Practice What I Preach

Being a teacher and a coach is both challenging and rewarding. I literally love what I do for a living. Each day I am thankful that I get to give back to our community by helping our young people succeed in their endeavors in life. And one is for certain, when you are a teacher, there is never a dull moment. Such as yesterday...

In my English class at the end of the day I was explaining how one can make a story longer by embellishing the facts and being more descriptive in the important details of a narrative piece, when a student said to me, "I'm calling your bluff. You do it." Chuckling to myself, I responded back, "I love to write." At which point they questioned when do I ever write for just the fun of it? Which lead to discussing about a book I have been in the process of writing for several years and this humble blog about my passion of running.

As one who tries to practice what I preach, I know that the best way to teach and coach others is to lead by example and have a strong appetite for that very topic/activity you are sharing with others. I always love it when students tell me stories about obese, chain-smoking, super-size me coaches they have had in youth club sports trying to impart to them their wisdom of healthy living while stuffing another Jumbo-Jack in between gasps for air at each syllable spoken. I even had a colleague at another school I taught at tell me he never reads and that he had not read a novel in years. And yet, this was our department chair for English! Are you kidding me?! How can you expect others to be enriched by reading if you don't get excited about it? How can one point to the heroics of Atticus Finch, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, Holden Caulfield, and Don Quixote if we are not engulfed daily in the beauty of the written word transporting us to new heights of enlightenment?

Which leads to why several times per week I wake before the sun peaks up over the Sierras, fill my cup with that rich, heavenly, dark, steamy brew, and spend time with my good friend Mac. I love to write. Just like my running, I am mediocre at best, but it is one of the few pleasures in life that brings contentment and I can't imagine not doing it. Likewise, as I lace up to head out the door for day 125, I know I can't inspire my athletes to new heights of glory, if I myself did not burn with a driving hunger to run with the gods. Bottom line is, I have to practice what I preach or be silent.

So to all my students and athletes, thank you for inspiring me to be the best that I can be! I too, am a student and each day you teach me the lessons on how to be a better teacher, coach, but more importantly, how to be a better human being.

As always, stay healthy, keep running and remember, you are an inspiration!