The Locker Room

PrologueThe Lifetime Achievement Award

The banquet hall at the Berry Center was packed. Coaches, family, media, even the governor had gathered from across the state for the annual Hall of Honor Banquet. Jokingly called “The Ball Coaches’ Ball,” this was where the best of the best received the ultimate accolades each year. The highest honor, presented at the end, was the Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The winner this year was James Edward Smith.

Coach Smith, known to former players, fellow coaches, reporters, colleagues, and even his own wife as “Coach Smitty,” was an exceptional coach. For over 35 years he had served as the head coach of the Tigers of Northwest High School, one of the most successful football teams in the history of the state. It was a surprise to no one that Coach Smitty won this award. Aside from being one of the winningest coaches in the history of the state, his achievement was indeed for his lifetime as a coach: he had just retired after coaching his final season.

Tonight would be Coach Smitty's swan song.

Coach Smitty was a coach who had created a culture of success from his staff and his players. More than three decades earlier, he had written his Six Pillars core values for his team, but when those players graduated, they took the Pillars into other walks of life. Soon, Coach Smitty's tenets were studied by coaching staffs of every sport, at every level. Corporate CEOs would even travel to his annual coaching clinic at Northwest High School to learn ...