YOUTH FALL BASKETBALL PHOTOS

Take a look at some pics from our Youth Fall Basketball sessions on Saturday mornings...Coach Kopp does not claim to be a professional photographer!

RAY LEWIS: A FOOTBALL LIFE

Image from flickr.com/creativecommons

Just finished watching "Ray Lewis:  A Football Life" on NFL Network...wow!  Here are some powerful thoughts from Lewis during the episode:

"Adversity defines true character"

"Success is one thing. Impact is another."

"Fight for who you are. Always fight for who you are."

"No matter how bad I feel, I can get through it."

"I can't rest, because it's based on a lifestyle. I gotta grind; grinding is my rest."

"You start something...you finish it"

"You ain't gotta respect me by me. You're going to respect me by what people who I have come in contact with know about me."

"A lot of people always look at me and they say, 'Man, how did you become this great football player?' It wasn't football that drove me; it was making sure a man never put his hands on my mom again is what drove me."

"I want some young man, some young woman here to say...'Where did he come from to make all of this great?'"

Also, a great story of a soldier giving his Purple Heart to Lewis was highlighted during the show, which is written about here

KAEDING ON FERENTZ

Image from flickr.com/creativecommons

Thanks to one of the most beloved Hawkeyes ever, Nate Kaeding, for writing this.

LE MARS LEADERSHIP CLINIC ARTICLE

Dan Gable

 

Thanks to the Le Mars Daily Sentinel for publishing a great article about our leadership clinic in April, linked here.

DAU JOK'S MESSAGE OF HOPE

One of the best articles you'll ever read is linked here.  Dau Jok's brother, Peter Jok, just committed recently to play basketball at the University of Iowa next season.

HEROIC CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER

Image from flickr.com/creativecommons

Check out this article about a heroic cross country runner, linked here.

DABO SWINNEY

Image from flickr.com/creativecommons

Check out this VERY inspiring story about Clemson head football coach, Dabo Swinney, linked here.

LE MARS LEADERSHIP CLINIC

Dan Gable--keynote speaker

We are very excited to introduce the Le Mars Leadership Clinic, to be held April 27, 2013, at Le Mars (IA) Community Middle School and High School.  The concept behind this clinic is to offer ideas, concepts, and motivation to be the best leader possible in order to better serve others.  This clinic is being offered to anyone who is interested in being a better leader in their professional and personal life.  We have 3 awesome breakout speakers lined up for the morning "breakout session," and they are Josh Bolluyt, Mike Wells, and Dr. Carl Turner.  The big news is that we are very honored to announce that Dan Gable has agreed to be the keynote speaker to conclude the morning!

Again, we are very excited about this clinic...it's going to be a tremendous opportunity to improve and enhance leadership!  Please contact Judd Kopperud at judd.kopperud@lemarscsd.org if you have any questions or if you'd like to register.  The $20 registration fee will go towards speaking fees for Dan Gable, and if there are proceeds remaining, we will donate the money to the United Way charity.

GRIT > GOOD GRADES

Image from flickr.com/creativecommons



A writer named Paul Tough scratches the surface of an interesting topic in education today in an article linked here.  Is "grit" more important than good grades?

YOUTH FALL BASKETBALL--SESSION 1

We had a great first session of Lady Bulldog Youth Fall Basketball yesterday (September 15)!  Around 40 total girls showed up between both of the sessions, which was awesome to see.  We were also privileged to hear current Lady Bulldog senior Carolyn Ahlers as she delivered a meaningful message to the girls about teamwork and attitude.  Unfortunately we forgot to take some pictures, because we were having so much fun playing basketball!  We will shoot some photos next Saturday and post those on the blog, so check back again next weekend.

HEAD FOOTBALL COACH...AND CEO

Image from  http://deadspin.com/joe-moglia/

This is a very interesting and inspiring article about Coastal Carolina head football coach Joe Moglia, who also happens to be the CEO of Fortune 500 company TD Ameritrade; the link is here.

PITINO ON PICK-UP BALL

Image from flickr.com/creativecommons

Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino offers some interesting opinions about traditional pick-up basketball games in the article linked here

"DO" VS. "DON'T" MESSAGES

Take a look at this interesting article about the impact of "do" vs. "don't" messages, linked here

DON'T SLAM THE DOOR BEHIND YOU

Image from flickr.com/creativecommons

Regardless of your political preference, you have to appreciate this quote from Michelle Obama during her speech at the Democratic National Convention last week:

"When you've worked hard and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you...you reach back, and you give others the same chances that helped you succeed."

What an amazing quote...as teachers, coaches, and educators, think of the mentors and role models that helped us get our start in education.  These leaders helped us learn and grow in the field of education, while motivating us to be the best.  Someday we'll have the same opportunity to help new educators in the field as well...or maybe we are already getting that opportunity right now!

This quote also fits perfectly with what many programs try to accomplish with leadership among athletes.  Older kids should help younger kids in a program to be included, accepted, and connected; this starts (or continues) a cycle of positive leadership that is handed down from one group to the next.

BUILDING A PROGRAM

To any coaches out there who check this blog (especially those who might be turning around a program), you have to read the article here...inspiring and true:  Link

THE JOURNEY TO SUCCESS

From http://thetalentcode.com/2012/07/01/how-to-fix-a-slump/

Spotted this on Daniel Coyle's blog (Coyle credits Demetri Martin for the picture).  So true!

DIGGING DEEP TO HONOR A FALLEN TEAMMATE

Take a look at this story about Iowa City West volleyball and dealing with a tragedy, linked here.  According to Ryan Suchomel of the Iowa City Press-Citizen, HBO will air a segment on this story in the future.

JOHN WIENKE

Image from hawkeyesports.com

Check out this great column about selfless Iowa Hawkeye football player John Wienke from Iowa City Press-Citizen sports writer, Pat Harty, linked here.  Wienke played a huge role in the Hawkeyes' victory over Northern Illinois, by pooch punting a ball inside the 1 yard line in the 4th quarter, which helped Iowa win the game.  Extraordinary effort from a selfless teammate made that happen.  Also, according to fellow sports writer Ryan Suchomel via Twitter, Iowa starting QB James Vandenberg would shag footballs for Wienke when Wienke would be practicing punting.  How many starting QBs would do that for a teammate?

BULLDOG FALL SPORTS START FAST

It's been a great start for the Le Mars Community fall sports teams.  The football team is off to a 2-0 start in their new era, which is awesome.  The volleyball team had a solid showing last week at MOC, and the cross country teams are off and running, highlighted by Kenzie Theisen's record-breaking run at Spencer to start the season.  This will be a great week to check out some of the fall sports teams in action, starting with the boys/girls home cross country meet in Brunsville on Tuesday.  If you don't make it to see the cross country teams in action, then check out the 9th/10th football teams on Tuesday evening as they host Western Christian.  The varsity football team will take on Sergeant Bluff-Luton on Friday night under the lights at Jim Lorenzen Field, and the volleyball team hosts their annual varsity invitational on Saturday.  What a great opportunity to see the fall sports in action in the area this week, so get out and support the Bulldogs!

FOREST CITY 32, CLEAR LAKE 17

We have to give props to the Forest City football team...they won a huge game on Friday night, beating perennial power Clear Lake, 32-17 (article linked here).  The victory was significant for the program because it was the first for the Indians over the Lions since 1993.  The win also ended Clear Lake's 42 game regular season winning streak (since 2007).  It certainly had to be an emotional victory, since Clear Lake has always been one of the most successful high school football programs in the state of Iowa for many years and has been the "top dog" in the north central Iowa area.  Forest City has been on the wrong end of some tough battles with the Lions through the years, so to finally break through with a victory is awesome.  The outpouring of support and congratulations from former players, coaches, community members, and fans has been inspirational to witness.  This former Forest City coach is proud of his former school, community, players, and fellow coaches.  What an amazing victory for head coach Chad Moore, the Indian players, and the community of Forest City.