Tribute to a high school coach
Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:26 pm
He's alive and well, but I was asked to write a few paragraphs nominating him to our high school's "Coach's Wall of Fame."
I support Coach XXXX's nomination to the Waukesha South High School "Coaches Wall of Fame." Coach XXXX worked with me closely and my goal was to win the State meet in my senior year. I did. This earned me a scholarship to the University of Wisconsin and four years of free education. But that's only part of it the reason for this nomination: the athletic part.
Coach was font of sayings that I now realize had actual wisdom to them. He'd say, "pain is the purifier." He always said that in the middle of a workout, some exhausting interval stuff (10 hundreds on the minute, for instance: swimmers know what that means.) Mid-way through he'd say, "pain is the purifier." What he meant was "make it hurt and you'll be a winner." But now, as I approach 70, I understand that his idea works with things other than physical pain. Like anyone else of my age, I've lost a number of loved ones. The pain was intense. So I let it be the purifier. I lived through that pain and come out of it, I hope, a better person.
Coach also said, "there is no barrier." People believed that a high school swimmer could not break this time or that one. But many of us, working with Coach XXXX, broke those barriers. Later in my life, I became a writer. I've made my living in a competitive business, won some awards, and a lot of what I've done involved reinventing the way stories are told. I believe I was able to see my way through to certain high points because Coach Cibik taught me that "there are no barriers." That is why I dedicated one of my nine books to him.
Once, when I swam a personal best time of 52.8, Coach spent a week calling me "the 52 Eighter from Decatur." I am not from Decatur. I don't know anyone from Decatur. I have no idea what Coach meant on that one. But I do remember the nickname 50 years later.
Coach XXX belongs on the Coaches Wall Of Fame.
I support Coach XXXX's nomination to the Waukesha South High School "Coaches Wall of Fame." Coach XXXX worked with me closely and my goal was to win the State meet in my senior year. I did. This earned me a scholarship to the University of Wisconsin and four years of free education. But that's only part of it the reason for this nomination: the athletic part.
Coach was font of sayings that I now realize had actual wisdom to them. He'd say, "pain is the purifier." He always said that in the middle of a workout, some exhausting interval stuff (10 hundreds on the minute, for instance: swimmers know what that means.) Mid-way through he'd say, "pain is the purifier." What he meant was "make it hurt and you'll be a winner." But now, as I approach 70, I understand that his idea works with things other than physical pain. Like anyone else of my age, I've lost a number of loved ones. The pain was intense. So I let it be the purifier. I lived through that pain and come out of it, I hope, a better person.
Coach also said, "there is no barrier." People believed that a high school swimmer could not break this time or that one. But many of us, working with Coach XXXX, broke those barriers. Later in my life, I became a writer. I've made my living in a competitive business, won some awards, and a lot of what I've done involved reinventing the way stories are told. I believe I was able to see my way through to certain high points because Coach Cibik taught me that "there are no barriers." That is why I dedicated one of my nine books to him.
Once, when I swam a personal best time of 52.8, Coach spent a week calling me "the 52 Eighter from Decatur." I am not from Decatur. I don't know anyone from Decatur. I have no idea what Coach meant on that one. But I do remember the nickname 50 years later.
Coach XXX belongs on the Coaches Wall Of Fame.
