Doug Miller, chairman of the Bulldog Foundation board, and former RHS football coaching legend Tom Ferguson chat with Mr. Tressel. –Photos courtesy of Michelle German, GSK Creations
Former Buckeye coach shares 5 factors for success
Surrounded by fans, it’s reasonable to expect former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel to talk football.
But as the guest speaker at the second annual Rossford Bulldog Foundation Extravaganza, his message to nearly 300 Buckeye fans was more about education.
“For all the challenges of today, education is the answer,” Mr. Tressel said in his opening remarks, indicating that he himself comes from a family associated with education.
“Education can give us a chance to build a future.”
On May 30 Rossford community members gathered at the Hilton Garden Hotel in Levis Commons for the
“Building Futures Extravaganza” to celebrate education and the future of Rossford schools.
The event brought a diverse collection of area residents together for a dinner, conversation and silent auction.
While coaching college football for 25 years–15 at Youngstown State and 10 at Ohio State–Mr. Tressel’s teams played for nine national championships, winning four.
Since leaving the sidelines, he has gone on to serve higher education and is the current president of Youngstown State.
During his first administrative position at University of Akron, he noted the privilege he had to be surrounded by some of the most educated and brilliant people.
They focused on ideas inspired by a quote from Albert Einstein: “Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of technical endeavors.”
Mr. Tressel recalled being in a meeting surrounded by these “well-educated people” discussing the concept of student success.
One administrator spoke up: “Data shows that the single most important indicator of student success comes from cognitive ability.”
“Cognitive ability?” Mr. Tressel echoed. “I thought, I’ve got no shot,” he said joking with the crowd.
However, he wasn’t sure he agreed that cognitive ability is the most important factor in determining student success.
And although he wanted to speak up in the meeting, he chose to stay quiet.
“My dad always said that you will be given 1,000 opportunities to keep your mouth shut. You should use every one of them.”
Instead, he chose to reflect upon other factors that contribute to success. He decided to create a list of five traits in descending order.
“I thought about the teams I coached and had to agree. My teams were better when they were smarter and when they had talent, so I kept cognitive ability and talent at number four on the list.”
For the fifth spot on the list, Mr. Tressel decided that another trait his successful teams had in common was that they all worked hard.
“Work ethic had to be part of it,” he said. “There is no short cut to anything. The only way to get there is through hard work.”
For third place, he decided on curiosity.
“Those who stay curious about how to get better can strive to reach their potential,” he said, adding this is especially true following a success.
The coach noted how every year his players always read a book as a team. After competing in a national championship, they read the same best-seller: “If It Ain’t Broke, Break It” by Robert Kregel that teaches people to stay curious in spite of their success.
“Education is about curiosity,” Mr. Tressel emphasized.
The second trait, he believes, should be grit because it helps in dealing with obstacles.
“My teams that had grit were always able to progress in spite of adversity. You couldn’t convince them they were going to lose.”
He then directed a comment toward young people in attendance: “There are two good things about getting older. For one, your huddle gets bigger–that’s a good thing. And you get to a point where you can predict the future.
“For every young person here, I can predict your future. You are going to experience things that you planned and practiced for, but you will also experience several things that you never thought would happen. When that happens, you will need to choose how to respond.”
Yet grit doesn’t only allow one to handle adversity. “It also dictates how you will handle the good times. It helps you handle whatever comes your way.”
Finally, at the top of his list, Mr. Tressel said all his teams that reached their potential were selfless. Some didn’t have as much talent– but they were always about “us” and not “me,” he noted.
“If we can achieve selflessness, we have a chance. Every negative in society can be traced back to selfishness. Human beings are instinctively selfish, so selflessness must be intentionally worked on.”
To close, the championship coach directed his comments to the Bulldog Foundation and the work they are doing.
“Tonight, we are here to build an environment to be as selfless as possible,” he said.
“If we can do what it is that we can do in a selfless manner, Rossford will have a great future.”
The evening also included a presentation from with Bulldog Foundation board president Doug Miller highlighting the organization’s latest endeavor, interactive displays designed to recognize Rossford’s military veterans, members of the Athletic Hall of Fame and those who have earned the Distinguished Alumni Award.
The displays will be located in the main hallway of the renovated high school.
Mr. Miller recognized several honored guests. Joseph Vedra and David Avalos were commended as Distinguished Military Honorees. Rossford Schools employees Kim Linenkugel and Sarah Jarosz were recognized as recipients of the Patricia Gladieux Award.
RHS graduate from the Class of 1984 Ivory Anderson was recognized from the Distinguished Alumni, and three former RHS athletes Mike Kornasiewicz (1985), Rachael (Clay) Waltz (2008) and Adam Whitlach (1994) were honored for their induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame.
The Bulldog Foundation, a non-profit organization that functions outside of the Rossford School District, started in 2014 as the brain child of three local attorneys Mr. Miller, Kent Murphree and Rex Huffman.
The foundation’s goal is to provide funding for the schools to enhance academic and extracurricular opportunities for Rossford students.
“We raise funding to support scholarships and classroom grants for teachers,” said Mr. Murphree, the board vice president. “The foundation is made up of people looking for a way to give back and to help kids.”