{"id":303720,"date":"2015-10-27T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-27T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/my-mentor-my-coach\/"},"modified":"2015-10-27T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-10-27T15:00:00","slug":"my-mentor-my-coach","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/my-mentor-my-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"My Mentor, My Coach"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coaching isn&#8217;t just about winning the game. Coaching is teaching boys to become men. Coach Dru Joyce remembers coaching NBA player LeBron James when LeBron first started playing at age 11.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2015-10-27.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"29.79M","filesize_raw":"31234179","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2906,2821],"tags":[5077,5848,5849,4052,4096],"podcast_series":[8107],"cwp_profile":[3060],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-303720","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-becoming-a-christian","category-reaching-out","tag-character-development","tag-coaching","tag-life-coach","tag-mentor","tag-mentoring","podcast_series-more-than-championships","cwp_profile-dru-joyce-ii","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/303720\/my-mentor-my-coach","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/303720\/my-mentor-my-coach","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"ln1WFQHVDv\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/my-mentor-my-coach\/\">My Mentor, My Coach<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/my-mentor-my-coach\/embed\/#?secret=ln1WFQHVDv\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;My Mentor, My Coach&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"ln1WFQHVDv\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Coaching isn't just about winning the game. Coaching is teaching boys to become men. Coach Dru Joyce remembers coaching NBA player LeBron James when LeBron first started playing at age 11.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2015-10-27.pdf","transcript_content":"<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Dru Joyce remembers reading an article written by another basketball coach. It was then he realized that coaching basketball was really about something much more.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> Seven principles that he founded his program on\u2014unity, discipline, thankfulness, servant-hood, integrity, passion, and the seventh is humility. If I can get a young man, who comes in the door as a freshman, to accept those values \/ become those seven characteristics, then I feel like I\u2019ve made an impact.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> This is <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>for Tuesday, October 27<sup>th<\/sup>. Our host is the President of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Dennis Rainey, and I\u2019m Bob Lepine. Today, we\u2019ll meet the high school basketball coach who coached LeBron James during his high school years. We\u2019ll learn about what makes a basketball program really special. Stay tuned.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>1:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> And welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em> Thanks for joining us. I have often thought that: \u201cIf life had not directed you in the direction it took you, you might have become a coach.\u201d Don\u2019t you think?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> You know, I would like to have thought of myself as a coach\u2014and not just an average coach but really being a good one\u2014but, unfortunately, when my boys were in little league, I coached two successive years, where we won one game each of those years and lost fifteen. [Laughter] So I have no vain imaginations\u2014I was not a great coach, Bob\u2014but we do have a great one here with us, here in the studio. Coach Dru Joyce joins us on FamilyLife Today. Welcome to the broadcast, Coach.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> Thank you. Thank you. Let me say this\u2014my first year of coaching, my record was one win and nine losses\u2014it was in a rec league. So that first year\u2014one in nine.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>2:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> That was your first year. So last year, what was the record for the team at St. Vincent\u2019s?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> Twenty-six and one. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> Over your 14 years, do you know what your record is now?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> I want to say it is 277 and 87.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> Wow! He won three state titles \/ one national title. He\u2019s written a book called <em>Beyond Championships<\/em>. Bob, this is what I love about the guy\u2014I don\u2019t know Coach well, but just reading\u2014your humility just oozes from these pages. You\u2019re writing a book of something that\u2019s beyond championships; and how does the book begin, Coach? Tell the listeners how you start the book!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> \u201cThe Beauty of Rock Bottom\u201d is the title of the first chapter. It really just talks about that first year, as the high school head coach. We had a great team with LeBron James\u2014and two of the other players are now playing professionally also\u2014in Europe, my son, Dru Joyce III, and Romeo Travis. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>3:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThey were ranked as high as number two or three in the country. We had won\u2014I think our record, at the time, was 24 and 2\u2014got to that championship game, playing against a team that we had beaten, earlier in the season. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen I was asked to take over at St. Vincent-St. Mary as the head coach, it came kind of by surprise. I talk about it in the book. Coach Dambrot had an opportunity to go back into college and left. What we had done\u2014because I was his assistant coach\u2014we had beefed up the schedule. When the phone call came\u2014it actually came from a reporter, who told me\u2014says, \u201cDru, did you hear that Keith has accepted a job?\u201d The question was\u2014because the reporter knew my relationship with the guys that were on the team \/ the five main guys I had all brought to St. Vincent-St. Mary: \u201cAre you going to take the boys and leave?\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cI don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>4:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCoach Dambrot called me later that day and told me that he wanted me to take over. My first thought was: \u201cNo I don\u2019t want to mess this thing up. They\u2019re poised to win a national championship. They are poised to become the first team to ever, in the state of Ohio, win four straight championships.\u201d I just didn\u2019t think that I was prepared. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI guess, always in my life, my wife has been that voice that I need to hear. The Lord used her in a special way. When I shared with her the opportunity and that I felt like, \u201cI can\u2019t do this,\u201d she said, \u201cDru, how can you say, \u2018No\u2019?\u201d She said, \u201cThis is God honoring all those years of you coaching those guys in travel basketball, and riding up and down the highway to find a place to practice, to traveling every weekend, going all over the country, to find games for them to play.\u201d She said: \u201cThis is God honoring all that. How can you say, \u2018No,\u2019?\u201d And those were the words I needed to hear. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>5:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo I ran to the opportunity\u2014but understanding that, if we won it was going to be because they were Keith Dambrot\u2019s kids; and if we lost, it was going to be my fault. That thought, that fear, that concern\u2014it happened. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> The book begins with a young man standing at the free-throw line\u2014if he sinks the free throw, you lose.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> Exactly.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> And he sunk it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> He sunk all of them. That was pretty much it. Now, all those dream \/ that dream, at that moment, came crashing down. The kids \/ their hard work\u2014it ended in a way that you never want it to end but understand that it does. Then, for me, it was all those concerns of letting them down. I tell people, all the time\u2014that most coaches get to make all their mistakes in anonymity\u2014in a small gym, off the way, and you know few people. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI had the distinct pleasure of being a head coach in front of TV cameras my first year. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>6:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo every mistake\u2014it was always made very clear to as many people who wanted to see it. The newspapers were\u2014if I can say it now\u2014they were brutal the next day. They put it squarely in my lap that I was the reason that the team lost.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> I think that\u2019s what I appreciate about the book. You start a book that\u2019s talking about character and how to respond to adversity with one of your own\u2014not with a victory \/ not with the national championship you did win and with the three state titles you won\u2014but you\u2019re talking to athletes about making decisions about how they handle adversity that\u2019s going to affect the rest of their lives.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> Yes. The point was just that\u2014at that lowest moment in my life, that I was able to call upon some values \/ some principles that I had learned and that were able to restore me to bring me out of it. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>7:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFirst, I had to recognize the truth of the matter\u2014the truth was I had let them down. I had failed them because, you know, it had gotten too big for me. There was no one I could ask, \u201cHow do you handle this thing?\u201d LeBron\u2014he\u2019s on the cover of <em>Sports Illustrated<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> As a high school kid?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> As a high school kid, yes. The team is winning. After every game, not only are there fans waiting for autographs, but the opposing team was waiting for autographs. All the guys are, you know, they\u2019re shaking hands and kissing babies. It was way beyond what I ever imagined, and I didn\u2019t know who to turn to. We were the first team to play in some of the nationally-televised games in the next year because of LeBron\u2019s presence. I had to close practices because people just wanted to hang out in the gym. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>8:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThey just wanted to be around and watch practice. The newspapers didn\u2019t\u2014the reporters\u2014they had a job, and I respected it; but they didn\u2019t really care too much about what we were trying to get done. They had their jobs\u2014so they were focused on \u201cCan I get that interview?\u201d It was just overwhelming. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIn that state championship game, they called it very tight. I wasn\u2019t able to reel the guys back in. It\u2019s a lesson that I really talk to my kids about today\u2014that they\u2019ve got to stay in the present moment. They can\u2019t get hung up on a referee\u2019s call\u2014whether it was good, or bad, or indifferent\u2014you\u2019ve got to move forward. You can\u2019t get caught up, back there, because, if you get caught back there, then what is the present moment require of you now? You can\u2019t give it because you\u2019re caught somewhere else. I wasn\u2019t able to get that point across. The guys allowed some of the calls to affect them, and the game got away from us. So, at the end of the day, it was on me. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>9:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI had to recognize that. In recognizing that, I had to be able to now say, \u201cHey, we\u2019re going to right this ship.\u201d I, at that point, was able to say: \u201cYou know what? I got caught up in the winning and the losing too. I\u2019m as much at fault here. I kind of forgot why I\u2019m here.\u201d God had given me this opportunity \/ this platform, if you will, was to teach them how to become men; and I forgot all about that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> I want to ask you about that because your life intersects with a young man\u2019s life for maybe three \/ maybe four years, if he\u2019s really good, as a basketball player. You probably spend as much time with that young man over that three-year period as anybody, except maybe his mom or his dad. A lot of these young men don\u2019t have dads that they\u2019re spending time with. A lot of them have NBA dreams.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> Most of them.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes. You\u2019ve got an agenda with those young men that may be different than the agenda that they\u2019re bringing to the gym with them every day. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>10:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you look and say, \u201cI\u2019ve got three years with this young man, and we went from here to here,\u201d\u2014what\u2019s the end game, for you, as you coach a young man through high school?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> Let me say it this way\u2014when I became the head coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary, I was reading to try to become the best coach I could be. I was reading a basketball publication\u2014I can\u2019t even remember the name of it\u2014it was a Christian man who\u2019d written an article. He\u2019s from a small college in the Northwest\u2014I don\u2019t even remember the name\u2014but what he said in that article really resonated with me. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe had seven principles that he founded his program on\u2014they were unity, discipline, thankfulness, servant-hood, integrity, passion, and the seventh is humility. He talked about those seven principles. I said, \u201cWow, he\u2019s talking to me!\u201d That\u2019s what I wanted to found my program around. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>11:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, if I can get a young man, who comes in the door as a freshman, to become those seven characteristics \/ come to accept those values, then I feel like I\u2019ve made an impact\u2014that they can understand that they are part of something bigger than themselves \/ that they have humility to recognize that their talents are God-given and the fame is man-given. As Coach John Wooden would say, \u201cConceit is self-given. Be careful,\u201d\u2014that they need to have discipline. They need to be thankful for all the things they\u2019ve been given. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSometimes, the kids today\u2014they have an attitude of entitlement\u2014especially young men, who feel like they\u2019re great at something. I want them to understand, \u201cYou need to be thankful just that you have the opportunity to play this game, let alone to be good at it,\u201d\u2014that they need to serve one another. They say, \u201cHow do you serve?\u201d I tell my guys, as they\u2019re going out onto the court, \u201cAnyone can be great\u2014all you have to do is serve.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>12:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI tell them, before they go out: \u201cBe great today\u2014serve your teammates.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThey feel they have some integrity about themselves\u2014not only that they walk the walk, but they talk the talk, and that they have passion. I think that so many things in life we just go through passionless\u2014there\u2019s no fire about it. You need to have some fire about whatever it is you\u2019re doing. I\u2019m hoping in three years\u2014if I can have a young man understand and inherit those characteristics, then maybe \/ just maybe, we have done something right. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> You\u2019ve had a chance, over the years, to see some young men grow up and step up into manhood. They come in as boys, and they\u2019ve left as men; haven\u2019t they?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> Yes. You know, the great thing about it is\u2014now, ten years later \/ fourteen years later\u2014I can actually look at some of the guys and say: \u201cThe Lord blessed us, and we had an impact. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>13:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cWe were able to make that time spent with us mean something.\u201d You feel good about it, but you recognize that God could\u2019ve used anyone. I just happened to have been the one that was in the right place at the right time, and I\u2019m thankful for that opportunity.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> So I have to ask one other question; and that is\u2014you started coaching LeBron James when he was 11 years old. When you saw him, at 11, did you say, \u201cThere was something special\u201d; or when did you realize, \u201cThere\u2019s something special here\u201d?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> As far as his basketball\u2014we played an AA National Championship at 14 years old. LeBron separated himself from that tournament\u2014there are a number of guys, who are in the NBA now, who were also playing in that tournament\u2014and LeBron \/ he separated himself\u2014he was, head and shoulders, the best player there. I realized, at that moment\u2014that, not only was he special in my eyes, because you could see it happening\u2014but, now, everyone began to see it. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>14:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> So the national championship that you won?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> The loss that junior year, not only refocused me, it refocused everyone. The guys\u2014they made a commitment, coming back that senior year\u2014they understood what it was going to take. We weren\u2019t going to shy away from anyone. We made the schedule even tougher. We wanted to show everyone that\u2014not only were we willing to play all the teams, and we believed that we were great, and we were a very good team\u2014I knew there were guys on that team that would never see Pauley Pavilion\u2014I said, \u201cThis is an opportunity.\u201d It wasn\u2019t about LeBron\u2014it was about the other guys. LeBron happened to help provide the opportunity and the greatness of that first five\u2014but then\u2014the guy \/ Number 15 on the bench\u2014he was part of that journey, too, when he got to experience all those things. To me, that was what was most important.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>15:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> So Pauley Pavilion is UCLA; right? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> This is a high school team, folks\u2014this is not a college team.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> Right. This is a high school team. The promoter wanted us to play at the Staple Center, where the Lakers play. I\u2019m like\u2014I\u2019m a John Wooden guy\u2014so I\u2019m like, \u201cNo, I want to play in Pauley Pavilion.\u201d It\u2019s so funny when I think about it. We played Mater Dei, which is always a nationally-ranked high school team from California. When we got to the gym, they were in the home locker. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI told the promoter\u2014I said: \u201cI guess the Lord will have to forgive me, and I\u2019m sure that He has,\u201d\u2014I said: \u201cWe\u2019re not playing\u2014you promised that we\u2019d be in that locker room.\u201d\u00a0 He said, \u201cAre you serious?\u201d I said. \u201cYes I\u2019m serious.\u201d I said: \u201cThis is a once in a lifetime for me. Mater Dei coach can come back here\u2014he might have played here before. We want to be in that locker room.\u201d It sounds so insignificant to them, but it meant the world to me to feel like I was in the same locker room that John Wooden was in. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>16:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe moved them out of the locker room \/ we were in the locker room. It was a great game, and we won.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> You won the game.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> Yes, we won.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>There you go!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> How many people were at Pauley Pavilion when you played there?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> Sold out.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> One last question, Coach. I\u2019ve been waiting to ask this question because\u2014just listening to your story \/ fascinated by your life\u2014admire you so much for what you\u2019re doing and what you\u2019ve done. What\u2019s the most courageous thing you\u2019ve ever done in all your life?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> The most courageous thing that I\u2019ve done\u2014and I say, \u201cI\u201d; but it\u2019s really \u201cwe\u201d \/ my wife and I\u2014is after that championship year. I had been in corporate America for 25 years. My company tolerated\u2014they didn\u2019t like the fact that I was a high school basketball coach\u2014because I was doing it after-hours \/ I wasn\u2019t missing work.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> So you coached the national championship, part time?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> Yes; yes. So after that, they kind of put me out to pasture. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>17:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI was calling on a major account, in the mid-west \/ $15 million account. They were going to move me to an account in New York that had been in bankruptcy twice. I kind of got the message that, \u201cYou need to focus on something else.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAt that time, my youngest son was just about to enter high school. When they offered me to take the job\u2014to go into New York \/ drive up to Syracuse, New York, from Akron once a week\u2014I said, \u201cYes.\u201d I left that meeting, and I called my wife. I said, \u201cMy mouth said, \u2018Yes\u2019; but my heart\u2019s saying, \u2018No.\u2019\u201d I went home \/ we talked about it. Honestly, we cried about it and decided that\u2014[emotional] excuse me\u2014that my heart wasn\u2019t in it anymore. At the end of my day, I\u2019d always ask myself\u2014from that sales job \/ and I was very appreciative of what it had afforded my family\u2014but I had asked myself, \u201cWhat have I done that really mattered?\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>18:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut when I got to that basketball court and that gym with those guys, I just knew that was where I was supposed to be. As I said, we cried about it. I woke up the next morning and I said, \u201cI\u2019m going to leave.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re Christians. We always say we believe in God, but it was kind of easy to believe in God\u2014I had a paycheck every other week and a secure job \/ I\u2019m living a very nice existence. But I said that I wanted to do this\u2014so we started our faith walk. We walked away from a job in corporate America. I had no clue what I was going to do. We still had a house note. We had a young son, who was just a freshman in high school. My son, Dru, was a freshman, just finishing his freshman year in college. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI don\u2019t think there\u2019s enough time to share; but God really impacted that decision, and He honored it. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>19:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe recognize now\u2014my wife and I\u2014what savings are about because I did get a buy-out from the company. I was very thankful for that. It helped us through nine months. We lost some money, trying to do different things that first year, and trying to figure out where to go, and what I was going to do. Over time, though, the Lord gave me an opportunity to build the business that I\u2019ve now built around basketball. He\u2019s blessed it beyond my wildest dreams\u2014like this year, there will be over 600 teams that we\u2019re bringing to Akron for a travel team tournament. This will generate something like \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t$4 million for the Akron \/ greater Akron community over the weekend. It affords my wife and me our livelihood for a year. I\u2019m able to coach and do what I believe God has purposed me to do.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> If listeners are wondering if their son can get in this classic\u2014it\u2019s called the King James Shooting Stars Classic\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>20:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014it occurs every April. Maybe there\u2019ll be a few listeners\u2014maybe you\u2019ll go from 600 to 800.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know if we have enough gym space. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> You know what, Coach? I\u2019ve got a feeling you\u2019ll figure it out\u2014if you have to go to Pauley Pavilion.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dru:<\/strong> You know what? I would love to do that. You know, every year, it\u2019s been a great challenge to find the time and to do the things that we\u2019ve been able to do; but there\u2019s always been a way made. The Lord is\u2014as I said, He\u2019s honored it. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI share in the book about how He put it all together. I really talk about the dance\u2014how He led, and then He opened the door and allowed me to lead, then He came back. It was just I didn\u2019t understand it, going through. In fact, there were things I went someplace, thinking I was supposed to do one thing\u2014the Lord showed me, \u201cNo, this is what you are really there for.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>21:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt was after all this came to being. There\u2019s no doubt in my mind\u2014if there ever were a doubt\u2014that, you know, how instrumental the Lord is in our lives, and how He\u2019s blessed this faith walk, and how He\u2019s honored it because I think that He understands that we\u2019ve honored Him. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong> I think there are probably some listeners, who have found their faith encouraged, Bob, by Coach Joyce. I think his book\u2019s going to encourage them even further.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> I do too. We\u2019ve got copies of the book in our <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> Resource Center. It\u2019s called <em>Beyond Championships: A Playbook for Winning at Life<\/em>. You can go to our website, FamilyLifeToday.com, to request your copy of the book, <em>Beyond Championships<\/em>. Click the link in the upper left-hand corner of the screen that says, \u201cGO DEEPER.\u201d You can order a book from us, online; or you can call 1-800-FL-TODAY and ask for the book. That\u2019s 1-800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>22:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, I\u2019ve been thinking here\u2014whether parents have children who are actively-involved in sports or whether families are just watching sports as casual fans\u2014there is a lot we can learn about things like humility \/ the importance of teamwork\u2014a lot of important life lessons that get played out on a basketball court or on a football field. One of the things we try to do, here at FamilyLife, is to help moms and dad better understand how we can engage with what\u2019s going on in the world around us in such a way that we can instill biblical values in the hearts and lives of our children. Our goal is to help you, as parents, effectively develop godly young men and young women. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHonestly, you guys make that possible as you support this ministry. We\u2019re grateful for the partnership we have with listeners who do get in touch with us and let us know that this program is important to them. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>23:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, \u201cThanks,\u201d to those of you who are Legacy Partners and who give each month \/ those of you who have given in the past. If you\u2019ve never made a contribution in support of this ministry, would you consider making today the day that you go to FamilyLifeToday.com, click the link in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, and make an online donation in support of what we\u2019re doing here? Or call us at 1-800-FL-TODAY. Or if you\u2019d like, you can mail your donation to us at <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, at PO Box 7111, Little Rock, AR; our zip code is 72223. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you can help with a donation today, we will send you, as a thank-you gift, a new resource from Barbara Rainey. It\u2019s the new edition of the \u201cUntie Your Story\u201d resource designed to encourage dinner table communication that goes below the surface\u2014goes a little deeper than your normal dinner time conversations. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>24:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAgain, it\u2019s our way of saying, \u201cThank you for your financial support, and we do appreciate your joining with us in this ministry.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd we hope you can join us back tomorrow when we\u2019re going to talk about your tongue. We\u2019re going to talk about how we can do a better job of controlling what comes out of our mouths. So if that\u2019s an issue for you, and I see you nodding your head, then be sure to be with us here again tomorrow because we\u2019re going to talk about that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, along with our entire broadcast production team. On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine. We\u2019ll see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today. Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2015 FamilyLife. 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