Dear Coach Martin,

Your are the coach with a thousand faces and hundreds of wins. Your players clearly respect and appreciate you. Fans of college basketball everywhere love watching your teams for their skill, but get the bonus of witnessing your animated and passionate coaching style. That energy and passion is what I want the chance to talk to you about!

College basketball is something that I love and always enjoy, but to have the chance to talk to you about the sport and how you work to make an impact on the lives of your players would be a total slam dunk for me. My site is written to help others add positive purpose to their lives. I know you have some terrific advice on how to put purpose that means something into every intention.

Your honesty, enthusiasm, and humor make you an ideal leader and that is something my readers and I would love to get to understand from your perspective.
How can we be leaders like you? How can we let our emotions guide us with intelligence as you do?

As an educator I have often been called upon to find ways that motivate both my students and fellow teachers. There is one image that I always keep filed away to share when challenges come our way with students. This image is of you and some of your words of wisdom:

“You know what makes me sick to my stomach? When I hear grown people say that kids have changed. Kids haven’t changed. Kids don’t know anything about anything. We’ve changed as adults. We demand less of kids. We expect less of kids. We make their lives easier instead of preparing them for what life is truly about. We’re the ones that have changed.”

Any time I share this quote with a fellow educator or parent, I encourage them to set expectations for their kids that will foster integrity, resiliency, and the understanding that not all things in life come easy. Establishing goals and expecting kids to reach for those goals is a very healthy and positive practice. Discussing these ideas and many more on how to inspire others to meet their fullest potential are definitely on my list of things to discuss with you.

So, Coach Martin, I hope you will accept my invitation as a sign of my admiration for the work you do and the role model you set for leaders of future generations.

Yes, you might be a bit unorthodox in your reactions, but I appreciate the unorthodox. Thank you also for some amazing game performances. I look forward to watching many more and hopefully have a chance to chat with you about your work and words.

By: Melanie A. Peters

P.S. Now, I know South Carolina is a long way away from Missouri, but Mizzou is only an hour away from my home and I am certain there are lots of restaurants in Columbia, Mo that you would enjoy. I also think South Carolina is a beautiful state and would not be opposed to visiting.