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By Patrick McManamon
Published on Thursday, Aug 23, 2007
You call the high school coach's cell phone and the message veers quickly from ''leave your name and number.''
''I make mistakes,'' you hear. ''I make bad decisions. I do things I know are wrong, but I do them anyway.
''I know better.
''Thank God we can start over.''
It's part greeting, part philosophy, part catharsis. And, of course, part leave me a message.
''Confession,'' you hear, ''is good for the soul.''
You think that this could be the first time in the history of cell phones that statement was used in a voice- mail greeting.
Then you hear: ''I just feel like I needed to say that. Hopefully this will help somebody.''
Later, you meet the man who left that voice-mail greeting, and you hear him say, ''I'm kind of different like that'' and you hear him talk and you understand. You hear the confident speech, the candor, the conviction, the principles, and you understand.
Because this man isn't just about coaching a team that has had great success on the high school football field for the better part of the past two decades.
''This thing is bigger than football,'' first-year Buchtel coach Ricky Powers said this week at the City Series media luncheon.
It's about kids being role models in their families and communities, he said. About kids doing the right things in class, at school, at home and in the community. It's about Powers helping them change habits that might have been in place for years.
Success and Buchtel have gone hand in hand in many ways. Almost 20 graduates playing for college teams. Co-City Series champs with Ellet a year ago. Five consecutive seasons without losing a game in the City Series. Back-to-back state championships when Powers played there in the late 1980s.
But success to Powers has a broader definition.
''Kids doing what they need to be doing outside of football,'' he said. ''Because I think if they do it outside, football is going to be a no-brainer.''
Powers speaks with the experience of a former Buchtel standout who helped win state titles, a former University of Michigan standout and a former Browns running back for one year in 1995. But he never has abandoned his roots. Neighbors remember that two days after he started the Browns' season finale at Jacksonville in '95 he was out in his front yard washing his car.
He's a real guy with a real approach, with a foundation given to him by his high school coach Tim Flossie, now at Firestone, and his grandmother and his favorite teacher.
Powers knows he'll be watched closely. Every coach at media day talked of the balance in the league, and Powers is one of two new coaches in a city of good coaches. Buchtel is not supposed to lose, but Powers has yet to walk the sidelines as head coach.
He concedes that there will be pressure; he knows he's being introduced everywhere as the new coach of the co-champs from 2006.
''I'm like, 'Oh man.''' Powers said, rolling his eyes. ''One of the coaches told me we hadn't lost a game in almost eight years in the city.
''I'm like, . . . 'Thanks. Thanks for reminding me.'''
Powers said his players' grades will have to be where they're supposed to be, and he'll be direct. As he said, always seek the truth. ''I'm kind of weird that way,'' he added, presumably joking.
The voice-mail greeting? It just happened.
Driving down the street, he knew he needed to update his cell phone and thought to do something different. He called it an inspiration.
''I'm trying to get our kids to understand this, too,'' he said. ''No matter what happens in our community, what happens in our family, we have to be open to forgiveness. When you're open to forgiveness, it heals you.
''My biggest thing is you admit you're wrong, admit your problems whatever they are. You confess them and let the chips fall where they may. We all make mistakes. If you make a mistake, apologize for it, mean it and move on.''
He said those who have heard the message give him rave reviews. noweb
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com.
Get the full article here.
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