Who Is Your Kurt Wise?

The days of my youth were spent on the playground at Stonehurst Hills, just outside Philadelphia in Upper Darby, PA.  For better or worse, I was shaped by my experiences there.  The majority of those experiences revolved around “pick-up” games.  When enough guys showed up, we decided what the game would be – basketball, baseball, or football.  Then we would choose sides.  The two best players (and everybody knew who they were) would be captains and alternate picking their teams.

 

For the record, I was never a captain nor (this is my story and I’m sticking to it) was I ever picked last.  What I remember is that I wanted to be picked first – especially in basketball.  I knew the only way that was ever going to happen was if I got better.  My mom wasn’t going to the playground to explain how my friends were damaging my self-esteem by not picking me first.  My dad was not going to demand a meeting with the captains who picked the team.  I had to figure out a way to get better to “earn” getting picked first.  What a concept. 

 

Back then the youth sports industrial machine had not yet been created.  “Experts” hadn’t figured out how to operate “clubs,” “clinics” and “training sessions” with the promise of turning average athletes into superstars.  The only way to get better was to practice on my own and to play against guys that were better than me.  That meant I had to go to the playground courts even when no one else was there.  I went in the morning.  I went during the day.  I went at night.  I played under the sun and in the dark of night.  I played in sweltering heat and freezing cold.  I’ll spare you the tales of shoveling snow off the courts. 

 

There is no doubt in my mind that I spent more time than any of my friends shooting, ball handling and inventing moves.  That helped.  But what really took me closer to the player I wanted to be was playing against the best guy at Stonehurst.  And that guy was Kurt Wise.  Kurt was a year older than me.  He was bigger.  He was faster.  He was stronger.  He was just better.  And he was always at the playground.  

Every day I found Kurt at Stonehurst, I’d ask him to play against me.  Horse, Taps, one-on-one (always make it; take it).  I remember playing full-court one-on-one games to 100 points.  Not sure I ever beat him, but I know as time went on, I got closer.  He never took it easy on me.  He never gave away secrets.  I just had to learn how to deal with him.  I had to change what I was doing if I was ever going to have a chance.  I had to get creative.  It wasn’t his intention, but Kurt Wise helped me take my game to another level.  He exposed my weaknesses.  My choice was to correct and eliminate those weaknesses or continue to get dominated by Kurt Wise and to get picked in the “middle of the pack.”  I eventually got beyond the middle of the pack and was even fortunate enough to play small college basketball.  More importantly, Kurt Wise taught me that to get better at anything, I had to challenge myself.  And challenging myself has made all the difference.  If you are reading this, you are in a leadership position, and I’ll bet you can say the same.

 

What Kurt taught me more than anything was there will always be someone bigger, faster, stronger, smarter, more skilled, more creative, and more experienced than me.  It has been said, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.”  Because of Kurt Wise, I never believe I’m in the wrong room.  There is always something I can learn.  I just need to ask, to be curious, and to listen.

 

As a student, I took hard courses.  I struggled.  I failed.  I tried a different approach.  I studied with people who understood things better than I did.  I found a way to succeed.  I was the first member of either side of the family to go to college.

 

 

As a young teacher, I connected with those considered the “best” in the building –I wanted to take my teaching to their level.  I visited with them.  I observed them in action.  That led to reflection and reflection led to making adjustments and those adjustments improved my teaching. 

As a coach, I connected with the most successful high school and college coaches in the country. including two Olympic coaches and two NCAA champion coaches.  My athletic director and I put together a schedule that challenged my teams and helped us take our play to a level even we didn’t know we were capable of.  I wanted my players to experience a state championship.  They trained hard enough to win 11 of them and were ranked in the top 25 in the country 13 times.

 

As an activities director, I wanted to help our coaches and directors put our young people in position to maximize their talents and enjoy a positive experience.  I developed a network of outstanding high school and college athletic directors, “picked their brains” and then shared what I learned with our coaches and our directors. 

 

As a principal, I developed a phenomenal professional learning network.  Those incredible administrators and teachers set the bar at a level that will continue to challenge me.  I committed that I would not rest until I was the kind of principal that our students, our faculty, our parents and our Board would “pick first.” 

 

And now I have brought my, "get better " mentality with me to the position of Executive Director of the IHSAA.  I believe I owe it to the students, coaches, and administrators of our member schools, as well as our officials, sponsors and other partners, to continue learning from the best in the field.  The current and former directors of athletic associations across the nation, as well as Bernie Saggau, Rick Wulkow, and Alan Beste who preceded me in this position have a perspective I can benefit from.  Collegiate AD's and CEO's of businesses are also serving as valuable resources.

Fifty years later, Kurt Wise is still impacting my approach to getting better.  It is my hope to one day be Kurt Wise for someone else.

I don’t tell you any of this to “toot my own horn,” but to let you know where all this “you either get better or worse” stuff that I so often refer to came from.  I also want to emphasize that by committing to getting better, anything is possible.

 

So the question I pose today is, “Who is your Kurt Wise?”  Who will challenge you to become the best coach, director, or administrator that you can possibly be?  There are others out there we can learn from.  It’s important to find them.  Rather than being intimidated or jealous of those who have achieved, acknowledge them.  Engage them.  Develop your craft with them.  Compete with them. 

 

It is one thing to be proud of the work we do.  It is quite another to believe we are already doing it the best we can.  We all have a Kurt Wise out there.  We just need to get to the playground.