Inspiration Part II

I have owed you this blog for a few months now.  As you may remember I blogged about Marc Cohn, the singer songwriter, and his relationship with Muriel who was his inspiration that led him to national acclaim in the early 1990s.  I, too, have enjoyed the great gift of gaining inspiration from a very new friend.

In the late 1990s, I was exploring the field of sport coaching education while I was studying for my Masters of Sport Science degree from the US Sports Academy.  My curiosity (and the Web) led me to the National Council for Accreditation of Coaching Education (NCACE). One of NCACE’s founders and Past-President was Professor Patricia Sullivan–I made an appointment to meet with her in mid Jan 2001 to discuss issues related to sport coaching education in the United States.

I met Prof Sullivan in her office at George Washington University  in DC and immediately was engaged in a spirited discussion regarding the challenges facing sport coaches and the need for more training and education for all sport coaches in the US.  After about 55 minutes, our meeting came to a close.  Before I left, Prof. Sullivan told me the following, “Chris, I am sure any college would love to have someone of your caliber as their track coach but I want you to think about doing something for sport coaches.”  I replied that I had some ideas regarding that topic and then she told me to think them out and come back.

I swear to you that I walked out of her office a few feet off the ground.  I was blown away that this relatively perfect stranger had discovered through a short 55 minute discussion my budding desire to get involved in coaching education and then challenged me to focus on that and put aside my love for coaching track and field.

That meeting led to others and ultimately, the birth of the Institute for Sport Coaching in 2003.  I have never looked back.