Jim Tressel - The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life

1. Personal/Family: Is there someone in your family who has believed in you no matter what? Why not thank that person today for his or her support?

2. Spiritual/Moral: Is there some dream or desire you have regarding your faith, like Joel Pentons Main Event? What steps could you take to make your dream a reality?

3. Caring/Giving: Sharing your faith in a gentle way is one of the most caring, giving things you can do. Who is one person with whom you could do that this week?

4. Health/Fitness: Is there some goal regarding your health that you have a hard time believing you can achieve? Think about what preparation and action you can put into place this week to reach that goal.

5. Your Team: What struggle is your team going through right now? How could your example of belief in the team help change things?

6. Academics/Career: Are there academic or career goals about which you feel less than confident? What can you do to remedy that lack of confidence?

Looking on from the sidelines at Youngstown State.

Waiting to take the field before a game at Youngstown State.

My daughters, Carlee and Whitney, and me during a frigid national-championship parade in Youngstown, January 1992.

If the game of life ended tonight, would you be a winner?

We began the book with this question, and its a good way to end it as well, because of the way it has motivated me throughout my life. Youve read much of the philosophy Ive picked up from mentors, friends, coaches, and other thinkers who are included in the Winners Manual. Ive tried to include as much of the heart of that resource as possible, and I hope it has been helpful to you. The final area to consider is my own faith journey and the answer I found to this important question.

Im very thankful for the opportunity that came my way when my high school coach, Tom Madzy, asked if I wanted to go to a sports camp. The Kiwanis Club in Berea, Ohio, sponsored me, and I set off for Valparaiso, Indiana. It seemed like a world away from Berea, and I was excited.

Coach Madzy said that it was an FCA camp, which he explained stood for Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I had read something about the group a month earlier in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The article said that Rex Kern, the great national-championship quarterback at Ohio State, was involved with FCA.

Like any young athlete, I was interested in pleasing my coach. Whatever he wanted me to do, I was happy to oblige. But when I heard about Rex Kern, I was sold. I wanted to be Rex Kern. He was a hero of mine when I was young. I remember the Rose Bowl between USC and Ohio State in January 1969, when Rex led the Buckeyes to victory, protected their undefeated season, and won the national championship.

When I went to the camp, I thought I was going there to become a better athlete, meet coaches and other athletes, and get exposed to different ideas about football. As the week went on, it became apparent that the issues werent only athletics and football. I was hearing more about lifethe big pictureand I had the feeling that I should pay attention. Something I couldnt explain was going on inside of me that week.

On Thursday evening, when we got together for our evening meeting, Bobby Richardson spoke. He had played second base for the New York Yankees from 1955 to 1966, and he was an amazing athlete. He was a consistent fielder and hitter and had played in several World Series, and I looked up to him.

It had been two years since hed retired, but as he walked to the podium, he still had the look of a major leaguer. For four days we had been learning a lot about our chosen sport, but wed also been hearing about the importance of living for God. That wasnt a foreign concept to me; Id heard about God since I was a kid, but the speakers at the camp seemed to have something different. They approached life in a different way from what I had seen before. In a sense, we had been prepared all week for what was about to transpire. Everything culminated with Bobby Richardsons message.

It was probably the simplicity of the question that drew my attention. Im a simple guy, and Richardsons question made a lot of sense to me. He said, If the game of life ended tonight, would you be a winner?

As Ive said, my dad was a coach, and I knew the difference between winning and losing. I had a competitive edge to me, and I didnt like to lose. Even when I was playing pickup games in the backyard, I hated coming up short. Losing was just so permanent. Once the last second had ticked off the clock, you could never get that game back. It was gone.

There were more than three hundred campers there that night, but it felt as if Bobby Richardson were talking specifically to me. I was sixteen years old, and I didnt have a good answer to his question. If my life had ended right there and then, I didnt know whether I would be deemed a winner or a loser. I was a confident young man with a lot of blessings, but my confidence ebbed away as I pondered Bobby Richardsons words. In my head, I was answering, I dont know.

Richardson paused for what seemed like a long time after the question, and then a bit of relief washed over me when he said, If youre not sure how to answer that question, I can help you answer yes. Let me tell you how you can assure victory.

If you think I was listening closely before, I was on the edge of my seat now. I wanted to hear his perspective.

Richardson said that we needed to ask God into our hearts and give him total control of our lives. We needed to let God direct everything we did. He said that was all we needed to do to make sure we were winners in the game of life. He didnt say it was easy. And he didnt say that if we did it, everything from that point on would be a bed of roses. But he did say that if we would simply pray and ask God to come in and to forgive our sins, and let him take over, that would assure victory.

We werent asked to raise our hands or come forward or anything like that. When the meeting was over, Im not sure where everyone else went, but I slipped out the back door of the assembly hall, the weight of the question still on my mind, and walked down to the softball field. Its interesting now, looking back, that this significant event would happen on an empty field, with me sitting on a bench. I felt as if God were calling me to be on his team, and that was a very humbling prospect.

Im grateful for Bobby Richardson and how his question affected my life. Im grateful for his example and his willingness to ask the question and give the answer. I havent lived a perfect life since that moment, and Ive gotten a lot of mail that proves it. Its well documented. My wife, Ellen, thank goodness, is patient with me. The people who are closest to us always see the truth.

But living a perfect life isnt the point. We cant live perfect lives. We need Gods forgiveness. Inner peacewhat the Bible calls the peace that passes all understandingis a true gift of God. Its something that were given, so that in any situation we can know we have a purpose that we havent manufactured on our own but that comes from a loving God who created us and loves us.

You can put the principles found in this book to work in your life, and they will help you. No question about it. If you begin to work hard at your craft, have a good attitude about the task ahead, persistently tackle problems, and persevere, youre going to get ahead. But the irony of the Winners Manual is that you first must admit youre not able to win on your own. You need help.