Wisconsin. “I have a greater appreciation for what everyone is going through and where they came from…Everyone has their own story. And football opened me up to that.” 19.  Football time management lessons: it made the transition to medical school easy.

Jeff Patterson –widely known as “JP” – is one of the most impactful leaders in the Madison area. JP’s barber shop “JP Hair Design” is a high performing organization that offers resources well beyond its doors. And JP’s dedication as a youth football coach in the Madison Memorial program adds another layer to his positive impact on hundreds of lives. In this SGG episode, we discussed: 1.  His dad’s dedication to coaching and positive leadership in North Chicago. 2.  A street in North Chicago that is named after his dad. 3.  “Everybody knew him.” 4.  His dad as a coach: “He had fun with the kids…He didn’t take any junk…He wanted to teach them something… He wanted to be sure that if he had them, they were going to be better than they were when he first got them.” 5.  The youth center in North Chicago was the place where people connected. 6.  The importance of the “Warhawks” mascot on JP’s journey to attending UW-Whitewater. 7.  The significant impact that Bob Eschman, his sophomore basketball coach in high school, had on his life. “He did more than just coach.” 8.  His first priority in coaching youth football: building a relationship with the kids. 9.  His emphasis on growth – both as players and as young men. 10.  Always finding positives in each situation. 11.  Stopping practice to have life lessons. 12.  The importance of communication and transparency with parents. 13.  Working through conflict in youth sports: be transparent and establish guidelines. 14.  Academic progress cards that team 15.  Football can’t be played individually. “Success in football depends upon the team.” 16.  His “pencil activity” that gets kids to understand the importance of team: “If we can stay together as a team, it’s hard to break us. But once you get individuals trying to go off on their own, the team can easily be broken.” 17.  His son Jairus’ growth in and through football. 18.  The collective impact of multiple coaches on young people’s trajectories. 19.  “We’ve got an opportunity to shape what they’re doing outside of the gridiron.”

Kevin Claxton played football at the University of Wisconsin from 2007-2011, where he was a four-year letter winner as a standout linebacker on one of the top defensive units in the nation. During Kevin’s time at UW, the Badgers achieved back-to-back Big Ten titles and two Rose Bowl appearances. After his playing career, the Fort Lauderdale native entered the coaching profession, including stints at two of his alma maters, Boyd Anderson High School and the University of Wisconsin. In this SGG episode, we discuss: 1. The adults who impacted Kevin’s life: “Most of my positive influences have come through sports.” 2. Kevin’s uncle, an early influential coach in his life, “Every day he showed up. Never missed a day.” …and other coaches who devoted their time through coaching over the years. 3. “Where I’m from, playing sports is just part of life.” 4. Working through a challenging situation during his senior year of high school with the support of coaches and family. 5. Adjusting to college during his freshman year in Madison – including getting “lit up” in an early practice drill. 6. Learning the level of work and production at the college level. 7. Coaching the scout team – “sometimes you need to get their attention” – especially coming off a big win. 8. Following up with a player after a practice – wanting them to know that “it’s nothing personal when I yell.” 9. The relational bonds that form in position rooms: On video “you see guys at their highest of highs and at their lowest of lows…The guys are just really open and honest with each other. And that’s where those bonds are formed.” 10. Being vulnerable in front of and with peers. 11. “Culture shock” arriving at UW-Madison, where there are not as many African Americans as his home community. 12. Having “open dialogue” with teammates about being a black man on the UW campus. 13. “We had countless examples of guys coming in and working with the young guys..and just being mentors off the field.” 14. “Dan Ott, my learning specialist was great. He was always an open door. He would always make time. He was always there to talk. Or just to listen.” 15. “Not having had white teachers in my life before (college), it was difficult. It was kind of like, ‘why do I have to go talk to this person?’ And Dan was just great, just very consistent. Even when I came in with a bad day, he was just the same person. That was something that was huge for me. And that’s something that I try to emulate in my own life. Just being consistent, regardless of whether I’m having a good day or a bad day.” 16. How he got into coaching. 17. Getting to know the people on your team – not just as athletes, but as full people. 18. The special bonds of the 2019 Wisconsin football team, and how the “hero, hardship, highlight” sharings during the pre-season deepened their shared understanding and trust. “Everyone got a chance to see that guys weren’t afraid to share some of their darkest moments and some of their highlights and just be themselves in front of everybody…I felt like that exercise was one of the most powerful things we did all season.” 19. Highlights from his time in Madison: the relationships and memories and “Being able to travel and do things that I would not have been able to experience if I had not played football.” 20. The toughest aspects of his Wisconsin experience: injuries – including one particularly difficult challenge his freshman year. “Being injured and not being close to family, that was tough.” 21. What got him through difficult injury times. 22. Why he will continue pursuing coaching: “I genuinely love the game.” 23. Being an example to his eight younger brothers. “There are people who look like us who were deprived of education opportunities…It is a privilege for us to be able to do this…Having this education can impact your family for generations.”

Rachid Ibrahim was a standout student and football player at the University of Pittsburgh and, after earning his bachelor’s degree, at the University of Wisconsin, where he earned a master’s degree. Rachid won awards and accolades as a running back, but even more, was an exemplar son, brother, friend, student, and teammate throughout his athletic career. Rachid continues to inspire others with his message of resilience and positivity. He joined the SGG podcast and we discussed: 1.  His father passed away when Rachid was five years old. His mother, an immigrant from West Africa, raised him and his brother on her own. “She saw that sports was something that would keep us out of trouble and keep us doing well in school.” 2.  Being spotted with a Senegal soccer jersey in the grocery store… and starting football that same week. 3.  Middle school coaches “saw potential in me that I didn’t even see in myself.” 4.  “She (his mom) got herself a bachelors and a master’s degree while raising us. Academics were always the first thing for us.” 5.  “She knew I was going to handle the football part. She was just concerned about the academics…When I had a chance to pursue a master’s degree, she was really excited. That was what she was most excited about when I came to Wisconsin…That was amazing to her. It was unbelievable to her…I had the opportunity to go to two great schools, Pitt and Wisconsin. Never in my life did I ever think I would be in Wisconsin.” 6.  Facing a torn achillees tendon “I remember crying when they told me my season was over…It was tough, mentally. But then my roommate James Connor got hurt and we kind of fed off each other. We were going to help each other…That’s what the college journey teaches you. Adversity and getting through it.” 7.  Supporting his teammate and friend in his battle against cancer. 8.  “Adversity is something that, if you attack it with a mindset, you can overcome it. With great people in your corner, you can overcome it.” 9.  His relationship with “Coach Chryst, Coach Rudolph, Coach Settle, they’re some of the best people out there. I’m real grateful for all of them. They brough me into the college football journey…I remember as a high school student, sitting in Coach Chryst’s office at the University of Pittsburgh and he offered me a full scholarship. It was one of the happiest days of my life. I’m forever grateful for him. He’s out there leading young men all over the country and giving them opportunities to get a college education and play football…Just having those relationships with those coaches meant a lot to me.” 10.   “The coaches always believed in me.” 11.   His opinions on student-athlete transfer policies. 12.   What Rachid meant when he said, “These guys don’t know how good they have it” a year after he finished his career. “The college football experience is something so unique that very few people get to experience…I was just thinking, ‘Wow, there will never be another time that it will feel like this. That you’ll get to do this again…Nothing will compare. Nothing will bring that feeling again… These are the best times of your life. Being with your brothers…Being a part of that brotherhood, I was just real appreciative that I got to be a part of that for five years at Pitt and Wisconsin…Understanding the blessing we had.” 13.  One of his favorite sayings: “Be where your feet are.” 14.   “I don’t feel like I was supposed to be here. But I am. It would be a shame if I didn’t maximize it.”

How can coaches and leaders make their ways through internal team challenges? In the third interview with Coach Alvarez for the football in Wisconsin series, he discusses challenges associated with keeping a staff hungry. Coach also comments on being the leader through difficult periods and indicators of which assistant coaches are ready for head coach positions.  1.  Assembling his first staff and quickly recognizing that some of his coaches were not going to be able to keep up. 2.  Advice he received from Lou Holtz: “”You work for the university. And if they’re (the assistant coaches) holding you back, they’re holding your program back. They (the university) put you in charge of that program and it’s your responsibility. If they can’t keep up, you’ve got to let them go.” 3.  Having a staff that stayed with them for a long time: they got too comfortable, too complacent. 4.  What are the signs of staff complacency? Recruiting corners being cut. 5.  “It’s easy when you’re winning to get too comfortable.” 6.  Nick Saban’s skill in keeping his staff hungry. 7.  “If you have one guy who starts getting lazy, then everybody else sees it and they start cutting corners.” 8.  Changing as a coach over the course of one’s career. 9.  “I think my interactions with the players were always the same.” 10.  Giving everyone in the program a questionnaire at the end of each season to get feedback on the program. 11.  Navigating close relationships on coaching staffs. Drawing clear boundaries. 12.  Showing strength in tough times. 13.  “Don’t take yourself too seriously. I don’t have a problem laughing at myself.” 14.  The importance of bringing in new coaches. “Don’t be afraid to lose coaches.” 15.  How did he identify promising head coach candidates? “I think there are some guys who just present themselves as head coaches.” 16.  Little signs that Coach Bielema was ready for the head job. 17.  Getting losses out of the system. “Go in Sunday and put the game to rest. Find the good and the bad.” 18.  Tommy Lasorda visiting with the team at Rose Bowls about believing you can win. And that, “you’re better prepared than the guy across the ball from you.” 19.  On his wife, Cindy: “We’ve been a team.” 20.  “There were times I was moping around the house and she’d say, ‘Where in the hell is this ‘deal with adversity’ speech that you give? How in the hell are you dealing with it?’...She’ll snap you right out of it!”