Colt McCoy's Secret

Colt McCoy's dad (Brad) speak at the Dallas Christian Leadership Prayer Breakfast. Coach McCoy said that he and his wife raised their children according to the following 4 principles:

1) PREPARE YOUR CHILD FOR THE PATH, NOT THE PATH FOR YOUR CHILD

Coach said that we have a book (the Bible) to help us. He cited Proverbs 22:6: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it." He also cited Proverbs 23:13, which says "Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die." It was a funny contrast, but a real contrast. He then said, "Dads, fight for your kids and prepare them!"

2) PREPARE TO BE OUR BEST

Coach cited Corinthians 9:24, "Do you not know that in a race, all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." He said that every day when he would take his kids to school, and upon them exiting the car, he would say to them, "Do your best and be a leader!" He said they listened every time, and even as they got older (4th, 5th, 6th grades), he would repeat these words even if they said, "Yeah, Yeah, dad, I know, do your best and be a leader!" He implored us as parents to instill the same attitude in our homes and in our children. He cited the book "Good to Great" by Jim Collins, stating that good is the enemy of Great. "We don't aim high and miss, as we would like to believe. In fact, most times, we aim low and hit the mark! As parents, don't aim low, but aim high!"

3) BE A LEADER

He stated that we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses - great leaders that we can draw from, and that our kids can draw from. He said that we all are at the mercy of time and money, and asked a rhetorical question: "How do you spend your time and money?" This will show each of us where our true priorities are. He then quoted Ghandi (even though he didn't ascribe to all of Ghandi's beliefs): "I will not let anyone walk through my mind with dirty feet." He said that his son Colt turned this phrase into his own words: "Thoughts become things." Colt would tell his younger brothers as he mentored them, "You can't talk like that or think like that, because thoughts become things that play themselves out in your life."

4) PREPARE FOR OPEN AND CLOSED DOORS

As a dad, he said it was painful beyond all of his years to watch his son get hurt in the first series of play in the National Championship game at the Rose Bowl. A perfect setting. A setting his son had dreamed of ever since he threw the football with his dad in the front yard as a kid. He said he went over to his son's hotel room after the Championship loss. He went into Colt's room to cheer him up. As he entered the room, he found Colt finishing a devotional. A devotional that read as follows: "My positive energy must be better than my negative energy. My certainty must be stronger than my doubt. The battle is won before I ever start the fight. I choose faith over fear. Leave a legacy of excellence, love, dedication, and service. Jeremiah stated, 'Blessed is the man who's trust is in the Lord." He said as a dad, he had to find a corner of Colt's hotel room to sit down and cry over the maturity of his son. His son was prepared for open and closed doors!

He finished his speech by stating that as he consoled his son under the Rose Bowl stadium, his son stepped into a new mantle of leadership. Rather than return to the field in street clothes, Colt insisted on returning to the field in his uniform to help his team win. He helped the 2nd string qb read the defense, and mentored him over the course of the 3rd and 4th quarters. Colt told his dad that he came to the conclusion that God had prepared him for years leading up to that game, because He wanted me to trust Him!. As Colt was approached by news reporters after the game, the reporters asked Colt how he was feeling, and Colt replied: "I always give God the glory. I never question what God does. God is in control of my life, and if nothing else, I am standing on the Rock!"

Coach McCoy said that his cell phone began lighting up after the game with texts from friends and family members wildly acclaiming the statement that Colt had made. He said that he received letters from non-believers, ministers, Jewish ministers, Muslim ministers, and atheists in the weeks that followed - all pointing to the AMAZING statement that Colt made after the game. He said that as he entered Colt's hotel room that night, he asked his son, "What did you say after the game?" (He had not been able to hear it in the mayhem of the stadium) Colt said, "Dad, I don't know. I don't remember what I said. All I remember is that the reporter asked me a question, and I prayed that God would supply me with the right answer."