You Can Fly If You Try

I had the privilege of hearing the late Jack Donahue speak at a coaching conference. He was the type of individual who touched your heart in ways you couldn’t forget. He inspired many Canadians in his role as our national basketball coach.

He talked about how important it was to be positive in life. When he chose assistants to travel with the team on the road, he looked for people who would be able to see the best in every situation.

“When it is pouring rain and he is getting soaking wet, I want the kind of person who will check his pockets for fish. If he is being chased up a tree by a bear, I want him to get to the top and remark how beautiful the view is.”

Another saying he gave in his speech was:
If you have the mind to conceive it,
And the heart to believe it,
Then you can achieve it.
To which he added, “You can fly if you try.”

He told how he once had a guard on the national team who was exceptional, but wanted to be an individual and not do what was best for the team. In practice, he would continually disobey instructions and improvise, especially one particular play they had devised.

Jack took the lad aside and said some think like this. “In tonight’s game, the guard on our national team will be executing the play just like we did in practice. You have the choice of whether you want to be that guard or not.” Apparently, the player got the message and did what was best for the team.

I remember this story because I know what many other coaches would have done. What he did was state the facts and let the player decide. Jack was always about his players.

Jack Donahue died in 2003. As one person put it: While Jack was known as a basketball coach, his real role was a "LIFE EDUCATOR".