Caddy’s advice pays off for golfer (and caddy)

On the advice of his caddy, Stan Andrie decided to play a 5 iron instead of a 6 iron for a hole-in-one contest to win a car as part of a club tournament in Benton Harbor, Michigan.  The shift in club selection paid off as Andrie made a hole-in-one on the 165 yard 9th hole at Point ‘O Woods Country Club.

The advice also paid off for caddy Dave Maxey.  Prior to hitting his ace, Andrie asked Maxey if he’d prefer a big tip or the car if he made the shot.  Maxey chose the car, a brand new Jeep Wrangler.

“The first time I told him, ‘You have a new car’ we were walking up toward the green I don’t think he believed me,” noted Andrie, “After I picked the ball out of the hole and I told him again I think it sunk in and he was extremely happy, the great thing about it was that when we were on the tee waiting to hit he was talking about what bad shape his current car was in and how he needed a new one.”

Maxey has caddied at the club for 9 years and for Andrie many times over the last several years. He was awarded the Evans Scholarship and attended Michigan State University where he recently graduated with a Business Marketing degree.

Will Andrie be listening to his caddy’s input more intently now?  “I have always considered their advice, it makes the game a lot more fun to discuss different options with a caddie on how to hit a particular shot and the fact that Dave switched me from a 6 iron (that I selected) that would have landed in the water to a 5 iron that ended up in the hole makes it even more special,” noted Andrie.

Andrie said, “A hole-in-one is one of the most exciting events in the game of golf but I am not sure I would trade it for the look on Dave’s face when he realized he just won a new car — that is something I will remember forever.”

Read more at Herald Palladium

Photo credit:  John Madill, Herald Palladium

The Brad Stevens Interview

As head coach for Butler’s basketball program, Brad Stevens has been on a roll.  Taking over the program in April of 2007, he led the team to a 30 win season his first year.  Stevens broke the NCAA record for most wins in his first 3 years.  Last year, Stevens coached Butler to the NCAA Championship game where they lost to Duke by 2 points.

Stevens, two-time Horizon League Coach of the Year, is known for his thorough team preparation and his calm demeanor on the bench during games.  Even in tight games during the NCAA Tournament run, when TV cameras focused in on the young coach, his poised presence was evident.  His coaching style seemed to rub off on his team, as his players never seemed rattled.  Stevens’ approach to coaching basketball has drawn comparisons to John Wooden’s.

Since the Championship Game appearance, Stevens has appeared on the Letterman Show, sung “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at Wrigley Field, and along with the Butler team, served as Grand Marshal of the Indy 500.  Butler University, where admissions are up 67%, has resigned Stevens to a long-term deal to keep him as head coach.  IMG Worldwide, a sports and entertainment company, recently announced that it had signed Stevens to represent him.

Sports Feel Good Stories caught up with the well-spoken Stevens as he took a short break from his hectic schedule.

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The Brad Stevens Interview

Sports Feel Good Stories: Congratulations on Butler’s NCAA tournament run.  It had to be a special thrill for you and everyone close to the program.  Basketball fans from across the nation seem to unite in support of the Butler feel-good story. What did it feel like to have more people rooting for the Butler team than ever before?

Brad Stevens: You know that’s a great question.  I think the thing that is most gratifying or satisfying thing to us is the chance for former players, former staff members and certainly Butler die-hards to get a chance to experience this, and get a chance to watch this team all the way through.  One of the great by products of the tournament was the opportunity to increase our fan base.  Whether that means increasing your awareness across the globe or whether that means people were -coming to 3-4 games a year are now buying season tickets.  I think that’s a really neat thing and I think that’s something that certainly whenever you’re building a brand and you continue to try to maintain a tradition like we have here; the more people that can jump on board, the more that are welcome.  It’s something we’re really excited about.  Now, the goal is to ride that wave.

Sports Feel Good Stories: Who were some notables that you heard from when Butler had success in the tournament?

Brad Stevens: You heard from people all over the world.  You heard from people stationed overseas, people from California to New York.  It was really unbelievable, and I’ll tell you, that just the letters and cards and well wishes and everything else, despite the fact that we lost the game were amazing and certainly we appreciated each and everyone of them.

Sports Feel Good Stories: What made you more nervous:  your appearance on The Late Show with Letterman or singing “Take me out to the Ballgame” for the Cubs at Wrigley?

Brad Stevens: No doubt, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”  Not even close.

Sports Feel Good Stories: If Gordon Hayward’s half-court shot at the final buzzer in the championship game had gone in, how different would your life had been?

Brad Stevens: You know I think it would’ve been a little bit different but I don’t know if it would’ve been much more crazier than it is now.  I really believe that.  My wife and I were at a function and there were a few different coaches that had won national championship games, and the emcee was talking about the national champions in the room.  We kinda of looked at each other and thought, “Man, we were close.”  But, that’s part of it.  One of the things that we’ve always said is that at the end of day we’re trying to make this so our team feels like they have maximized their opportunities.  Even though there are always things that you’d take back in an one possession game and you’d love to do over, I think those are few and far between.  Our guys gave every, every effort.  They did it for each other and they did it for Butler.

Sports Feel Good Stories: Your poise on the bench during the tournament run was impressive.  In incredibly tight games, you never seem to lose your cool.  Rather, you seem quick with a smile and encouraging words?  How do you do it?

Brad Stevens: Our staff has worked hard to prepare.   And, you feel like, hey, If you prepare well and your players really care, and they’re committed to preparing, then the results take care of themselves and sometimes they don’t work out in your favor and sometimes they do.  But, you don’t have any regrets, if you’ve given your all.  You never think about, at least I don’t think about, the magnitude a basketball game.  All I think about is the basketball game, itself.  It’s easier for me to keep that in perspective than maybe it used to be, but I really don’t get overly consumed with what people on the outside think and that probably helps as well.

Sports Feel Good Stories: Tennis star Roger Federer claims to have been a terror on the court before he finally realized he needed to control his emotions to play his best game.  Your unflappable quality:  was it easy to come by?

Brad Stevens: I get more of that reputation because people watched me on TV more and I’m probably not as unflappable as people think, but at the same time, I’ve tried my best to be the voice for our players and I think that’s easier said than done.  I really like for those guys to go out and play the game and let the chips fall where they may.  We’re coaching and making adjustments and all those things.  I’m not good enough to do that and not have a clear head.  So, it’s important to me to try to stay poised.

Sports Feel Good Stories: What’s your basketball coaching philosophy in a nutshell?

Brad Stevens: The bottom line, and I’ve said this many times, if people think of Butler, then I want them to think first of a team.  That’s my goal in all of this part of the journey for me is to a tremendous team experience:  To get guys to think outside of themselves, to have guys really want to achieve for others.  We’ve been really blessed here in the people department.

Sports Feel Good Stories: Bill Simmons’  The Book of Basketball details the “secret” of winning basketball as revealed to the author by Isiah Thomas.  Here it is:  The secret of winning basketball is that it’s not about basketball.  It’s about team, sacrifice and put the good of the team above the individual.  What’s the secret of winning basketball?

Brad Stevens: I heard the book is great. Yes, team plays a huge role.  But, I think there’s a level of talent you need to be able to do that.  We got to the Final Four, and the fact of the matter, is that we’ve got good players.  That’s one of the things that can sometimes go unnoticed but at the same time I think do we get there without a having great “team-first” mindset? Probably not.  Certainly team plays a big role in achievement, because it’s just like any other company if you have 12 very talented people, but they’re all on their own page, rather than on one page, they’re just not going to get as far.  You know, I had a guy tell me when I was growing up, “it’s better for all of us to be on the wrong page, than half of us to be on the right page and half of us to be on the wrong page.”  I figure that’s really true.

Sports Feel Good Stories: Is it tougher to coach good defense or good offense?  Why?

Brad Stevens: It depends on your players.  Sometimes plays that are fairly routine or run by a lot of people, look a lot better when run by great players.  They can score with the ball, do different things with the ball, able to break it down with the dribble.  All you need to give those guys sometimes is just a small angle.  You don’t need to necessarily get them a wide open shot.  It all goes back to players and abilities.  Good defense is a lot easier to coach when you have guys who can move laterally, are strong, can guard multiple positions, and all those types of things.  So, again it goes back to personnel.

Sports Feel Good Stories: What basketball coaching books do you recommend?

Brad Stevens: The Sport Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh is a great book and I’m huge Dungy fan so I recommend Quiet Strength and Uncommon:  Finding Your Path to Significance.

Sports Feel Good Stories: For young basketball players intent on improving their games, what advice might you give them on how to improve their driveway workouts?

Brad Stevens: I’m a big believer in the concept of deliberate practice, working on one thing and really focusing in and honing in on that and becoming great at it.  It doesn’t mean you can only work on one part of your game, but when you get in a driveway or in the gym by yourself, work for a reason.  So many people misconstrue what a good workout is, work like it’s game like, work like it’s going to be translated directly into a game, and sometimes for some people that means working to minimize your weaknesses and maximize and perfect your strengths.  There’s certain things in this game, shooting for instance, that if you’re a good shooter — there a lot of good shooters — but if you’re a great, great shooter and don’t miss when you’re open, then that’s a real skill, a real trait.  You can find yourself on any number of teams at any number of levels.  Players who can do that but struggle to do other things can still play but they need to learn how to manage those weaknesses.

Sports Feel Good Stories: What suggestions might you give youth basketball coaches to get the most out of their practice time?

Brad Stevens: All I say is keep the big picture in mind and be yourself.

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When youth sports work — one basketball team’s lessons learned

You’ve probably read the stories: parents slugging referees over calls in nine-year-olds’ football games, coaches running up victory margins by over 100 points in high school basketball, and players spitting on their hands before the post-game handshakes in little league baseball.  Appalling stories like these, and worse, have become all too prevalent in kids’ sports.  The negative impact can be felt by individual players, by families and by communities.

However, sometimes youth sports activities can be great experiences for everyone involved.  This past year, I was fortunate to coach my daughter’s 5th grade basketball team  — the Eagan Crush — and we had one of those magical seasons.  Everything just clicked.

Eagan Crush players: Mara, Rachel, Leah, Sara, Sarah, Anna, Carly, Emma, Brooke & Olivia

When it goes well, youth sports provide a great environment for kids to learn some important, life lessons.  As valuable as setbacks are in teaching, we might overlook the power of a goal achieved in providing enduring lessons and cementing our values. Here are some of the life lessons that I think our players learned or had reinforced throughout the course of the season:

Little things mean a lot. Our team’s record for the year was 25 wins & 7 losses.  That’s impressive, but we weren’t a dominating team.  Of our 25 wins, 10 of them were decided by 2 baskets or less.  Our players did a great job of playing under pressure and figuring out ways to win.  Over the course of the season, our players began to realize that an important rebound here, or a key pick at the right time could make the difference in the outcome of a game.  Things that first appeared to be small like tying up the ball on defense or boxing out the free throw shooter from an offensive rebound took on more importance when a couple of points decided the outcome of games.  Our team learned that by taking care of the little things, sometimes the big things took care of themselves.

Never give up. In 4 games during the course of the season, our team was down by 10 points or more in the second half.  Given the average points scored by one team in games — about 25 points for 5th grade girls — that’s a pretty big deficit.  In those 4 games, our team came back to win.  Three of the games were won on the last shot with seconds left on the clock.  In our last game of the season we played for the State Championship.  The first lead our team enjoyed the entire game came with just 11 seconds left in the game.  The confidence from coming back to win earlier games played a big role in winning that game.  I hope our players take that same never-give-up attitude to their school work and other important endeavors in their lives.  To think that the game of basketball could reinforce the important message of not giving up 4 times in 4 months is pretty cool.

Winning and losing with grace is the sign of a true champion. In contrast to some opposing players who cried after losses, not one of our players shed a tear due to losing a game the entire season.  Whether our players realized it diminished the opposition’s win by crying or they were just saving their tears for when they really needed them didn’t matter.  Some opposing coaches noticed.  Some parents noticed.  I hope that some of the players who cry when they lose noticed.

Pajamas Night practice

Make fun a priority. Winning games and doing well in tournaments was the icing on the cake for our team.  Our players enjoyed some of our practices as much as our tournament wins.  Themed practices — most of which the players came up with themselves — kept things interesting.  These practices included:  a Hip-Hop Practice, Wacky Hair Night, the Crazy Socks practice, Viking Spirit Day, Backwards Day, “The Practice Like No Other,” and many more.

The power and magic of teamwork. Basketball is one of those great sports where players who come together as a team can be so much stronger than the sum of their parts.  Playing team defense, making the extra pass on offense, and supporting your teammates can make all of the difference.  Having teammates getting along famously off the court makes for a great team environment, and can’t help but rub off in more team-oriented play on the court.  As the season progressed, players figured out different ways to contribute.  The level of team play increased substantially and played a huge role in the team’s success.

Unforgettable Sports Experiences: Attending a KU Basketball Game at Allen Fieldhouse

Attending a Kansas basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse is an experience that every sports fan should enjoy.  To appreciate the importance of basketball to KU, one must look back through many years of tradition.  For starters, the first head coach of the men’s basketball team at KU was James Naismith.  Yes, that James Naismith — the inventor of basketball.  Interestingly, he’s the only KU men’s basketball coach in its history with a losing record.

Wilt Chamberlain display at KU Hall of Fame in Allen Fieldhouse

Allen Fieldhouse’s lobby area serves as the Kansas Athletic Hall of Fame.  A special display recognizes Naismith’s contribution to basketball and KU.  Visitors will also find a display devoted to Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain who played 2 seasons for Kansas from 1955 – 1958.  The most dominating player to ever suit up, Chamberlain rewrote record books.  At KU, Chamberlain averaged 29.9 points and 18.3 rebounds per game.  In the pros, he scored over 100 points in a game and averaged 50 points one season.  Amazing!

Danny Manning, who currently assists Varsity head coach Bill Self, led the Jayhawks to a title in 1988.  Two years ago, behind the miracle shot by Mario Chalmers, KU won another national title.  In all, the Jayhawks have won 5 national titles.  In its history, the men’s basketball team has a winning percentage of over .850.  Visitors to the hall of fame might also want to check out the tribute to KU football standout:  Gayle Sayers.

Named in honor of the late Dr. F.C. “Phog” Allen, the Jayhawks’ head coach for 39 years, Allen Fieldhouse was built in 1955 and seats 16,300.  “Phog” earned his nickname due to his booming voice which apparently sounded like a foghorn.

KU fans show support to their Jayhawks with a series of songs, cheers and rituals.

The Rock Chalk Chant

The Rock Chalk Chant has been the battle cry of KU fans for more than 80 years. This strange, traditional chant, which is among the most famous of all college cheers, was started by E.H.S. Bailey, a professor of chemistry. Bailey wanted a cheer for his Science Club. Returning from a convention in Wichita, Bailey and some associates patterned a yell after the rhythmic cadence of their train rolling along the tracks. On May 21, 1886, Bailey submitted the cheer to his club.

Before the University adopted the cheer in 1897, it consisted of “Rah, Rah, Jayhawk, KU” being repeated three times. An English professor soon suggested that “Rock Chalk” be substituted for “Rah, Rah” because it rhymed with Jayhawk. “Rock Chalk” was also symbolic of the chalky limestone formations found on Mount Oread. Teddy Roosevelt once said the Rock Chalk chant was the best he had ever heard.

Hear the “Rock Chalk, Jayhawk”chant and view a Coke Zero commercial featuring it.

The Alma Mater

In 1891, professor George Barlow Penny searched for a school song for the Glee and Mandolin Club to sing on its tour through Kansas to Denver and back. No one responded with an original song in answer to his appeals. Just before departure, he thought of the Cornell song “Far Above Cayuga’s Waters.” Hastily changing a few words, he gave it to the glee club men to sing on the trip. He did not expect the song to be used after their return, but “Crimson and the Blue” still goes on. The music is not Cornell’s but an old English folk tune, “Annie Lisle.”

Waving The Wheat

Since the early days of KU sports, it has been a ritual of Jayhawk fans to “wave the wheat” following every Kansas scoring drive. The ritual consists of fans waving their arms in the air, an activity which, when done by a large crowd, resembles a breezy Kansas wheat field.

The Fight Song

George “Dumpy” Bowles, a student with the class of 1912, longed to make a great contribution to the KU spirit, but wasn’t athletic enough to do historic deeds on the ­athletic field. He turned to music and produced some outstanding student musical shows.

A song in one of these shows was “I’m a Jayhawk.” Written in 1912, it was dormant until 1920 when a growth in school spirit brought out “I’m a Jayhawk” once more. The song contributed to the raising of funds to build both the KU football stadium and student union as World War I memorials. The 1926 glee club made it known ­nationally.

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In addition to the cheers and songs, any self-respecting KU fan will know something about the Jayhawk nickname and school colors.  Here’s your primer.

The Nickname

During the Civil War a regiment raised by Kansas Governor Charles Robinson called itself the “Independent Mounted Jayhawks” (later officially the First Kansas Calvary and then the Seventh Kansas Regiment). By the end of the Civil War the word Jayhawk was associated with the spirit of camaraderie and the courageous fighting qualities that characterized efforts to keep Kansas a free state.

By 1886, the University of Kansas had adopted the mythical bird as part of the KU yell. When the university’s football team first took the field in 1890, it seemed only natural that they should be called Jayhawkers. Few colleges and universities have such a meaningful symbol, one so deeply associated with the struggles of the people who founded them.

The School Colors

NCAA Championship Trophy on display

The University of Kansas colors, crimson and blue, used since the early 1890s, are not the colors originally adopted by the university Board of Regents in the 1860s. The Regents had decided to adopt the Michigan colors, maize and sky blue.

Maize and blue were used at early oratorical meets, and they may have been used when Kansas competed in rowing in the middle 1880s. However, when football came upon the scene in 1890, the student backers wanted to use Harvard crimson as the athletic color in honor of Col. John J. McCook, a Harvard man, who had given money for an athletic field at KU. That field ran east and west in the proximity of where the north bowl of Memorial Stadium stands on the Kansas campus today.

Some Yale men were on the faculty, and they demanded the Yale blue be included. The rooters rallied forth to allow crimson and blue on their team. No one fought to retain the original colors, and the vivid deeper tone crimson and blue became generally used. Finally, in May 1896, the KU Athletic Board adopted crimson and blue as the official team colors for the university.

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In addition to the game experience and the Hall of Fame, visitors can’t help but be impressed by KU’s campus in Lawrence.  With an enrollment of over 25,000 students, KU is the focal point for the city of Lawrence.  Located about 35 minutes from the Plaza in Kansas City, the city of Lawrence is everything a college town should be.  Boutiques, restaurants and small shops line Massachusetts Street, the city’s main drag.  Fan loyalty is extremely high.  Jayhawk licensed wearables are seen on virtually every person strolling down the street and not just on game day.

KU fans make a strong case for being considered the team’s “sixth man.”  In the KU vs. Michigan game, the pump-up video — see last year’s version below — worked the Jayhawk crowd into such a frenzy, that you almost felt sorry for the Michigan team members.  The Jayhawks’ current home-court winning streak as of December 28 is 49 games in a row, which is first nationally.

KU Pump Up Video

The Top 10 Sports Feel Good Stories of the Decade

The news coverage for a sports feel good story follows a familiar path.  Typically, a local newspaper covers the story first followed by local TV.  If the story is interesting enough, its picked up by sports blogs big and small.  If the story still has legs, other national media outlets including well known sports columnists, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, sports radio stations pass the story on to their audiences.  Morning news shows and talk shows might interview the people involved in the story.  Sometimes, even books and movies  are created.

As a result, an inspirational sports story can touch many lives. The ten stories below have.

Here are our Editor’s selections for the “Top 10 Sports Feel Good Stories of the Decade”

10. 12 year-old girl pitches perfect game. In a Bayonne, NJ Little League game, Mackenzie Brown became the first player to throw a perfect game in its 58 year-old history. Mackenzie, one of only 2 girls in the Bayonne league, struck out 18 batters — all boys — in route to her perfect game.  Read more/See video

9. One-handed player wins Div. I basketball scholarship. Kevin Laue’s left arm ends at his elbow as the result of his mother’s umbilical cord cutting off the circulation and stunting the arm’s growth.  While he could never quite succeed on the monkey bars or with a guitar, he plays basketball at a very high level.  He earned a Division I scholarship to Manhattan College.  Read more/See video

8. Blake Hoffharber’s shot from the seat of his pants. A high school basketball player’s incredible shot.  See video

7. Maurice Cheeks assists 13 year-old National Anthem singer. Natalie Gilbert, a 13 year-old, began singing the National Anthem before a basketball game between the Trail Blazers and the Dallas Mavericks on April 25, 2003. When Gilbert struggled to find the correct words for the song and became flustered, Trail Blazers’ Coach Maurice Cheeks came to her rescue.  Read more/See video

6. College basketball coach Don Meyer overcomes car accident and cancer to set all-time NCAA wins mark. Another impressive Don Meyer record:  In his 37 years of coaching, one player — only one — hasn’t graduated.  Read more/See video

5. Father’s response to daughter tossing souvenir ball back onto field. The crowd cheered Steve Monforto’s catch of a foul ball at a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game on September 16.  But the loudest cheer came when Monforto hugged his daughter after she tossed the ball back onto the field after he gave it to her to look at.  Read more/See video

4. Michael Oher’s inspirational story:  from homeless to top NFL draft pick. If you’ve seen “The Blind Side,” you know the story.  Read more/See video

3. Sportsmanship shines at college softball game. Opposing team players Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace carried Sara Tucholsky around the bases when her injury prevented her from taking a home run trot on her own.  Read more/See video

2. Team Hoyt. A father-son team whose picture should be next to “inspirational” in the dictionary.  An amazing story.  Read more/See video

1. Jason McElwain, diagnosed with autism, scores 20 points in 4 minutes in his first varsity basketball game. His point total included 6 three-pointers.  Read more/See video

SportsFeelGoodStories.com showcases inspirational sports stories that focus on good deeds, overcoming obstacles, achievement and sportsmanship.

Iowa State Cyclones celebrate football victory over Nebraska

Missing their starting quarterback and leading rusher, the Iowa State Cyclones upset the favored Nebraska Cornhuskers by a score of 9 – 7 in Lincoln. Compounding their key personnel absences for the game, many of the Cyclones were also battling the flu or colds. But, the Cyclones took advantage of 8 Cornhuskers turnovers, and used a fake punt to rally for the victory.

Iowa State’s last victory over Nebraska dates back to 1977.  That partially explains the wild locker room scene shown in the clip below. Paul Rhoads, first-year head coach of the Cyclones, and his team celebrated the big win.

More on the story:  www.gocyclones.com

ENJOY THIS VIDEO

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