John Croyle - The Two-Minute Drill to Manhood: A Proven Game Plan for Raising Sons

Praise for The Two-Minute Drill to Manhood

Since 2007, Terry and I have been supporting the children of Big Oak Ranch through Nicks Kids Fund. We believe that this proven game plan for raising sons will help us all be better parents. We encourage you to add this book to your reading list... it works!

Nick Saban, Head Football Coach,

The University of Alabama

I have met many of the children at Big Oak Ranch and this game plan for raising sons really works. This book, The Two-Minute Drill to Manhood , will help all of us be better parents as we strive to build our sons into great men.

Bo Jackson, Heisman Trophy winner 1985

and former NFL and MLB Legend

Having been personally involved with Big Oak Ranch for nearly thirty years, I have seen first-hand the fruit of changed lives of young people who live there. The Two-Minute Drill to Manhood is a must-read for every parent raising a son.

Bobby Allison, NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee

There is no doubt that one of the biggest voids in todays culture is the lack of a godly influence in the family as parents raise their sons. The Two-Minute Drill to Manhood by John Croyle addresses this issue in a very practical way. A must-read for all Moms and Dads.

Tommy Bowden, ESPN Analyst and

college football coach for thirty-two years

In The Two-Minute Drill to Manhood , John Croyle lays out a solid, biblically based strategy for preparing our teenagers for the responsibilities of adulthood.

Stewart Cink, PGA Tour Player

Our country is so desperate for godly men. Men for the most part have no plan and have never been taught or are able to teach their own sons what a godly man really looks like. The Two-Minute Drill to Manhood is a powerful tool that should be added to every mans arsenal and then teach what every man should know about whats important in life.

Rick Burgess, cohost of the Rick and Bubba Show

Its so refreshing to step back and take a look at why things are heading in the wrong way. So many people like to ask why? John has laid out a game plan in The Two-Minute Drill to Manhood for raising up boys to be real Godly men... something we desperately need!

Bubba Bussey, cohost of the Rick and Bubba Show

John Croyles hands-on parenting experience at Big Oak Ranch and his wonderful ability to tell stories really drew me in. Every parent of a young boy needs to be reading The Two-Minute Drill to Manhood .

Mike Yorkey, coauthor of the Every Mans Battle series

The best books come from those who have been in the trenches. John is a mans man who has been there for years. I admire his tenacity to serve Jesus by giving his life for so many. The words of this book are precious treasure for young men trapped in a fools-gold world.

David L. Cook, Ph.D.

author/executive producer, Seven Days in Utopia

The Two-Minute Drill to Manhood, Digital Edition

Based on Print Edition

Copyright 2013 by Big Oak Ranch, Inc.

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

978-1-4336-8071-7

Dewey Decimal Classification: 158.3

Subject Heading: MEN \ CHRISTIAN LIFE \ MASCULINITY

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Unless otherwise stated Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible ( nasb ), the Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, used by permission.

Ive made a lot of mistakes as a man, husband, and father; perhaps you have, too. There came a time in my life when I decided to draw a line in the sand and grow up. Thankfully, its never too late for any of us to change.

This book is dedicated to the next generationCade, Will, Sawyer, and Gibbswho are now learning to be good men from our son and son-in-law.

Acknowledgments

To ALL of the children who have called Big Oak Ranch their home since 1974 who have taught all of us much more than we ever taught them.

This book is the culmination of countless hours our frontline warriors, the houseparents at Big Oak Ranch, and our support staff have put into our children to mold them into the quality young adults God intended them to be.

Thank you to Susan Doyle for helping put all of these years of experience of raising children into an understandable, usable, transferable format.

Preface

Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good reserve for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real.

1 Timothy 6:1819

If you are the parent of a teenager, whether you realize it or not, you are coming down to what I call the two-minute drill. The two-minute drill is best known as those last two minutes of a football game, and they are crucial. Those two minutes dont diminish the rest of the game. In fact, the rest of the game builds to these few moments, and they so often determine the final outcome of the game.

The first quarter begins with the opening kickoff. Your adrenalin is pumping. Your stomach is full of butterflies. Its the beginning of the game. Youre facing new competition and challenges. Youve watched hours of film, and youre finally face-to-face with the guy lined up across from you. He may be bigger or stronger than you, but your job is to figure out how to beat him. The first time you hit him, you might think, Whoa! He is a lot stronger than I thought. So you have an opportunity to adjust right there, on the fly, to begin with, knowing you cant fight with him during the entire game. You know that youve got to outquick him, outsmart him, outlast, out-whatever to win.

The second quarter comes. Youre moving toward those five minutes just before the end of the second quarter. The score at the end of the second quarter doesnt determine who wins or losesonly the end of the second half does that. But the last five minutes of the second quarter are key because thats when your first half momentum finishes up and leads into halftime, when you make necessary adjustments.

Then comes the third quarter. In the first five minutes that guy in front of you knows: Hey! He adjusted. Hes playing differently. Hes approaching or angling for me differently from the way he did in the first half. Or, Hes running this route this way when before it was another way. Or, The quarterback changed tactics because he read the linebacker and knows that his opponent is a step slower than he was at the first of the game.

The fourth quarter rolls around, specifically the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. Every successful high school, college, and NFL team in America sets aside time in every weeks preparation and practice for the two-minute drill in readiness for the weekends game. Unless the game ends up in a lopsided score, this is a critical part of the game that will determine whether the team wins or loses. These last two minutes in the football game are when everything you have worked forpreseason, August two-a-day practices, the game itselfboils down to your execution in those last two minutes. Imagine youve got to drive eighty yards in two minutes. Everybodys got to be on the same page, doing the same thing, applying everything theyve learned.

The two-minute drill is played differently from the rest of the ballgame. You might miss your block in the second quarter, third series, and second-down play. Thats OK. You might even have another chance to make up for that mistake. But imagine that you miss a block in the two-minute drill, and the guy you were supposed to block sacks your quarterback. Your mistake means lost time and opportunity. Youre losing valuable seconds of those last two minutes. It is so sad and so frustrating to watch the clock tick down as the quarterback is trying to get everybody up on the line of scrimmage for one last chance to score but time runs out. You lose, and, more importantly, the team loses. And you were so close to winning. Unfortunately, our country is now settling for just being that close to winning when it comes to producing a real man. You and I dont have to settle for nearly winning.