It’s Gotta Be the Greatest Thing In the World

by Ryan Krzykowski

There’s a group of 10 or so coaches that meets each week at our neighborhood high school — we call it a Coaching Life Group (CFC can help you learn more about joining/starting one).  This particular group has met regularly since 2017, and over the years we’ve worked on Coaching Purpose Statements, gone through a few different workbooks and read/discussed more than a few books together.  This year’s version of the CLG is reading a classic in the sports/coaching genre, Season of Life, by Jeffrey Marx.  Published over 20 years ago, Season tells the story of the 2001 Gilman School football team, mostly by detailing the happenings around assistant coach Joe Ehrmann, a former wild man NFL lineman turned pastor turned coach.  If you’ve never read this book, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

In this week’s reading we looked at chapters 4-6, and right away met Billy Ehrmann, Joe’s younger brother.  Spoiler — much of Joe’s journey is inspired by the death of his 18-year old brother in 1978.  As we meet Billy in the story, Marx quotes Joe from the 70s as saying, “No question, it’s gotta be the greatest thing in the world to have a brother.”

I’m honestly not sure how to measure what’s the greatest thing in the world, and I certainly understand that not everyone has a brother.  But I do — and those words hit me between the eyes.  My brother is three years younger than I am and he’s a hero to me.  He is good at everything and has all the qualities I admire in people.  He is calm, patient, really smart, optimistic, understanding and generous, to name just a few.  He also lives 18 hours away, and we typically see each other once a year, maybe twice if we’re lucky.  So reading that sentence, it was clear to me what needed to happen.  I underlined it in the book, snapped a picture and texted it to my brother, along with some words of mine about how much I love and appreciate him.

I share this story not to show off about what a thoughtful brother I am, but rather to ask you who is out there that needs to hear from you today?  With whom can you share something similar?  Maybe it’s your brother; maybe it’s not.  Doesn’t really matter.  But that person is out there waiting to hear from you.

Let’s Coach With Purpose…