Hoping for Maturity and Mental Toughness to Shock March Madness!

As I sit and watch this years March Madness- I strongly root for the FIELD! I am pulling for the Fundamental and Intelligent Badgers, the Izzo Tough Spartans, the Sharp Shooting Irish, the Secondary Break Running Heels, and the Hard Nosed Shockers. All of these teams bring a since of urgency and style that I enjoy to watch. I would like very badly to see one of these groups knock off the GIANTS- KENTUCKY! Why do I want to see Kentucky lose? Because I want Bob Knight's Indiana team to remain as the team to be compared to each year...A team that ran Motion offense..Not a Kentucky that has the tallest team probably in the history of the NCAA. I am not taking anything away from what they have accomplished to this point- they are great shot blockers, great rebounders, and great dunkers. However, I am still not convinced that they are the most poised, or the most qualified to win it all! I do admire that they have had many contributors to their success, and it is an unbelievable accomplishment for them to be 36-0. However, my hope is that a more experienced, more fundamental, and more mentally tough team will Shock the world in Louisville or Indianapolis!

Why Teach and Coach?

I have asked myself this question at different times in my career as a Teacher and a Coach. Why continue to Teach and Coach? With the growing pressures on schools to look at data in order for every student to pass the next up-coming state test, or the anxiety of dealing with an irrational set of parents, or dealing with the daily disruption of an unmotivated student, or coming to the realization that you are never going to make very much money, or the daily stress of tedious paperwork that takes away from your preparation time, or..... I could continue on with the stresses that come with job. However, I have come to realize the reward of growth and maturity dominates all of those negative things above. This past month I have gotten to experience some of the neatest times of my life as a teacher and coach. Recently, I had a student recognize me as his most influential teacher. WOW! That puts things in perspective. Why did this student chose me as his most influential teacher. As I sat at the awards program I was a little bit nervous about what he would say about me. When he took the stage and I stood behind him listening to his speech- I was floored. Here is a Senior boy who I taught when he was a Freshman- he said, "Mr. Brewer allowed me to learn at my own pace, he has used creativity to teach math without using a textbook, and he makes it fun with crazy kahoots." Again, WOW! Seeing a young man like this who has matured and is going on to Purdue- that makes what I do worth it! This past basketball season I also got to experience some of the neatest success. As the Varsity Assistant our team struggled most of the season. However, this group of boys never gave up. They continued to try and improve each day. Going into the Sectional our team was 5-16. That is right we had only won 5 games! The seniors held it together...they brought leadership...they brought experience...and they won their 3rd straight Sectional winning 3 games in a row! On top of that they went on to defeat a team in the Regional that beat them by 20 points earlier in the season! WOW! What an unbelievable experience to make it to the Elite 8 with a group that you have coached since they were Freshmen. That makes it worth it! The reason I teach and coach is to have the opportunity to experience the growth and maturity in student-athletes. The neatest part of the most influential teacher awards was seeing the other 12 senior students get up and give their speeches! WoW! Seeing their growth and maturity-and realizing they are the future leaders of our society..That makes it worth it!