Corageous Leaders Made on the Courts and Fields of Vancouver, WA

As a boy, Austin Luher played three competitive sports through high school.  As a man, he led men and women on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Stories like this one, which I stumbled across in my local newspaper, have been told hundreds of thousands of times since at least the Greek Empire.  Unfortunately, when in the hands of the media or pop culture, they often go untold, or they do not highlight the critical point.  And that point is, the way a boy chooses to practice and compete in sports determines how he will fight the greatest battles that await him in his future. 

General Douglas MacArthur said, “On the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other days and other fields will bear the fruits of victory.”  Unfortunately, an alarming number of parents, coaches, athletic directors and mentors focus solely on sports skill development and winning, while allowing our youth to to go unchallenged in the area of courageous character development.  What’s most upsetting is that, as MacArthur says, the athletic field or court is precisely the place that we should be encouraging, challenging and demanding our sons to practice courageous character.

This is why I was delighted to see such a positive example trumpeted in my local sports section (The Columbian Newspaper, 12/28/11 – Great Job Paul Valencia - http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/dec/28/luhers-career-as-soldier-started-as-prep-athlete/).  The article sounded so MacArthur-ish from the beginning:
“There is a direct correlation between the things that need to happen for a team to win a match and for a military unit to accomplish a mission.  Determine the goal, motivate, train, execute.”

Luher’s experience and leadership character that was developed on “the fields of friendly strife” was credited as critical to his success on the battlefield.   In the article, Luher was quoted as saying, “Our job is to follow orders and execute orders and make sure we bring home everybody safe… For Luher, that meant he had to focus on his specific part of the effort. Yes, to perform as a team. When he played basketball for Evergreen, he was an all-league point guard. A distributor, if you will, the assist man. He did not have to score all the points to help his team win.”

“Running a supply convoy, how am I really affecting the bigger picture?” Luher asked himself. “I’m pushing supplies to the infantry guys. They’re able to sustain in the middle of nowhere. My supplies allow them to function out there, get intelligence, and in return, they’re able to take out bad guys. It’s very encouraging to know we helped. I’m very proud of the units I’ve been a part of and our efforts.”

This is just a small snapshot of the article, but you cannot read it without recognizing that parents, coaches and mentors invested heavily in the development of Luher’s character while on the competitive field and practice grounds.  They did not teach him the popular view of sports, “to win at all costs (individually), to dominate your opponent and to look good while doing it”.  Rather, Luher was taught that critcal to any team’s success is the dedication to a role, the commitment to the success of his team must exceed his desire for personal success or glory.  He was taught well (by learning it in the context and even “battle” of competitive sports) that there are no individuals, that each must sacrifice to make the team better, more effective.

We should continue to salute young men and women like Captain Austin Luher, and his parents, coaches, teachers and mentors.  I am certain that there were a critical few who determined to not just let young Austin develop his athletic skills, but equally challenged him to desire, practice and develop courageous character that ultimately enabled him to lead others in accomplishing life and death missions.  And of course it goes without saying that we should be much more deliberate in the way we encourage, challenge and coach our boys, because they will fight their greatest battles tomorrow the way they practice in sports today.