This October I had the privilege of welcoming back fifty years worth of accomplished coaches and student-athletes to our campus at The King's Academy. We invited back as many of our state champions, athletes of the years, and hall of fame members as we could get back. It was a wonderful time celebrating their role in the proud tradition of our athletic department that is foundational to our present-day success. I hope we were able to make them feel valued.
The real treat was getting to meet Coach Jon Roncace. Coach Roncace spent 31 years at our school holding the role of athletic director, head boys basketball coach, and assistant principal. At one point, he won 13 FHSAA district championships in a 14 year stretch. Not only did we invite him back, but I wanted him to speak to the audience. The crowd was full of people that had the utmost respect for him and his time at King's. The speech he delivered gave me insight into why he is so esteemed.
Here's the core of what he shared. He shared that he had poured himself into The King's Academy for 31 years for three reasons. 1) People. 2) People. 3) People.
Not prestige. Not championships. Not accomplishments. Not winning. Not salary.
People.
He described three types of people that made him want to pour into the school:
-People: the leaders above him that invested as much as he did
-People: the colleagues around him that invested as much as he did
-People: the student-athletes that benefited from all of the people investing in them.
We live in a time when it's hard to distinguish what is real from what is not. We also have so many options that we struggle to know what is a good use of our time and what is not.
Let's not lose sight of the fact that spending time working with and investing in people is always a great use of time and the core reason to keep on, keeping on.
The real treat was getting to meet Coach Jon Roncace. Coach Roncace spent 31 years at our school holding the role of athletic director, head boys basketball coach, and assistant principal. At one point, he won 13 FHSAA district championships in a 14 year stretch. Not only did we invite him back, but I wanted him to speak to the audience. The crowd was full of people that had the utmost respect for him and his time at King's. The speech he delivered gave me insight into why he is so esteemed.
(L-R): TKA President Randy Martin, Coach Roncace, TKA Director of Athletics Dr. Chris Hobbs
Here's the core of what he shared. He shared that he had poured himself into The King's Academy for 31 years for three reasons. 1) People. 2) People. 3) People.
Not prestige. Not championships. Not accomplishments. Not winning. Not salary.
People.
He described three types of people that made him want to pour into the school:
-People: the leaders above him that invested as much as he did
-People: the colleagues around him that invested as much as he did
-People: the student-athletes that benefited from all of the people investing in them.
We live in a time when it's hard to distinguish what is real from what is not. We also have so many options that we struggle to know what is a good use of our time and what is not.
Let's not lose sight of the fact that spending time working with and investing in people is always a great use of time and the core reason to keep on, keeping on.
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on
being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read
about it more here.
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader and Director
of Athletics at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. He’s earned a few
degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school
sweetheart and they have three teen age children. Life is messy and complicated
most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter
for all sorts of inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
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