Be a coach. Step in.

September 18, 2007 in Uncategorized

I really loved seeing this tonight on Johnnie Moore’s blog. As Johnnie mentioned all the way from London, it’s so nice to see someone helping on YouTube, not someone laughing at or ridiculing another’s misfortune. Simple acts of kindness. I so resonated with a comment left by Jack Yan on Johnnie’s site about the video, too: "You can see why that gentleman is a coach: he stepped in when there was trouble, he guided someone through the dif?cult stages, and he did so with dignity."

I just really, really love that this man stepped in to help. It wasn’t that he was standing right next to this young girl–he had to journey from his comfortable place in the stands to get there. It wasn’t that he’s a great singer. It’s that he’s a great coach, a caring soul, someone who lifts people up when they need it. Be a coach. Step in. Save face for someone else.

(Thanks to Marilyn for identifying Maurice Cheeks as the coach who stepped in. Turns out, it’s not the only time he’s made a difference.)

About Patti Digh

Patti Digh is an author, speaker, and educator who builds learning communities and gets to the heart of difficult topics. Her work over the last three decades has focused on diversity, inclusion, social justice, and living and working mindfully. She has developed diversity strategies and educational programming for major nonprofit and corporate organizations and has been a featured speaker at many national and international conferences.

10 comments to " Be a coach. Step in. "


JP

September 18, 2007 AT 11:40PM

Yep.
That’s pretty much what everyone would naturally *want* to do, but wouldn’t necessarily think of actually doing.
Coach did it.
Spot on.

Julie

September 19, 2007 AT 5:57AM

Oh, that made me cry!

Marilyn

September 19, 2007 AT 8:11AM

Patti, I haven’t seen that clip since it originally happened a few years ago. That’s Maurice Cheeks (“Mo” to fans) who at the time was the coach of the Portland Trailblazers in our old town. Although we watched that game from a distance (in the tropics) we knew that Mo was loved in Portland. Sadly, he couldn’t ‘save’ the team he was brought in to rescue (which by that time was known as the “Jailblazers”) and he was fired from the job after a few years. When he helped Natalie out, he exhibited just the kind of classy behavior he was known for. Behavior we would all do well to model.

blue girl

September 19, 2007 AT 9:09AM

Wonderful!

idealawg

September 19, 2007 AT 6:26PM

This man has the heart, soul, and instinct of a coach

What is this writer Albert Hensley talking about here?I’d never experienced quite that feeling before. Sure, I’d been at sporting events where the crowd sang along, but this was different. This was everyone uniting for one common good: to help that lit…

aurora fox

September 20, 2007 AT 2:25AM

Yes! yes! yes! I wish all the media would publish (or air, or show) positive news and positive actions—every day! instead of disaster and “bad” news–accentuate the positive…
I saw a great t-shirt yesterday–it said:
“whoever smiles first wins”

I’m smilin’ ;-)

Becky

September 20, 2007 AT 4:39PM

It made me cry, too!

Joy

September 22, 2007 AT 5:51PM

Beautiful! It’s stories like these that help us to believe in the human race once again . . .

ren.kat

September 26, 2007 AT 1:33PM

Wow. Yeah, yeah, the girl, but more important maybe were all the people in the bleachers. He taught them how to deal with the situation.

Chris

September 27, 2007 AT 11:07AM

Mo Cheeks is a great man and a darn good basketball coach. There are dozens of stories out there about how he has put himself out for folks. I sure hope that he eventually gets the personal recogntion he deserves as a great humanitarian.