Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Coach Perry

One of the things that I'm looking forward to this spring is the opportunity to once again reprise my role as assistant coach to John Perry; only this time in track. Coach Perry was the head coach that I first worked with when I first came to Powell. I helped him coach football, and we struck up a friendship right from the start. He was very instrumental in me getting the head basketball job the following year, and he's been someone who's always gone out of his way to make me feel a part of the coaching fraternity in Jackson. Whether it be introducing me to other high school football coaches in JPS or taking the time to ask for my advice on what type of defense we need to run, he always made me feel like I was a real coach and not just someone who was trying it out for two years.

I think one of the best compliments he ever gave me was asking me if I'd be interested in being on his staff if he received the head coaching job at Callaway for football. He ended up not getting it, but I was so honored that he thought enough of me to even ask.

But one of the things that I love the most about being around him is that he's one of the most effective teachers of the game I've ever seen to inner-city kids. He's a Jackson native that played football and baseball at Callaway and then at Jackson State, so kids see him as quite the role model. He's also a very down-to-earth person. He never puts himself on a pedastal, and he's always cracking jokes with other kids. His humor is so dead-on with the students that he's definitely the most popular coach at our school. He also is the offensive coordinator for Callaway HS's football team, so he does a great job of giving kids a welcoming, familiar hand when they come to high school.

I also think back to Dr. Mullins' class on Leadership where we talked about what makes a leader effective, and one of the things that I've really noticed is that Coach Perry has a ridiculously high social intelligence. He not only can relate to a kid that grew up near Grove Park in Jackson, but he can also relate to a first year white teacher from Texas. He's also incredibly organized, and he's always trying to learn more. He's been a great role model in the coaching profession and an even better friend. He's definitely going to be someone that I make it a point to stay in touch with for a very long time.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home