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November 2006 Newsletter - Winning
ball’s peak … a high point … provided a moment etched into my life. Pitted against last year’s champ, we
only needed a win tonight to cut down the nets. It was an enormous task … going against the annual
powerhouse … did we have what it takes to be a winner?
That game was a high point for me … after an up and down season, I was on the court … wanting so much
to contribute.
There are times in life when you are right where you are suppose to be …
I had been planning on writing this newsletter on “Winning” for a month. Since then, a great friend, father,
husband, and coach has passed away - Coach Andy Palmer. So much of what I’ve learned about winning
in life was learned in high school with this wonderful man. The timing seems coincidental. But no … this
was no coincidence. Some people stay connected. Andy Palmer connected with so many people. I was
privileged to be one of them. And typing this eulogy right now is also where I am suppose to be …
“The next 30 seconds” were about to change our lives … but like any success in life, this one started a
long time before …
Growing up, basketball was our passion. We didn’t have malls, video games, cell phones, or computers
to distract us. But we did have a Coach who had a contagious love for the game. There were countless
pick up games … a phone call from Coach for a game on the weekend … Coach opening the gym during
snow storms … Coach driving us all over to be in summer leagues … Coach starting practice early
Saturday morning just so we could play more basketball.
Recently a co-worker complimented me … he used the word passion. Coach Palmer was quite an example
of passion. Basketball. Family. For him, life was all about passion. I am so lucky a bit of Andy Palmer
rubbed off on me.
Practice, practice, practice. “The next 30 seconds” was all about practice. Coach Palmer put us
through so many drills. So much running. There was a right and a wrong way to touch the lines. A right
place to put your foot while defending the baseline. The right way to turn on a rebound. The right way to
do a full court press or play a zone. Over and over and over. The gym would echo, “Stop. Let’s do it
right.”
Years later, work offered some very different challenges – presentations and budgets. What started off so
rough for me slowly got better … practice, practice, practice … there’s a right way of doing it. I guess
there will always be that fond echo …
Each year, Coach started the season with the toughest practices during the first week. There were always
a few hot shots from the playground with high hopes who came out for the team. But a few nights of
running and running and more running always weeded out those missing the required sense of hard work
and commitment. A lot of aspiring basketball players were relegated to the crowd … missing the
required commitment for the excellence of the game.
Isn’t that true of the game of life? Thanks Coach.
I began that season a starter. But I was benched … and deserved it. With Coach, there was always an
open avenue. Hustle and good attitude. If you hustled and kept a good attitude, you played. So, each
practice … I dove … I ran a little faster. I crashed the boards. By the end of the season, I had earned
back some playing time and a starting position for the championship game.
As an adult, I chose to work in one of the most complex and frustrating environments – with the federal
government and a big company. Absolutely crazy at times. Coach Palmer’s rule still applies … if you
hustle and keep a good attitude … you are assured of being in the game.
I also learned that I had the wrong goal … starting wasn’t the right goal. Winning and contributing during
crunch time was the real goal.
Coach Palmer was not always an easy person to play for. Each of us had our turn in the barrel. At half
time of one game, I made the big mistake of giving the wrong answer to his question. I was in the wrong
position for a full court press. My ears still cringe. I’m not sure I have ever been so corrected. But you
know what? I now know that being in the right place is very important.
Doing homework with my daughter … coaching a girl’s softball team … driving an elderly parent to an
appointment … is all about being in the right place in life. Being at half time of life … with Coach now gone
… there are only fond memories of his treasured “corrections” …
Being on Coach’s team meant you were part of his family. Eventually his mom and my mom became
friends. My brother and his kids became friends. Coach’s kids went to my college. But that wasn’t
anything special. Last week, talking to a couple of friends … countless stories … a friend’s son would play
paintball with Coach … another used to go hunting with Coach. Everyone had a relationship with him. A
measure of one’s success is their relationships. With Coach, everyone had been out to his house for
pizza … or watched TV with him ...
When I look at my successes and failures in life … its all about relationships … and time spent with
people. I need to keep Coach’s example in my mind … when I won an award at work and received a
promotion … it was because of my relationships. My failures all have one thing in common … relationship
problems. Tomorrow I am going to go to lunch with a friend … and laugh and have fun … just like Coach.
With Coach, you needed to know how to take a joke. Mr.Palmer’s humor could be unmerciful. Once,
after a collision under the basket with our star, on the night before a big game, Coach played quite an
extended joke on me. He had my teammate fake an injury, and then he laid the biggest guilt trip on me.
Everyone had a long laugh at my expense.
The day of the game was always a close time for us. Coach wanted us to win so much. We all collected
around his office throughout the day. In between classes and study halls, we would discuss the game,
laugh, and get close. He had an intensity and sense of caring that was quite motivating.
When I heard of his passing … I had to take a “timeout” to reflect and pray for Coach and his family. Then
I called Dave … a great guy, teammate, and a great friend. We reminisced about Coach Palmer. We both
had the same insight. It was all about teamwork. Teams before us had so much more talent. But we did
two things … we listened to Coach to a detail … and we were a team.
I can say that in all my life’s experiences … I’ve never experienced that total sense of teamwork.
Timeout. Thirty seconds into the game. We were up 6-0. We were Coach’s team and nothing could stop
us. We won that night by 26 points. Every practice … every drill … every bit of wisdom from Coach …
about basketball … and about life … had gotten us to this … we were …
Like Andy Palmer … Winning.
teamwork and good attitude
Andrew Palmer Scholarship Fund
Canajoharie Central School
136 Scholastic Way
Canajoharie New York 13317
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