I've always been a coach. It's in my DNA. I attended SUNY Oswego where I earned my Masters Degree in Human Services/Counseling in 1997 because...
My whole life has been about coaching people. Since the 2nd grade, I have always been very receptive to coaches. They are the best mentors I've ever had.
I can remember Coach McGarr, running over to me after I fought off a much better wrestler for 4.5 minutes. He beat me 14-2 and had me on my back the entire match.
Coach McGarr picked me up (literally, I could barely get off the mat). The referee raised the other athletes arm in victory and as I walked off the mat with my coach holding me up, you would have thought I won the Gold Medal in the Olympics.
Coach McGarr was beaming. From ear to ear. And I couldn't figure it out. On the bus ride home, he sat next me and I'll never forget what he said.
"Tom, you never gave up. You were outmatched and by all measures of a man, you should have been pinned. But you never ever gave up. And that makes you the greatest winner on this bus."