If you’re a long-time Donegal fan—or an alumnus—you likely remember Al Brooks’ teaching and coaching days.
Brooks has a rich and storied history of success with Donegal teams. One of his greatest coaching experiences was helping the Indians win the Conference of the Roses in 1963, Donegal’s first football championship ever.
“At that point, Donegal had only had a football team for eight years,” Brooks said. “That year, I was also named football coach of the year.”
But Brooks spent the majority of his nearly three-decade career on baseball diamonds.
With Brooks calling the shots from the dugout, his teams went 371-197-3. In that span, the Indians qualified for the state playoffs four times and won eight sectional championships with a county and
…show more content…
“I’ve been involved in athletics since I was about 10 years old,” said Brooks, who went on play baseball and football in college.
“I really enjoyed my participation and felt like I got a lot out of it, like learning to work with others and how to solve problems together,” he said. “Luckily, I was able to carry that over into my teaching career. I taught and coached for 38 years, and it was a lot of fun for me. It kept me active and
…show more content…
“I always felt that athletics help develop the total person. Athletes learn to work together and to strive to be the best they can be—and the hope is that they carry those skills over to their personal lives so they can find success in whatever career they choose.”
When asked what the most rewarding part of coaching was, Brooks didn’t hesitate.
I BUILT RELATIONSHIPS THAT LASTED MANY YEARS LONGER THAN THE STUDENTS’ ATHLETIC CAREERS.
“The most rewarding part of coaching was by far the relationships you build with the student-athletes,” he said. “You become closer to the kids than you do in the regular classroom. I built relationships that lasted many years longer than the students’ athletic careers.”
“I’ve been retired for 18 years,” he continued, “and I’m only in Mt. Joy about half the year—my wife and I have a place in Florida—but when I’m here, I almost always run into someone I coached when I go out.”
Even in his retirement, Brooks has never wavered on his support for Donegal athletics. He still makes his contribution through his membership in Donegal Athletic Club. He says he’s not as involved as he’d like to be since he spends half the year in Florida, but he believes in their mission.
“I have a lot of respect for what they’re doing and how they’re helping the district. They’re doing great
Herb Brooks was an incredible leader. He was a coach with a vision, a vision that led a group of college kids to beat Russia, considered one of the greatest sports momen...
being a coach, he loved the game. He has the same posters, and the same dreams and
For as long as I can remember I have been a Notre Dame football fan. My father is to credit for getting me into it. He brought us to South Bend a couple of time for some games and I was just amazed by the campus and the history of the football program, so it was no surprise that I chose this particular book. Shake Down The Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football was written by a man named Murray Sperber who was a sports writer interested on why fans were so into college football. Because of his interest Sperber decided to go around the country to certain college campuses to do research on this. He started with the University of Notre Dame because he was aware of the history and the passion of their football program, he was also aware of the appreciation Notre Dame had from their fans. This book deals with they history of Notre Dame football including the nation championships, the players, the coaches, and the program itself. It explains exactly what happened thought out its history, the reality behind the myths so to speak. Notre Dame was very kind to Murray Sperber in that he was given many privileges that other authors of books regarding Notre Dame football were deprived of. These privileges allowed Sperber to do research on Notre Dame from a different point of view and in his research he found documents that jumpstarted his interest to actually write this fantastic book.
Charley Johnson is a very talented NFL quarterback from NMSU that not many people know about. Having accomplished so much, I feel that people should. Bleacher Report’s Brendan Majev, ranked him the 91st greatest quarterback of all time. He was drafted 10th round by the St. Louis Cardinals. After playing with them and the Oilers, he ended his career with the Denver Broncos in 1975. Topics gone over in this essay include his early life, his college football career, his NFL career, his army career, and his education.
Earl Lloyd was probably the most courageous player of all time. Some people know him as “The Big Cat” others know him as the first African-American to play in an NBA basketball game with the whites; he changed the way people think and look at basketball and black players and coaches. Earl Lloyd loved basketball from a very young age. Earl had two brothers older than him which was Earnest and Theodore. Earl was very dedicated from a very young age. With his high school team he took them to a state championship and won. After high school Earl went off and took his talents to West Virginia State College. While Earl was there his sophomore year they went 33-0 which is a perfect season. Earl’s team won back to back CIAA conference championships and tournament championships.
Lamont always wanted to coach even when he was in high school. He always told his athletes and students about how he wanted to pass on his teachings
In the following years, football had been a big part in John’s life. One part of his football career often overlooked is his high school career. At Oak Creek high school, John won the all-state defensive end award for his senior year. High school was not all fun and games though as John had
Joe Paterno has found a way to win in college football. More importantly, he has found a way to win and keep his morals and the morals of the University. Paterno could have retired two years ago, after he reached victory number 324.
Todd Jesdale, the experienced soul of our coaching squad, is an adroit man in seemingly all aspects of life, especially of those pertaining to rowing. He crushed me.
Gene Stallings, who was one of Bryant's players at the time, said, "We left in two buses and came back in one, and that one was half full." Bryant put his team through hell at Junction because he wanted to build character and have his players realize that things were going to be done his way. They finished the season 1-9, Bear's only losing record as a head coach! The foundation had been placed and in 1956, the Aggies won the Southwest Conference championship. In 1957, halfback John David Crow received the Heisman Trophy, the only player coached by Bryant to receive the award. After a few years in 1958 Bear Bryant joined Alabama, but this time...he was head coach. Bear once said “What are you doing here? Tell me why you are here. If you are not here to win a national championship, you’re in the wrong place. You boys are special. I don’t want my players to be like other students. I want special people. You can learn a lot on the football field that isn’t taught in the home, the church, or the classroom. There are going to be days when you think you’ve got no more to give and then you’re going to give plenty more. You are going to have pride and class. You are going to be very special. You are going to win the national championship for Alabama.” Bear knew how to give moving pre game speeches. It makes you think abut how much he cared for his football player. Bear dedicated his life to football, but he
players from the New York metropolitan area. Gerry Clark, a Holy Cross alumnus and an assistant district attorney in the nation's largest city, took it upon himself to scout Catholic high school players and direct them to Worcester. Among those who accepted an invitation ...
“It’s been said that one of the traits of the Irish was survival, and James Braddock demonstrated that in life, and in the boxing ring.”
As he moved onto college, his accomplishments certainly did not cease. Coach Wooden played basketball at Purdue University where he was coached by Ward “Piggy” Lambert who Wooden called “the greatest influence” he had (coachwooden.com). In 1932, the Purdue Boilermakers basketball team won the Helms Athletic Foundation National Champio...
"THE LEGEND, THE LEGACY, THE LESSONS." The John R. Wooden Course. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
Credibility statement (if applicable): Like many of you, I started playing soccer at the YMCA when I was four years old and I continue to play sports today so I have seen both the positive and negative aspects that athletics can have.