One Person Can Make the Difference

Championship teams are not built because everyone thinks alike. They are built because people with different experiences, personalities, skills and perspectives learn to work together toward a common goal.

Sometimes, however, it takes one person stepping forward to help a team discover what it is capable of becoming. In 2010, 33 miners were trapped nearly 2,300 feet underground after a collapse at the San José copper-gold mine in Chile. The situation was frightening and uncertain. They did not know how long they would be underground or whether they would be rescued.

Luis Urzúa, the shift foreman, immediately recognized the seriousness of the situation. He took charge, organized the men, helped establish a plan for survival and worked to keep the group mentally focused. He created detailed maps that would assist rescuers and communicated with engineers on the surface.

Urzúa didn’t rescue those 33 men by himself. He couldn’t. It took engineers, rescuers, government officials, drilling crews and countless others working together to bring the miners home. Yet one person made a tremendous difference. His leadership helped bring order to uncertainty. His calmness helped others remain calm. His willingness to accept responsibility gave the group direction.

That is an important lesson for every college faculty and staff. We don’t need everyone to think alike. We don’t need everyone to approach a problem the same way. We need people who are willing to recognize what the team needs and step forward to provide it.

One person may have the experience we need. Another may have the relationship that opens a door. Someone else may see a solution nobody else has considered. Another may simply be the person who encourages everyone else when the pressure is greatest.

One person can make a difference. However, one person cannot build a championship team alone. It takes trust. It takes loyalty. It takes focus. It takes people willing to put aside personal preferences when necessary and blend their individual strengths into something greater than themselves.

A championship culture is not about everyone getting their way. It is about everyone understanding the goal and asking, “What can I do to help this team succeed?”

At our college, our goal is bigger than any individual department, position or personality. It is about our students and the future we are helping them build.

The best teams recognize that every person matters. Sometimes the person who makes the difference is the person standing beside you. Sometimes it can be you.

Thought for the Week: “Different perspectives can make us stronger. Shared purpose makes us a team. And sometimes, one person can make all the difference.” — James Robert Tucker, Professional Cowboy

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-775

By Dr. Jack Welch

More Than Friday Night Lights

Many football fans remember James “Boobie” Miles as the electrifying running back from Odessa Permian High School whose story became the heart of Friday Night Lights. As one of the nation’s most highly recruited players in 1988, he appeared destined for college football stardom before a devastating knee injury changed the course of his life.

I had the opportunity to meet Boobie during the recruiting process while serving as head football coach at Fort Scott Community College. Like many coaches across the country, I recognized his tremendous talent. More importantly, I wanted him to know there was always another path if academics or eligibility became a challenge.

Life after football has not been easy. Boobie has battled legal troubles for many years. Even through the hardships and consequences of his choices, one thing has remained remarkably consistent — his desire to keep other young people from making the same mistakes.

I had the privilege of working alongside Boobie doing school assemblies. His message to students was always sincere and heartfelt: Get your education. Listen to your parents, coaches, and teachers. Don’t throw away the opportunities that have been placed before you. He speaks openly about the years he cannot reclaim and reminds students those poor decisions can erase extraordinary talent.

Athletic ability may open a door, but character, education, and wise choices determine how long that door remains open. Every young athlete dreams of making the game-winning play. Yet the most important decisions are usually made far away from the stadium. They are made in the classroom, at home with family, and in choosing the friends who will influence the direction of your life.

His story also reminds us of the importance of learning discipline early in life. Respect for others, accountability, and making wise decisions are habits that should be developed in childhood. When they are not, those lessons often become much harder to learn later in life.

Boobie shares his testimony and encourages students to choose a better path than the one he traveled. Sometimes the most powerful teachers are those who have experienced failure, accepted responsibility, and are willing to tell others, “Don’t make the same mistakes I did.”

Talent may earn applause, but character earns trust. Education creates opportunity, discipline sustains success, and our choices ultimately determine the legacy we leave behind.

Thought for the Week: “The choices you make today determine the stories you’ll tell tomorrow. Attitude is everything. Choose wisely.” — Tracy Welch, highly respected retired professional, college, and high school football coach and athletic director.

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 – The Myth of Two-a-Days

By Dr. Jack Welch

For generations, the phrase two-a-days has caused concern among parents, with many believing that practicing twice in one day is the primary cause of heat-related illnesses. The research tells a different story. The greatest danger is not the number of practices, but whether athletes have been properly acclimatized to the heat.

Sports medicine experts have consistently found that most exertional heat illnesses occur during the first several days of preseason, before the body has had time to adjust to exercising in hot and humid conditions. That is why today’s athletic programs follow structured heat-acclimatization guidelines. Practice intensity gradually increases while protective equipment is added in stages. Coaches and athletic trainers carefully monitor hydration, weather conditions, and each athlete’s physical condition throughout every workout.

Heat illness is largely preventable when everyone works together. Coaches, athletic trainers, administrators, parents, and athletes all share responsibility for recognizing the signs of heat stress and responding appropriately. Schools closely monitor environmental conditions and modify practices when necessary. If an athlete experiences exertional heat stroke, immediate rapid cooling, especially cold-water immersion, is recognized as the most effective lifesaving treatment.

Many athletic associations have eliminated multiple full-contact practices in a single day but still allow walk-through sessions. These lower-intensity practices provide additional exposure to the environment without placing excessive physical stress on athletes. Simply spending time in the heat helps the body continue adapting safely.

Texas has taken another important step by requiring schools to monitor Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) for all outdoor sports and marching band activities. Schools must also maintain written heat emergency action plans that include rapid-cooling equipment on site before practices begin. These evidence-based measures continue to improve athlete safety.

The lesson reaches beyond athletics. Success is rarely the result of avoiding challenges. It comes from preparing wisely, respecting the conditions we face, and trusting the process. Heat should never be ignored, but neither should it be feared when preparation, education, and common sense guide our decisions.

“Winning means you’re willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else.” — Vince Lombardi

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-773

By Dr. Jack Welch

Respect the Heat

As fall sports practices begin, one opponent deserves as much attention as the team on the other sideline, extreme heat.

Exertional heat exhaustion and other heat-related illnesses are serious conditions that place athletes at risk every year. Fortunately, most heat emergencies are preventable through preparation, common sense, and a commitment to athlete safety.

Hydration must be a priority, not an afterthought. Athletes should have unlimited access to water before, during, and after practice. In football, water and ice buckets should be positioned around the practice field, not just on the sideline. A canopy should be available to provide shade during breaks, and the athletic training room should have an ice whirlpool or cold-water immersion tub ready in case of an emergency.

Practice schedules also matter. Conditioning should be conducted early in the workout while athletes are fresh or during the cooler hours of the morning or evening. Athletes need time to gradually acclimatize to the heat. The body adjusts over time, but only when that adjustment is allowed to occur safely.

Fifty years ago, many young people spent their summers hauling hay, mowing lawns, riding bicycles, and playing baseball until dark. Those activities naturally prepared them for the physical demands and heat of fall sports. Today’s athletes often spend far more time indoors with electronic devices, arriving at preseason practice less conditioned and far less prepared for prolonged heat exposure.

Heat exhaustion can quickly progress to heat stroke, a life-threatening medical emergency. No practice, conditioning drill, or game is worth risking the life of a young athlete. The best coaches understand that protecting their players is always more important than winning the next contest.

Conditioning is a process, not an event. Coaches should gradually prepare their teams for the season over time, allowing athletes to safely acclimate to the heat and physical demands of practice. Championships are never won on the first day of practice, but a season can certainly be lost if proper precautions are ignored.

Thought for the Week: “The greatest victory a coach can earn is sending every athlete home healthy enough to compete another 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.