“I'm not telling you it's going to be easy - I'm telling you it's going to be worth it.”
-Art Williams
Certainly many of us have authority figures in our lives that are harder on us than we’d like, in many cases perhaps even intimidating. These people could be coaches, parents, or even government teachers. In my case this authority figure was my football coach.
Over the years my coach had developed an astounding reputation for being very cantankerous. This is the type of man who wouldn't hesitate make you run if you were out of line, yell at you in front of your entire team, and would rarely pat you on the back if you had done something praiseworthy. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until after my season had ended for me to truly appreciate him, and understand the reason for his coaching methods.
The morning after our last game, he met with a select few players from the team. It was there that he said that he coaches the way he does only because it had made us a group of humble, and extraordinary young men that he respected and loved. Although this compliment does not seem like much, having it come from this particular coach gave the praise weight and validity.
