Winning, Coaching & Character

Almost every week The Birmingham News posts an article about the Hoover School System and their storied athletic program. Much of the dark cloud of accusation is on their infamous football coach, Rush Propst.

I do not know Rush Propst personally. However, I did watch enough of his television debut on MTV – “Two-A-Days” – to learn that he would not be coaching my son.

The stories are replete. The rumors are many. Sure, Propst has won several state championships. Yes, his team is a perennial powerhouse in high school football; but at what cost.

I know winning is important. I know championships make champions. But is it necessary for a coach to compromise his character to win games?

For those of you who do not know, I am a 1980 graduate of W. A. Berry High School. Berry High is now Hoover High.

While at Berry I played for one of the finest coaches to ever coach—Bob Finley. Coach Finley was the only head football coach in Berry High School history. He was loved by athletes and students alike. He was respected by his peers. He was a man among men, a coach among coaches, and a winner among winners.

Recently I was cleaning out a corner of my study when I came across a printed copy of the “Game Maxims” Coach Finley would repeat before each football game. For those who played football, you will recognize some of the lingo. Provided below are his maxims.

Game Maxims

If at first the breaks go against us, don’t slow down or panic, put on steam.

If somebody makes a mistake, don’t criticize him,

pat him on the back, he will do better next time.

Never have a breakdown in four major categories of sound defense:

1. Contain

2. Explosion and release

3. Pursuit and agility

4. Tackling, “gangstyle”

Offensively, the key is execution:

1. Know the formation, play called, the snap count.

2. Make your block six seconds, then get up and block someone else.

During the course of this game

the lead may change hands.

If we fall behind, we don’t give up.

When we get ahead, we don’t let up.

Make the big play; make something happen:

1. Block a punt.

2. “Bingo” a pass.

3. Cause or recover a fumble.

Carry the fight to your opponent 48 minutes, overtime when necessary.

Protect our passer, protect our punter, protect our lead

And in the end, protect our ballgame.

The previous words may not sound like much to you, but they still ring true in my ears all these years later. I can recall hearing coach Finley, in his quiet-monotone voice, running through each line. He repeated the maxims week after week.

There are many other things Coach Finley did that made a huge impression on me and so many others. I will never forget the time he called timeout in the middle of the summer scrimmage for all of us to take a knee and refresh ourselves with water. Knowing I was struggling with heat and exhaustion, he calmly walked over, patted the side of my helmet and then handed me a towel to wipe my face. It was Coach Finley’s way of saying, “I am counting on you.”

Coach Finley’s mark on us was so great, that a handful of years ago many former players contributed to the Bob Finely Character Award, which is awarded each year to four deserving Hoover football players. The award is so big today the senior who wins the award receives a full paid tuition scholarship to college.

Bob Finley was a great man, yet he was not perfect. Coach Finley readily admitted his flaws to his players, and often shared the gospel on the practice field or in the weight room. All of the traits I admired in the man, the one that stands out the greatest was that he never allowed anyone to cuss on the practice or game field. And if a player or coach ever did cuss, well, let’s just say it would be something they would regret for a long, long time.

Coach Finley died on the afternoon of July 31, 1994, while cutting the grass at the practice field of Hoover High School. My oldest brother, Chuck, who at the time was Hoover’s Athletic Director, found him lying in the grass. He and several other men tried to resuscitate Coach Finley, but to no avail. On that day, Berry High School (a.k.a. Hoover High) lost a great man.

It is a shame that coach Finley is not alive today. For if he were alive today, Rush Propst could learn a thing or two from him with regard to winning, character and coaching. I think the first thing Rush would learn is that a man’s name, his character, and his conduct, is more important than his winning and losing record. I think he would also learn that cussing never wins championships. Perhaps the greatest lesson Rush could learn from Coach Finley would be to walk humbly before the Lord, the players, the other coaches, the parents and the fans. Coach Finley walked humbly, but his walk also created a big wake for others to follow.