Jim Kelly's ESPY's Speech

This is a powerful speech- he implores people to "make a difference."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln07N8AV7UA

Core Values

Every organization needs to have a set of core values that is at the foundation of their program. We

think of this as being something common with successful sports teams. This past winter, I had an opportunity to go to Fort Collins, Colorado. We went out for breakfast at popular and famous breakfast spot. When we arrived it was packed- it was obviously popular. Our breakfast was great. We had great service, and the food was great!! When I went to the restroom, I made a wrong turn and ended up in part of the servers area.

On the wall, their was a poster headed- "Core Values." Their core values were:
1- Respect
2- Empowerment
3- Honor
4- Optimism
5- Care
6- Dependable

8 Principles to Build Unity & Passion

You can infuse your team with passion by the acting out the following eight principles in your daily activities:

1. Keep Your Fire Burning. Fill your energy tank frequently. Your teammates feed off your fire. Avoid burn-out by regularly relaxing and refreshing your mindset.

2. Take Charge of Your Moods. Recognize your present mental and emotional state and take time to reflect on how your attitudes impact and influence your teammates.

Steele Gym- A Community Treasure

The old Galesburg HS, located downtown.

Galesburg High School once was located downtown, where the present Public Safety Building is located. On one block stood GHS, Churchill JH, and Steele Gym.

Steele Gym was considered the second most impressive high school gym in western Illinois during its era. Only Moline’s Wharton Fieldhouse was bigger than Steele Gym. Alleman played in the gym they still used today. Rocky Fieldhouse was not built so they played in the smaller gym used by the girls’ team today. East Moline actually played on a stage at their high school on the hill.

Richwoods’ gym was not built until 1959, so there was nothing like Steele Gym in the Peoria area.

Streaks Varsity Schedule 2018-9

Galesburg will open in the Galesburg Thanksgiving Tourney on Friday, November 16. The schedule for the tourney has not been set but this year's tourney will have ten teams- Galesburg, East Moline, Springfield, Springfield SHG, Metamora, Washington, Champaign STM, Champaign Central, Danville Schlarman, and Rockford East. Champaign St. Thomas More, Champaign Central, and Washington are all new to the field.

Gone will be the Galesburg King Tourney. Replacing it on the schedule will be the one day Galesburg Invite, and the Downstate Classic. The Galesburg Invite will include Galesburg, Dunlap, Bloomington, and Macomb. The four team tourney will have teams square off in the morning, and then the winners and losers playing each other in the afternoon. The one day tourney will include both FS and Varsity divisions. Games will be played on Saturday, January 5.

The Extra Champions Have

The other day, I was driving and listening to ESPNU on the radio. They were having a discussion about what college coaches look for in athletes. The obvious was that it starts with physical characteristics- size, strength, speed. The consensus of most of the coaches was that while many athletes share impressive physical characteristics, champions have a different set of psychological or personal qualities. Listening to this discussion, it became obvious to me that high school, college, and pro coaches all are looking for some very important intangibles in their athletes.

Passion- This past winter, Loyola’s Porter Mosher talked about his experience working as an assistant for the legendary coach, Rick Majerus. Mosher described coming back from a recruiting trip, and describing players he had observed. He would describe how they moved, their athleticism, and how they could shoot. According to Mosher, Majerus would at some point interrupt and ask, “Yes, but does he love the game?” Majerus view was that to become a champion you had to invest incredible time and sweat. And you could not put the time and sweat needed unless you loved what you were doing.

The point of Majerus, to become a champion, basketball must be a priority. To become great, it has to be something you WANT to do.

Roger Bannister

Roger Bannister passed away yesterday. Bannister on May 6, 1954 became the first person to break the 4 minute by running 3:59.4. In my humble opinion, this was one of the most significant sports events of the 20th century. Obviously many have broken this time since then. But Bannister's performance had a significance for not only athletes but all of us in our lives.

Before Bannister's race, there were many runners who came very close to breaking the 4 minute barrier but fell just short. Their were some who felt it was impossible. When Bannister broke the record it was an inspiration. The message from his performance is that we are all capable of more than we realize. Often our greatest barrier is our own mental state- we don't believe we can do something, so we can't do it.

Galesburg girls basketball had won 7 Regional titles in a row from 1988 thru 1994. In the summer of 1994, while at basketball camp at the University of Michigan, we gave the players a handout entitled, "Going Beyond Tradition." The message was that in winning 7 Regionals but never winning a Sectional- had we reached a point where we thought the Regional titles were good enough? Were we beginning to think we weren't capable of winning a Sectional title?

Parents & Players

This is a series of tweets by Alan Stein Jr- a basketball trainer- regarding his thoughts on parents and athletes.

Alan Stein, Jr.‏ @AlanSteinJr Feb 24

Parents who shout instructions to their child during a game do a few things: 1) Undermine the coach 2) Confuse their child 3) Sound like an ass Remember, just because something is UNDERSTANDABLE doesn’t mean it is ACCEPTABLE. Good intentions doesn’t equal ‘right.’

Alan Stein, Jr.‏ @AlanSteinJr Feb 24

I will be attending my daughter’s kindergarten game and my son’s 2nd grade game today. You won’t hear a peep from me the entire time. When each game is over, all you will hear from me is, ‘I love to watch you play.’ Support Coach

ACL Injuries

Alan Stein- basketball trainer- has put together a good article on ACL injuries. There are two videos attached to the article also.

https://coachingtoolbox.net/filingcabinet/alan-stein-reducing-acl-issues.html?utm_sq=fo23n5hsss&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=WinningCoaches&utm_content=Basketball

Brad Bennewitz- Voice of the Streaks

My grandparents lived in Galesburg. They had a second floor apartment at 153 East North St. They had no TV until the late 1960’s. They had a small den with a huge wooden cased radio that took about two minutes to “warm up.” They were huge Streaks fans. They had no car and not a lot of money so they never went to games, but they went to the den and listened to all the games on WGIL. They could quote things Coach Thiel said in the pre-game and post-game interviews. And they knew their Streaks. And they enjoyed the broadcasts so much.

Brad Bennewitz is the one who has been “painting the picture” of Streaks football and boys basketball for years. He is not a good play by play announcer, he is a great play by play announcer. He is polished and professional in his presentation. And he is entertaining to listen to. Brad is an expert, but he doesn’t come across as an expert. He never gets in the way of the game.

Alumni Game- Saturday, January 27

Streaks Alumni Game will be Saturday, January 27 vs. Stillman Valley at 3:30pm at Thiel Gym. The game is part of the Galesburg Shootout- 3 varsity girls games, 4 varsity boys games, 2 freshmen games, and 2 soph games. 

Events of the day...
Starting at Noon- Soup luncheon sponsored by the Streaks boys/girls basketball teams. You can come anytime and get a nice lunch while supporting Streaks basketball.

2:00-3:00pm- Reception for Alums in the Learning Center. It will be a chance with others who are back. 

3:30pm- Streaks vs. Stillman Valley

7:00pm- Reception for Alums in Cherry Street's side room. 

Hope you can make it back!!!

Jimmie Carr- I Was So Excited I Couldn't Sleep

Jimmie Carr as a senior

 The 1959 Streaks basketball team was ranked #1 for much of the year, and went onto take Third in State. When veteran Streaks fans talk about the ’59 team, it always turns to the story about the transfer of Bumpy Nixon from Quincy to Galesburg.

Very few Streaks fans realize the story about the “other transfer” that made the ’59 team. Something big happened at Mary Allen West School on one day in December of 1950. Early in the day, a young African-American boy from Texas walked into enroll in fourth grade. Shortly after, another African-American boy from Arkansas walked into enroll in fourth grade. Jimmie Carr was coming from Texas, and Otis Cowan was coming from Arkansas. That day, their fourth grade teacher, Miss Witherspoon recognized the unusual event. She instructed the boys that since they were both new and both lived in the same neighborhood, they should plan to become friends. As wise as Miss Witherspoon was, she didn’t realize that she was greeting one of the greatest guard tandems who would ever play for Galesburg High School.