Recently I had coffee with a former Dallas Cowboy. We first met at a breakfast event kicking off the Tom Landry Open golf tournament. He shared a story of how Coach Landry influenced his life as a player.
The setting was RFK Stadium in D.C. It was near the end of the game and the Redskins were about to kick a field goal. Coach Ditka, who as an assistant coach at the time, told my Dallas Cowboy friend to stop the kick no matter what. To him that meant do whatever he had to do and it resulted in a cheap shot on the kicker.
After the play, it got ugly with tempers flaring and a few punches thrown. He, however, came out unscathed and started walking to the bench. The look,though,that Coach Landry gave him was one he didn't ever want to see again.
The next morning he received a call from Coach Landry's assistant. "Coach wants you in his office ASAP." This Dallas Cowboy knew he was in trouble. Coach Landry proceeded to tell him that he had been drafted because of athletic skills, not his cheap shots on players. If he were to ever do it again, he would be "looking for another team to play on." He said there was just a split second where he wanted to blame it on Coach Ditka but he knew that would be the wrong response. The lesson learned has been with him the rest of his life.
There have been times I have tried to pass the blame onto others and discovered, as I'm sure you know, that it never pans out the way you think it will. Today, be the man, the woman, the husband, wife, son or daughter, brother or sister you know you should be. And, if you have done wrong, don't blame someone else. Take it to Christ first then boldly change your actions. And be grateful for the opportunity for a "do-over".
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Oops, Wrong Golf Ball
Did you hear about the 14 year old who after winning the junior Wisconsin PGA tournament, disqualified himself and returned his medal because he mistakenly had one too many golf clubs in his bag?
“I knew right away I couldn’t live with myself if I kept this medal, so it was pretty instantaneous,” Zach Nash said during a phone interview on his first day of high school.
Then there’s the story of professional golfer J.P. Hayes who unwittingly used a golf ball that was not approved by the United States Golf Association during a PGA Tour qualifying tournament in Kingwood, Texas. It was a prototype and somehow managed to get in his golf bag.
Here’s the kicker, no one would have known that he used an unapproved golf ball but once he discovered it, he told the officials and was disqualified. He was playing for a full-time spot on the PGA Tour.
What made both the 14 year-old teenager and 43 year-old make these choices?Integrity.
Would you or I have made the same decisions? I hope so. But everyday people across the world choose to make wrong decisions that either come back to haunt them or hurt someone else, in some cases those they love.
One of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Key Values is Integrity. We strive to demonstrate Christ-likeness, privately and publicly. What does that really mean? We encourage coaches to treat student-athletes with respect, to teach them the difference between right and wrong decisions. We encourage student-athletes to be leaders on and off the field of play, to show character in all situations.
Somewhere along the journey of 14 year old Zach’s life, someone instilled in him the joy of being honest, to be a student athlete of integrity. We all have someone who looks up to us, watches us and wants to be like us. If your values are not what they should be maybe it is time to do a “gut check” and ask yourself what changes need to happen to bring joy back in your life.
We all make mistakes, but it is those who admit and learn from their mistakes that make a lasting impact on others.
I like what the late Coach John Wooden said, “Sports do not build Character…they reveal it.”
“I knew right away I couldn’t live with myself if I kept this medal, so it was pretty instantaneous,” Zach Nash said during a phone interview on his first day of high school.
Then there’s the story of professional golfer J.P. Hayes who unwittingly used a golf ball that was not approved by the United States Golf Association during a PGA Tour qualifying tournament in Kingwood, Texas. It was a prototype and somehow managed to get in his golf bag.
Here’s the kicker, no one would have known that he used an unapproved golf ball but once he discovered it, he told the officials and was disqualified. He was playing for a full-time spot on the PGA Tour.
What made both the 14 year-old teenager and 43 year-old make these choices?Integrity.
Would you or I have made the same decisions? I hope so. But everyday people across the world choose to make wrong decisions that either come back to haunt them or hurt someone else, in some cases those they love.
One of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Key Values is Integrity. We strive to demonstrate Christ-likeness, privately and publicly. What does that really mean? We encourage coaches to treat student-athletes with respect, to teach them the difference between right and wrong decisions. We encourage student-athletes to be leaders on and off the field of play, to show character in all situations.
Somewhere along the journey of 14 year old Zach’s life, someone instilled in him the joy of being honest, to be a student athlete of integrity. We all have someone who looks up to us, watches us and wants to be like us. If your values are not what they should be maybe it is time to do a “gut check” and ask yourself what changes need to happen to bring joy back in your life.
We all make mistakes, but it is those who admit and learn from their mistakes that make a lasting impact on others.
I like what the late Coach John Wooden said, “Sports do not build Character…they reveal it.”
Labels:
Golf,
integrity,
John Wooden
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Spiritual studies triumph over NFL for ex-Cowboy Duke Preston
(Duke is on the Greater Dallas FCA staff. Thought you might want to read his story)
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
There is a light rain falling as Duke Preston stands near the front door of Turpin Library on the Dallas Theological Seminary campus just outside downtown Dallas.
Quietly, students walk to and from classes unaware that this giant of a man – 6-5, 320 pounds – played for the Cowboys. A Study of Theology 101 class starts in about an hour.
"The cool thing is that people don't really care," Preston said.
Almost exactly a year ago, Preston, a center, sat inside the Cowboys' Valley Ranch facility as players, one by one, were told their dreams of making an NFL roster were through. He was one of the lucky 53 told to keep his playbook, but he never played in a game last year.
In June, Preston turned 28. He and his wife, Lisa, had a daughter, Maya, three months ago. The Cowboys offered him about $1 million to re-sign in 2010, including a $200,000 signing bonus. The team kept the option of returning open and waited until June to rescind its offer.
The pull of God was stronger than the pull of football, so Preston, who had off-season ankle surgery, decided to walk away.
"A lot of people kind of don't get it, and I know it's a tough thing to understand," Preston said. "It doesn't make sense, but in my mind and knowing what I feel and the process of things that happened to lead me to that decision, I couldn't speak to anything but God being a part of it. It's been hard to explain to people, but it's the truth. I feel it, and you have to stay true to that."
A new calling
Preston grew up in a football family. His father, Ray, played nine seasons for San Diego as a linebacker. He remembers running through the house, cutting around a corner and diving into a pile of footballs for a pretend fumble, lifting the ball to the sky as the fans roared loudly in his mind. He was a star at Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego and went on to be a three-year starter at Illinois.
Buffalo drafted him in the fourth round in 2005, and he started 20 games in four seasons. He joined the Cowboys on Aug. 27, 2009, two days after he was cut by Green Bay.
"You work your whole life for it, and [the] thing was for me, when I got there, it didn't feel like I thought it would feel," Preston said. "Not in a bad way or a negative way, but for some reason I thought making the NFL would be the end all be all."
The calling did not hit him all at once. Little things made him question whether he wanted to continue to play.
He never planned to return to school, but his mother told him about Dallas Theological Seminary's reputation.
He never planned to live anywhere but San Diego when his playing career was through, but he now calls Frisco home.
Not playing last year but staying on the roster did not make sense to him.
Talking helps
Preston realized he was not alone while listening to Dr. Tony Evans, the senior pastor at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, speak at weekly Bible study meetings at Valley Ranch. Evans discussed only now beginning to understand the bible after 15 years of college and 30 years of ministry.
Talking with Jon Kitna and other devout players on the team helped Preston forge a closer relationship with God.
"I asked him the pertinent questions about why he thought this was the route he wanted to take," said Evans, whose son, Jonathan, went to training camp with the Cowboys a few years ago. "His answers were basic and simple but solid: He feels compelled by God to do this, so therefore I would never discourage anyone who says God is compelling them to do something."
Preston said the discussions regarding religion among the Cowboys last year also pushed him in this direction.
"There were some bus rides down to Arlington, and the guys are talking God, Christian faith, is there a God?" Preston said. "I couldn't help but see things happening in front of my face. A lot of people have this conception that the NFL is full of guys who have it figured out, but we don't. Four out of five players end in divorce, bankrupt, unemployed or addicted when they're done. ... Even in NFL locker rooms there are guys searching and looking to make sense of it."
He still talks with Kitna, Stephen McGee, John Phillips and Kevin Ogletree, among others. When Kitna learned of Preston's decision to walk away, he was not surprised.
"People that aren't necessarily walking with the spirit don't understand the things of the spirit," Kitna said. "As a Christian, we are to be peculiar people. It should look weird. It should look different. I understand why people would be like that, but the great thing when you're walking with the Lord is there's no better place to be."
Not that the pangs to play have gone away completely. Preston has not been able to watch even preseason games. "It's like seeing an ex-girlfriend too soon," he said.
No comeback
Two teams, Oakland and Denver, have talked with his agent, Craig Domann, in recent months about possibly coming back to play.
Both times Domann gave the same answer: No thanks.
"This was my first August to myself," Preston said. "I looked around and was like, 'Man, this is the real world.' "
In addition to the nine hours of class, he's working 30 hours a week for the Dallas Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Film work has been replaced by homework and papers. Instead of getting ready to play Washington, he's learning about the history of Christian education and Bible exposition. Instead of lifting weights, he's preparing talks for local schools.
After making the decision, Preston wrote Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones a letter. He explained why he was retiring, how much he appreciated the chance last year and the hope of one day working with the players as a spiritual adviser.
"One thing I learned in the NFL and living my life as a Christian and following God is hold your plans lightly," Preston said. "You never know when He will show how powerful He can be."
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
There is a light rain falling as Duke Preston stands near the front door of Turpin Library on the Dallas Theological Seminary campus just outside downtown Dallas.
Quietly, students walk to and from classes unaware that this giant of a man – 6-5, 320 pounds – played for the Cowboys. A Study of Theology 101 class starts in about an hour.
"The cool thing is that people don't really care," Preston said.
Almost exactly a year ago, Preston, a center, sat inside the Cowboys' Valley Ranch facility as players, one by one, were told their dreams of making an NFL roster were through. He was one of the lucky 53 told to keep his playbook, but he never played in a game last year.
In June, Preston turned 28. He and his wife, Lisa, had a daughter, Maya, three months ago. The Cowboys offered him about $1 million to re-sign in 2010, including a $200,000 signing bonus. The team kept the option of returning open and waited until June to rescind its offer.
The pull of God was stronger than the pull of football, so Preston, who had off-season ankle surgery, decided to walk away.
"A lot of people kind of don't get it, and I know it's a tough thing to understand," Preston said. "It doesn't make sense, but in my mind and knowing what I feel and the process of things that happened to lead me to that decision, I couldn't speak to anything but God being a part of it. It's been hard to explain to people, but it's the truth. I feel it, and you have to stay true to that."
A new calling
Preston grew up in a football family. His father, Ray, played nine seasons for San Diego as a linebacker. He remembers running through the house, cutting around a corner and diving into a pile of footballs for a pretend fumble, lifting the ball to the sky as the fans roared loudly in his mind. He was a star at Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego and went on to be a three-year starter at Illinois.
Buffalo drafted him in the fourth round in 2005, and he started 20 games in four seasons. He joined the Cowboys on Aug. 27, 2009, two days after he was cut by Green Bay.
"You work your whole life for it, and [the] thing was for me, when I got there, it didn't feel like I thought it would feel," Preston said. "Not in a bad way or a negative way, but for some reason I thought making the NFL would be the end all be all."
The calling did not hit him all at once. Little things made him question whether he wanted to continue to play.
He never planned to return to school, but his mother told him about Dallas Theological Seminary's reputation.
He never planned to live anywhere but San Diego when his playing career was through, but he now calls Frisco home.
Not playing last year but staying on the roster did not make sense to him.
Talking helps
Preston realized he was not alone while listening to Dr. Tony Evans, the senior pastor at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, speak at weekly Bible study meetings at Valley Ranch. Evans discussed only now beginning to understand the bible after 15 years of college and 30 years of ministry.
Talking with Jon Kitna and other devout players on the team helped Preston forge a closer relationship with God.
"I asked him the pertinent questions about why he thought this was the route he wanted to take," said Evans, whose son, Jonathan, went to training camp with the Cowboys a few years ago. "His answers were basic and simple but solid: He feels compelled by God to do this, so therefore I would never discourage anyone who says God is compelling them to do something."
Preston said the discussions regarding religion among the Cowboys last year also pushed him in this direction.
"There were some bus rides down to Arlington, and the guys are talking God, Christian faith, is there a God?" Preston said. "I couldn't help but see things happening in front of my face. A lot of people have this conception that the NFL is full of guys who have it figured out, but we don't. Four out of five players end in divorce, bankrupt, unemployed or addicted when they're done. ... Even in NFL locker rooms there are guys searching and looking to make sense of it."
He still talks with Kitna, Stephen McGee, John Phillips and Kevin Ogletree, among others. When Kitna learned of Preston's decision to walk away, he was not surprised.
"People that aren't necessarily walking with the spirit don't understand the things of the spirit," Kitna said. "As a Christian, we are to be peculiar people. It should look weird. It should look different. I understand why people would be like that, but the great thing when you're walking with the Lord is there's no better place to be."
Not that the pangs to play have gone away completely. Preston has not been able to watch even preseason games. "It's like seeing an ex-girlfriend too soon," he said.
No comeback
Two teams, Oakland and Denver, have talked with his agent, Craig Domann, in recent months about possibly coming back to play.
Both times Domann gave the same answer: No thanks.
"This was my first August to myself," Preston said. "I looked around and was like, 'Man, this is the real world.' "
In addition to the nine hours of class, he's working 30 hours a week for the Dallas Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Film work has been replaced by homework and papers. Instead of getting ready to play Washington, he's learning about the history of Christian education and Bible exposition. Instead of lifting weights, he's preparing talks for local schools.
After making the decision, Preston wrote Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones a letter. He explained why he was retiring, how much he appreciated the chance last year and the hope of one day working with the players as a spiritual adviser.
"One thing I learned in the NFL and living my life as a Christian and following God is hold your plans lightly," Preston said. "You never know when He will show how powerful He can be."
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