Jim Valvano Essay

947 Words2 Pages

With goals to accomplish, dreams to follow, and a deep love for humanity, Jim Valvano captivated, inspired, and motivated people who were lucky enough to be in his presence. This man of the people demonstrated and communicated such an exuberance and enthusiasm for life that people beyond the sport’s spectrum began to recognize him as much more than just an athlete and a coach. Most importantly, people began to recognize Valvano as a fun-loving man of integrity and good character.
James Thomas Anthony Valvano, otherwise known as Jim Valvano or Jimmy V., was born on March 10, 1946 in Queens, New York to Rocco and Angelina Valvano. Being the middle child, Valvano, along with his two brothers Nick and Bob, grew up in a loving Italian household. …show more content…

First he achieved success playing basketball at Rutgers University, where he also became an assistant coach. From there he became a head coach at John Hopkins University where he gained the experience needed to move on to a larger program. A few years later, Valvano accomplished the goals he set out to achieve by becoming the head basketball coach at North Carolina State and winning a National Championship, all by the age of 36. From there his career led him to become an Athletic Director at North Carolina State as well as a basketball commentator and analysist for ABC/ESPN. He achieved success there too, winning the ACE Award for best commentator/analysist in 1992 for NCAA basketball, and also received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage in 1993 at ESPN’s first American Sports Awards. However, the fiercest battle that Valvano had to face occurred in 1992 when he was diagnosed with Metastatic cancer, and although he lost his battle a year later, Valvano’s display of strength, courage, love of family, love of humanity, and life in general, inspired others to never give …show more content…

He captivated his audiences by being a man of the people and was able to substantiate his motivational messages through his accomplishments and integrity of character. His personality played a major role in his success, and his enthusiasm for life and his love of humanity, along with his wit and colorful sense of humor, gained him quick recognition as a motivational speaker. Running up and down the court looking for someone to hug and his speech that followed after his National Championship demonstrated Valvano’s assertive and direct nondefensive approach in communicating his messages of believing in dreams and never ever giving up. Whether it was speaking in the locker room or in front of a much bigger audience, Valvano’s positive attitude inspired everyone to set their sights high, even when others believed the goals to be unattainable. In accordance, his humanness and display of respect and dignity for all people demonstrated civility in his communication approach. His use of paralanguage, which consisted of variations in his inflection and intonation, being able to change pitch level depending upon the lightness or heaviness of the subject matter, and his stress upon words, made him capable of extracting emotion from his audiences, having the ability to make them laugh or cry along with him. Jim

More about Jim Valvano Essay

Open Document