Club Meeting – February 12th, 2015

Coach Curt Newsome, our speaker today, is a graduate of Emory & Henry College. He just completed his first year as Head Football Coach at his alma mater with an 8-2 record and four-way tie for first place in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).  Brad Bankston ODAC Commissioner introduced Coach Newsome. “Last week we heard how collegiate athletics can make a difference in a young person’s life… Today we are meeting someone who makes a difference in young men’s lives every day.”

At the outset, Coach Newsome entertained the club with stories of his early years in coaching.  As the coach continued his passion for E&H as an institution and for his chosen profession became self-evident.  A coaches job is “to get somebody to play harder than they think they can play”.  If it were just about X’s & O’s the physics professors would be coaching.  Coach Newsome’s teaches his players that life whether academic, personal or sports is about winning and losing.  One can only bring about desired outcomes by striving to win in all aspects of life.  To Coach Newsome’s thinking that desired outcome can only be attained through discipline and genuinely caring for his student-athletes.  His thinking has served him and his players well.

Coach Newsome spoke of what aspects had changed in his profession over the years.  Coaches at every level still sit down and evaluate players from video tape to decide if they have what it takes to make their team.  The unchanging variables in any selection process are assessing the character traits necessary for a players success.  Regardless the level of competition the real question facing coaches in evaluating players is determining “what does it means to them?”.  A 5-star rated player, with a sense of entitlement, will not truly be successful without understanding the traits needed to win both on the field and in life.

Along with sharing his professional insights Coach Newsome’s presentation was  sprinkled throughout with self-deprecating tales of his early coaching career.  His anecdotes about Coach Beamer and Coach Hite from his seven years as Offensive Line Coach at VATech were enjoyed by all.

From the young to the not so young our ODAC speakers have displayed the characteristics which reflect well on all members of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.  We all look forward to the upcoming Basketball Tournament.