By Dr. Jack Welch

Who Knows Your Name?

“I could have gone to college on a football scholarship. I had an offer right out of high school, but I joined a rock-and-roll band and ended up going nowhere. Now I’m fixing garage doors.” There is nothing wrong with fixing garage doors. Honest work is good work. The sad part is not the garage doors. It is the words, “I could have.”

Those words can become the epitaph of a dream. Imagine opening a high school yearbook and reading beneath every picture what that person dreamed of becoming. A doctor. Teacher. Coach. Athlete. Business owner. Musician. Missionary. Farmer. So many dreams. So many mountaintop visions.

Then life happened. Things happen to every one of us, some we want and some we don’t. We can’t always control what happens, but we can control how we respond. I call that attitude.

I’ve heard it said, “Obstacles are only visible when you lose sight of the goal.” Obstacles are real. Sometimes we stumble, fumble and fall. Sometimes people try to hold us back. Yet failure can teach us, disappointment can strengthen us, and adversity can make us better.

The heart of a person determines their lifestyle. A good friend of mine recently received a heart transplant. He has always had the heart of a champion. My prayer is that this new heart will allow him to continue encouraging people, sharing his life and helping others. Most importantly, I know God has him in His hands.

John 13 tells us how Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. One by one, Jesus cared for them individually. He knew each of them. He saw them. He served them. He even washed Judas’s feet. Jesus sees us individually. He knows our needs. He knows our hearts. He knows our names.

We make our name every day. We make it through how we treat people, how we respond to adversity, whether we keep going when we fall, and whether we encourage others. Don’t spend your life saying, “I could have.” Get out of the nest. Spread your wings. Keep your vision. Guard your attitude. Take care of your heart.

Your name isn’t simply something you’re given. You make your name every day.

Think about it.

Thought for the Week: “You may not get to choose what happens to you, but you do get to choose how you respond. Guard your heart, keep your eyes on the goal, and remember, you are making your name by the way you live every day.” — Jack Welch

Dr. Jack Welch serves as President of Fort Scott Community College. With a career spanning professional sports, public education, and rural community development, he brings a servant-leader mindset and a passion for building trust-driven cultures that empower people to thrive in the classroom, on the field, and in life. He is also the author of Foundations of Coaching: The Total Coaching Manual.

By Dr. Jack Welch

After only four games of the college football season, the words “hot seat” are already being used around the country. Having spent much of my life around college athletics, as a player, coach and administrator, I have learned that one of the hardest decisions a leader can make is determining when patience has run its course.

How long should you wait before making a change? There is no magic number of games, seasons or years. I have seen programs that needed time to rebuild. Recruiting takes time. Culture takes time. Developing young people takes time. Building a staff and earning trust takes time. Sometimes the right decision is to stay patient and allow a coach to finish the work they started.

However, patience can also become an excuse for avoiding a difficult decision.

I have watched situations where an administration genuinely likes its coach. The coach represents the institution well. The players like the coach. Academics may be strong. Discipline may be good. The relationship with the administration may be excellent.

Those things matter. However, winning matters, too. The question should not simply be, “Do we like our coach?” The better questions are: Is the program improving? Are players developing? Is recruiting getting better? Is the culture moving forward? Is there a clear plan? And most importantly, is there measurable evidence that the program is moving toward where it needs to be?

A coach can be a great person and still not be the right coach for a particular program at a particular time. I believe administrators should also ask themselves a difficult question:

If we were hiring for this position today, knowing what we know now, would we make the same decision?

That question forces us to evaluate the present rather than becoming attached to the past.

A four-game losing streak is not necessarily a crisis. Seasons of decline may be something entirely different. Leadership requires patience when patience is warranted and accountability when accountability is warranted.

In athletics, we tell our student-athletes that adversity reveals character. We tell them to evaluate, adjust and keep moving forward. Administrators have to do the same thing. Leadership is not about making the easiest decision. Sometimes it is about having the courage to make the difficult decision when the evidence tells you it is time.

Thought for the Week: “Patience is a virtue, but leadership also requires the courage to recognize when patience has become an excuse for inaction.” — Doc Shelby, Hall of Fame Running back at McMurry University.

Dr. Jack Welch serves as President of Fort Scott Community College. With a career spanning professional sports, public education, and rural community development, he brings a servant-leader mindset and a passion for building trust-driven cultures that empower people to thrive in the classroom, on the field, and in life. He is also the author of Foundations of Coaching: The Total Coaching Manual.

From the Bleachers-780

By Dr. Jack Welch

When You Find Yourself in a Bind?

Have you ever found yourself in a bind? Coaches, administrators, teachers and students all do. Life puts us in situations we did not expect.

A coach loses a key player. An employee works hard but faces setback after setback. A student wonders how they will pay the next bill.

So, what do we do when we are in a bind? We keep going. We keep striving for excellence. Most importantly, we have faith.

I once heard the story of a person who seemed to have everything go wrong. They worked hard, then lost their job. They searched for another opportunity, only to face more setbacks. The small business they had invested in closed its doors. It would have been easy to quit.

Instead, they kept looking. They kept working. They kept believing tomorrow could be better than today.

Then an opportunity came along that was bigger than anything they had imagined. The setback became a setup for something greater. Sometimes we cannot see what God is doing in the middle of the struggle.

Think about Moses standing at the Red Sea with the Egyptian army closing in behind him. The sea was in front of him, and his enemy was behind him. He was truly in a bind. Yet God had a plan.

Exodus 14:14 tells us, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Faith means trusting God while continuing to do our part.

We still prepare. We still practice. We still teach. We still work. We still study. We still lead.

When you are in a bind, don’t panic. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Keep moving. Keep striving for excellence. Keep believing.

You may not see the way out today, but have faith. God has your back. Sometimes the Red Sea is not the end of the journey. It is where we discover how powerful God really is.

Thought for the Week: “Never give up in the middle of the story. You may not understand what your future holds, but keep moving forward. You may be preparing for your greatest chapter yet.” — Lindsay Hill, Dean at Fort Scott Community College

Dr. Jack Welch serves as President of Fort Scott Community College. With a career spanning professional sports, public education, and rural community development, he brings a servant-leader mindset and a passion for building trust-driven cultures that empower people to thrive in the classroom, on the field, and in life. He is also the author of Foundations of Coaching: The Total Coaching Manual.

Your Time Is Now

This week’s From the Bleachers is a little different. It is a personal letter to a former athlete, as he prepares for his college season opening game.

I want you to know how proud I am of the man you have become. I have watched your journey from Little League, to junior high, to high school. I had the privilege of recruiting you to East Texas A&M University, and I watched you continue to grow as a football player and as a young man.

Eventually, our paths took us in different directions. I went into the UFL and college administration, while you continued your football journey in college football at the highest levels. Look at where you are today. You have continued to improve, continued to work and continued to chase the dream. This could be one of the greatest years of your football career.

This is your chance. Do not get caught up in the hype or distracted by what people are saying about you or what may come after the season. Keep your eyes on what is directly in front of you. You cannot play tomorrow’s game today.

Play today’s game. Football is physical, but the mental part of the game is just as important. Stay focused on what you can control: your effort, your attitude and your preparation. Motivation may get you started, but discipline keeps you going.

Your standard has always been high. Keep it there. Do not lower it because you are tired, things are difficult or someone else is not meeting the standard. You know who you are, what you are capable of and how much work it took to get here.

Do not waste a day or a play. Every practice, class, workout and game is an opportunity to become better. Strive for excellence when nobody is watching, because that prepares you to perform.

Most importantly, always put God first. John 15:5 reminds us that apart from Him, we can do nothing. Let God guide you, keep you humble, strengthen you and remind you that your identity is bigger than football.

When you step onto that field, believe in yourself. Trust your preparation. Do your job. Win the moment. Then move to the next play.

Pardner, I have watched you grow from a little boy into a man with an incredible opportunity. Your time is now. Be great today. Then wake up tomorrow and do it again. I believe in you. I always have. I love you.

Thought for the week, “Attitude is everything.” Tracy Welch, legendary coach.

Dr. Jack Welch serves as President of Fort Scott Community College. With a career spanning professional sports, public education, and rural community development, he brings a servant-leader mindset and a passion for building trust-driven cultures that empower people to thrive in the classroom, on the field, and in life. He is also the author of Foundations of Coaching: The Total Coaching Manual.