I love sports! You can ask my wife, and she might tell you that it isn’t a love of sports but an addiction. Any chance I get to watch TV, I am checking to see what basketball game, Cubs game, football game, or golf tournament is on. I am not a horse racing fan but here I have been the last month watching Justify win the Triple Crown. My office is decorated with Cubs, Packers, and Hoosier memorabilia. And if you know my grandfather Milt, he is a lifelong Cubs, Hoosier Basketball, and tennis fanatic.
As an educator, I continued to fuel my athletic fire coaching basketball, golf, and baseball. So, having the opportunity to coach basketball at Concordia is a huge blessing for me.
Thinking back to my high school days here at CLHS from 2001-2004, the coaches are what helped to mold my life. Many of the memories I have from that time aren’t basketball related, but they are life lessons. Coach Reinking, Coach Eggold, Coach K, and Coach Holmes were all influential in my basketball career but even more influential in my development as a young man. Coach Tonagel and Coach Clark were just as influential to me at Indiana Wesleyan. Ingraining the phase “I AM 3rd” into my mind and creating a culture that if we want to be 1st as a team, we need to put ourselves 3rd individually. That means putting God and our teammates, 1st and 2nd.
I can’t thank these men enough for the their influence on my life. Now, I am excited to share these same life lessons with future basketball players of Concordia High as the new Head Coach.
Our basketball camp verse this year comes from 1 Cor. 9:25: “Everyone who competes in the game goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” There is so much more to life than basketball/sports, and these are the things as a staff at Concordia we try to instill in our students. Athletics will not always be there, so what type of person are you and what type of person will you become?
So am I a sports addict? Probably. But even more I know that I am a Christian, a husband, a father, a friend, a colleague, a teacher, an administrator, and a coach. Don’t get caught up in things that won’t last. God has a plan for me, and He has a plan for you! Be ready!
Phil Brackmann,
Dean of Student Success and Head Basketball Coach