Great Coaches Are A Gift From God: The Coaching Staff In Heaven Just Got Better

In order to honor Coach Jackson Horner's passing, I knew my meager writing abilities would be insufficient.  I asked one of his very own stars to pen some thoughts for our blog.  My gratitude is only surpassed by my humility.  Thanks Bob Hudson!

From the "pen" of Bob Hudson...

Many of us on this blog have had the pleasure (well sometimes it was a pleasure) of being coached by a legend – Harry Groves. Whether we threw the Javelin, Put the Shot, jumped or ran we benefited from our time with Harry.

Some of us on this Blog also had the pleasure of having been coached by a 2^nd coaching legend – Jackson Horner of State College High School. Jackson passed away this week and. As spent a little thinking about it, I was wondering why he had such a great impact on me.  When I was in high school we certainly butted heads on more than one occasion.  It occurred to me that he was not a coach, but really a teacher whose subject from 3-6 PM – and seemingly every weekend was track and field… and life

What is a coach – or at least a great coach?

A coach is like a parent. At the time you both hate them and love them. With the passage of time you realize that they, like a parent, only want the best for you. Instead of making you eat your vegetables, they make you do that extra lift or that additional interval.

A coach teaches you that the team matters – more than you matter. If you don’t show up for practice you are letting your teammates down. Coach Horner NEVER missed one day of school in 38 years.  If you don’t do the interval in the assigned time then the WHOLE team does it again! It was not the star who mattered, but the 4^th and 5^th men who made the difference in cross country.

A coach makes you do the impossible.  A kid who could not finish a 3 mile warm up becomes a state-runner up.  A team that goes almost 20 years without losing a dual meet, because he creates a culture in which the upper classmen demand excellence from newcomers.

A coach is like a CEO – he knows when to encourage and when to kick butt... sometimes simultaneously.

My coach had a storied career:

 He ran, and I believe he was captain of, the Penn State Cross country team.  If I recall Horace Ashenfelter was a teammate.

He coached a team that 50 years ago broke the national record in the 2 mile relay – only to have that last only a few hours thanks to Jim Ryan out in Kansas

He had a streak of dual meets wins in cross country that lasted 20 years – until broken by a Chambersburg team led by future Penn State Doug Walters.

He was listed in Faces in the Crowd by Sports Illustrated

He was in the National High School coaching hall of fame.

His accomplishments were many, but more than that, I think back on the life lessons he and Coach Groves taught us: Show up for practice, don’t give up, work hard and good things will happen!

It was ironic, because moments before hearing the news from a high school and Penn State friend of mine I was in a coffee shop. The manager was going crazy because an employee – a young kid – had not shown up for work and not even bothered to call in.

So what’s the moral of this too long story? The next time you are enjoying your cup of coffee thank the coach who taught your barista that showing up is over half the battle.  Thanks Jackson we will miss you!