Camden Selig Biography

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will, and a lack to change”-Vince Lombardi. Central Dewitt’s football program usually has a tradition of great success and excellent morals. Unfortunately, in the 2014 and 2015 football season they have a combined record of 5-13, which does not live up to the standards of the DeWitt community. There are many problems circulating the football program, but most involve the lack of experience in coaching. Central Dewitt ‘s losing football record for the past two seasons can be solved by coaches properly developing their athletes, incorporating new offensive and defensive strategies, and increasing player participation.

With the right influence, communication and skill development is the key to a valuable coach. Without my two outstanding high school coaches, I wouldn’t have the love for basketball and track the way I do today. They have taught me everything I needed to know for the present, along with tips for the future. Coach Lewis and Coach Kohler have done more for me than what I’ve ever deserved and I will never be able to pay them back for all their help and encouragement. But I hope they have understanding of how much of a change they can make on someone's life, someone's life like my

East Hall High School is where I conducted my coaching interview. I was granted the opportunity to interview one of the most prestige High School coaches in the state of Georgia; Joe Dix. Dix is the head coach for the boys’ Varsity basketball team at East Hall. Dix and his staff were conducting try outs during our coaching interview, which is was pumped about. Coach Dix talked about the pressure on him and his team to bring home a State Title this year since it’s been a decade since his last one. Joe Dix is in his 21st season as a basketball coach and his 11th as the head coach at East Hall. As the head coach at East Hall Dix has won 2 State Titles, with 5 Final Four appearances, and 7 Region Championships.

He is a terrific Defensive Line coach where he pushes kids to the best of their abilities. When I got hurt last year, Coach Payne was the first to visit. He also then assisted me in my pursuit of a coaching career. He taught me everything I needed to know in order to embark on my journey. He also has assisted me and so many others in loving the game of football. One way he gets players to love the game is simply by having a voice for the players. He will always tell you how he truly feels about your situation and how to exceed the limitations you have. His attitude and voice will always push you to the maximum of your abilities. One such moment was against Iowa Central, He comes in and says the prayer before the game. Normal stuff until he says a few key words after we break. He said, “Are you ready to earn a bowl game. Are you ready to win this rivalry?” At this time the team in unison, “Yes sir!”

To the majority of America, Auburn University Football is just a sport. To the thousands of Auburn Tigers fans worldwide, it is so much more than that. Tim Stanfield describes it as “…more than a game…it’s a passion” (Stanfield et al. 61). The culture surrounding Auburn Tigers football is a family and tight-knit community. As Pat Dye, past coach of the Auburn Tigers puts it, “We are close here, and that is part of what it means to be a Tiger” (Glier xii). There are generations of Tigers fans, “family” traditions, and the support and encouragement of a family behind every Tiger out there playing. To be a

On a crisp October evening in Hamden, Connecticut, two high school football teams face off. The crowd roars as the Hamden Hall football team takes the field with the head coach, Joe Linta, slowly jogging behind. Tonight it is all about coaching his team to an undefeated season and getting to the conference championship game. The next day, Linta is in the office talking to NFL executives, negotiating a contract extension for Joe Flacco, and watching film on dozens of Division III football players. Joe Linta is more than a high school football coach and more than a sports agent; he is one a kind.

It all started with an email seeking freshman male in his coaching and administration program. The 2012 graduate of UConn’s Sport Administration and coaching program, William Aloia, says this future success as the Associate Athletic Director for The College of St. Rose started out by almost” falling into his lap”. The New Jersey native began his undergraduate experience with two Division-I parents, and like an abundance of people he knew that working in sport was something he wanted to do. Previously a part of the Kinesiology department under the late Joe Marrone, Will jumped on the opportunity posted through an email and started his freshman year as a basketball manager for the very successful UConn’s basketball program. He explains how this experience “opened his door up”. Will states; “once I started at UConn working with the women’s basketball program and being around collegiate athletics at such a high level it’s really something in itself, and unbelievable experience. I knew it was for me, I didn’t know which part for sure, but I knew this was something I wanted to do.” What Will realized very quickly realized about working in sport is that often times it is a thankless job. However, that did not stop him from finishing his undergraduate career as a four-year manager for the basketball team. The motivation for Will early in his career has been a two-dimensional illustration of success.

They showed us that in order to win games we could only depend on one another if we could be depended upon ourselves. We were then introduced to the backbone of Sheridan’s success in athletics, and the key to Paul Culver II prior successfulness, the RMA. We were taught with the Right Mental Attitude anything could be achieved. The RMA was expected of us on and off the field in all aspects of life. Going to the Sheridan High School varsity football games was the equivalent to going to the moon for us as biddy league players. Reping our jerseys gave us a sense of pride, like we had a connection with the players on those Friday nights; we shared the

It has been said that “people learn from mistakes” (Roth 21) by prestigious and successful individuals such as Dr. Bernard Roth, in an attempt to provoke people to chase their dreams despite any mistakes or obstacles. The failure of becoming eligible for the MLB draft this year is a colossal setback for players interested in being drafted. Although this is considered a failing in society’s eyes, these players have a chance to learn from there mistakes and use that knowledge to eventually get drafted in a following year. Possibly the most substantial issue that most of these athletes had to overcome would be lacking important knowledge necessary to provide a respectable run at the MLB draft. The lack of knowledge can be broken up into 3 aspects: beginning with a bad plan, having unrealistic expectations, and coasting in the baseball portion. All of these factors contribute to teaching the athletes who failed this year how to succeed next year.

Coach Ed Thomas, the heroic football coach from Parkersburg, Iowa, once said, “If all I have taught you is how to block and tackle, then I have failed as a coach.” Coach Rod Conrad, the girls head basketball coach, uses this same philosophy even though he does not coach football. He inspires girls on and off the court through his words and actions. These traits (and many more) are what make Conrad a genuine hero.

Shawn Partin spent his life playing baseball. From the time he was four years old he was on some sort of baseball field, “we lived right across from the field, so my mom and I would walk over there after I got home from kindergarten every day with my tee and a bat and a ball and we would hit through,” says Partin. So when he injured his shoulder in high school, he was devastated, “it wasn’t career ending, but it still set me back. In my mind, I was a failure.” This led him down a ‘rabbit hole’ where he struggled to recover and became very depressed. Eventually he struggled with substance abuse and was forced to quit baseball, giving up the chance to play baseball at a Division I university, and the dream of being in the Major League Baseball League.

Too many schools and coaches are focusing in on wins and losses. Here at Calvary, our coaches’ goal is grow the athletes in faith first. We will play each sport the way God intended us too. We will glorify God through playing. My favorite college football coach, Mark Richt, said some very wise words about what running a good program consist of. He said, “Life is about people, not rings. Rings collect dust.” These words will be a focus for us here at Calvary. While we still want to win championships, we are more worried about growing the athletes for life after college.

In Case 7 “Perceptions of Leaders Following Public Failures: A Tale of Two Coaches”, two leaders both college football coaches of their respective teams were encountered with scrutiny, as they lacked a certain level sensitivity regarding serious incidents within their program. The case study talks about both Mike Leach and Gary Barnett’s background as coaches and progress to the events with their program that lead to them being involved in the public failure. This eventually led to people having various perceptions of both coaches based off of how they dealt with the incidents. As a result of both programs image being tarnished, Mike Leach was fired, however; Gary Barnett’s job was retained.

Robert J. Sternberg, previously the dean of Tufts University and currently the provost at Oklahoma State University (OSU), has had an opportunity to see the benefits of college athletics, including lifetime fitness leadership, stress relief, and loyalty second-hand. It is important to analyze and understand the view of an outside perspective, specifically a faculty or staff member, because they can see the present, long term outcomes as opposed to a college athlete looking and recollecting memories from the past.

As with any branch of every athletic department, the person who everyone answered to was the Athletic Director, Jeff Compher. While I never really got to interact with Mr. Compher that much, his duties include those typical of athletic directors. He is in charge of hiring and supervising all of ECU’s coaches, creating budgets for each sport, ensuring that relations with donors are good, scheduling games, and making sure all teams, coaches, and players are in compliance with the NCAA. As mentioned previously, his span of control extends to everyone involved in ECU’s athletic programs. Next, we’ll look at the highest-ranking person in our particular department, Shelley