Favorite sports moments define CYO’s best coaches

The 2010 St. John Bosco Award winners pose for a photograph with Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, vicar general, during the Catholic Youth Organization awards ceremony on May 4 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis. They are, from left, front row, Mike Lewinski of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish, Jess Stump of St. Pius X Parish, Clay Courtney of St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg, Jim Meiner of St. Lawrence Parish, and Tom Dale of St. Barnabas Parish. In the back row, with Msgr. Schaedel, is Joan Bartley of St. Jude Parish. (Submitted photo)

By John Shaughnessy

The scene unfolded at the end of a practice—one of those moments from a sports season that offers a glimpse of the special impact that can be made by a coach and players.

The girls on the kickball team from St. Jude Parish in Indianapolis gathered around their coach, Joan Bartley, for the tradition they share at the end of every practice and game. Together, the coach and players said a prayer, which they followed with a cheer that roared across the school playground—“We love kickball!”

Then one of the girls noticed the team’s biggest fan, Hunter, the youngest of their coach’s five children. Born with Down’s syndrome, Hunter has watched from the sideline for just about every practice and game that his mother has coached. The girl saw him and spontaneously decided to start a cheer for him—“We love Hunter!”

It’s a tradition that has been embraced by each of Bartley’s teams for the past 10 years—first, the prayer, then the cheer for kickball, and then the cheer for Hunter. At 16, Hunter continues to come to every practice and game. And he continues to savor that cheer.

“Over all the years, I’ve watched these kids get to know him and meet him and cheer him,” Bartley says, her voice growing softer. “They include him. They embrace him. I think it teaches them acceptance. These kids have learned to talk to someone with a disability and include them. As a parent, it’s everything I hope he could have—people accepting him.

“We’re learning a lot of things when we’re out there. We’re learning kickball, we’re learning compassion and we’re learning to be kind to each other.”

Bartley told that story after recently receiving the St. John Bosco Medal, the highest recognition given by the archdiocesan Catholic Youth Organization to volunteers who minister to young people in the Church. (Related story: CYO recognition highlights work of both adults and teenagers)

Bartley’s emphasis on the true gifts of sports is shared by the five other honorees who received the St. John Bosco Medal on May 4 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis: Clay Courtney of St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg, and Tom Dale of St. Barnabas Parish, Mike Lewinksi of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish, Jim Meiner of St. Lawrence Parish, and Jess Stump of St. Pius X Parish, all in Indianapolis.

Here are their stories.

Tom Dale

Like many people, Tom Dale began coaching CYO teams because of his six children.

“The most rewarding part of all this is to coach my kids and spend time with my kids,” says Dale, who started coaching in 1975.

Yet when Dale is asked to recall one of his favorite moments from coaching, he shares the story of another parent and her child.

The scene took place a few years ago when Dale started a flag football league and cheerleading program for the Mother Theodore Catholic Academies, a consortium of the archdiocese’s inner-city Catholic schools in Indianapolis. One day, the mother of a cheerleader approached Dale, wanting to talk with him.

“She told me, ‘You know, my daughter wasn’t confident, and she wasn’t doing well in school, and she wasn’t enthused about it either. But when you guys started the football and the cheerleading in the fall, she started doing better in school, and she became more confident. It’s really helped her.’ ”

Dale paused after telling that story.

“That was really special to me,” he says.

Mike Lewinski

During 17 years of coaching, Mike Lewinski has always encouraged young people to “take a shot”—whether it’s on the basketball court or in some other part of their life.

“Self-confidence is one of the most important things a child can have,” says Lewinski, who has coached basketball and a mock trial program for youths.

“What you try to pass along is a sense of discipline, a sense of pride and a sense of self-confidence. It’s not about the winning and the losing.”

One of Lewinski’s favorite moments came during a basketball season when the group of young girls he was coaching were just starting to learn the game.

“We were down by a point with two seconds to go, and we were inbounding the ball at half-court,” he recalls. “The girl who got the ball just threw it up in the direction of the basket. She didn’t have a chance of making the shot, but just to be in that position was exciting for her. It’s those kinds of moments that make everything I do worthwhile.”

Jess Stump

For 27 years as a coach, Jess Stump has always measured his success by one main goal.

“My desire was always to make sure that the kids played the next year. Certainly, it’s about learning and discipline, but you want them to enjoy it so they’ll continue playing. If they enjoy it enough so they play every year until they get out of the eighth grade, then we’ve been successful.”

That approach has led to some magical moments for Stump.

“One of the most special moments was with my middle son, Joe, who played on a ‘C’ level team,” Stump recalls. “With ‘C’ players, you have a diverse mixture of talent and interest. I had those players from their fourth-grade year to their eighth-grade year. With that group, we developed a special relationship over the years. You watched them grow, and you hoped you had some hand in that growth.”

Stump received his answer after the last game of their eighth-grade season, a tough loss.

“They gave me hugs,” he says. “That was special. I’ll never forget it. It was eight years ago. That son just graduated from college.”

Jim Meiner

Jim Meiner has developed a bottom-line approach to sports during his 25 years of coaching track, basketball and football at St. Lawrence Parish.

“Everybody likes to win,” he says. “But the bottom line is, ‘Did you go out and do your best, and improve as the season went on? ’ ”

One of Meiner’s special memories occurred during the CYO’s annual city track meet when one of the St. Lawrence runners competed in the 400-meter race.

“He wasn’t a terrific athlete,” Meiner recalls. “But in the city meet, he improved his time so much. It was incredible. Just seeing the look on his face after that race was one of my favorite moments. He didn’t win the race or place in the top finishers, but he knew how much he had improved, and his face showed it.

“The thing I like about track is the kids can see their progress. No one can stop them from improving and doing their best—if they work hard. If they do their best and work hard, that’s what you want.”

Clay Courtney

Clay Courtney’s memories of his favorite game begin with the amazing conversation he had with a referee before the basketball game involving fourth-grade girls.

“It was the last game of the season, and the CYO referee asked me, ‘Who on your team hasn’t scored a basket yet this season?’ ” recalls Courtney, who has been coaching for 15 years at St. Malachy Parish.

“I told him, and he worked so hard so she would have an opportunity to score one basket—without affecting the outcome of the game. The other team’s coach got into it, too. And the fans. Everyone was pulling for her. She didn’t make a shot, but it still was fun for her. To me, that’s what the CYO is all about.”

It’s an approach that Courtney has tried to model as a coach and as the coordinator of different sports at St. Malachy Parish. He stresses development before winning. He emphasizes the importance of coaches setting “the right Christian example” for children.

“We always have a prayer before the game and after the game—to just recognize the different gifts God has given us,” he says. “If we win or lose, we’re going to pray. Nothing feels better to me than when I sometimes forget about praying and one of the kids says, ‘Are we going to pray?’

“I always ask for a volunteer to start the prayer, and they always raise their hands. We want to have fun and work hard, and we want to represent the school well and the Church well. I like that we can do it all in CYO.” †