Page 10 - kappbook2020

GOODBYE, COACH I 277

Nobody ever allowed themselves to believe anything could defeat that
grizzled old competitor, least of all me. Coach Lewis could never die!
I first learned Coach Lewis's body had been invaded by this insid-
ious monster more than a year ago. I guess I understood what was
happening, at least intellectually, but I emotionally denied all neg-
ative reality. Not once did the notion that Coach Lewis would-or
could-be defeated by this senseless killer ever enter my thoughts.
"If any person in the world could conquer cancer, it would be Coach
Lewis," I'd tell myself. And I believed it.
Throughout my lifetime in the arena-not just in sports, but at
all levels of competition-I looked to Coach Lewis, who had so pro-

foundly affected me as my teacher, mentor, and ally, to be my touch-:
stone. No one was more responsible for influencing the direction my
life would ultimately take. No one else had left such indelible finger-
prints on my personal development. At the crossroads of my young
athletic career, it was Coach Lewis who first saw the quarterback in
me. I was an end. Tall for my age, with pretty good speed, it never oc-
curred to me-or to any other coaches-that I'd ever be anything else.
Coach Lewis was convinced I should be a quarterback, so naturally he
convinced me too.
He didn't only teach teams how to play the game; he taught us why
playing the game well, and by the rules, was important. He instilled
old-fashioned notions about fairness, sacrifice, hard work, dedication,
and commitment into each of his players. In today's age of "winning
at all costs," those early lessons learned in the gym and on the prac-
tice fields at Hart High School from that unassuming Irishman are
challenged as being tired and out of steam. Was Coach Lewis now
wearing out just like this arcane philosophy? How could any sense be
made out of this situation?

No! Coach Lewis is the fiercest competitor I've ever known. If
he faced them, he'd run over Dick Butkus; he'd slam down on Wilt
Chamberlain; he'd brush Hank Aaron off the plate. He'll surely know