In my third year as a high school athletics (体育运动) coach (教练), I gave a speech telling students and parents about the benefits (益处) of football. I gave the same speech each year, aimed at recruiting (招收) new team members: I talked about how football isn't just for star athletes, how everyone can benefit from the discipline, team spirit and so on and so forth. This year, a worried-looking couple approached me after the speech. Their son, who had had a sickly childhood, really wanted to play football. They'd tried to talk him out of it, but he had his heart set on joining the team.

   When they told me his name, my heart sank. Michael was five feet, ten inches tall and weighed about 108 pounds. He was a lonely kid, the constant target of other kids' jokes, and as far as I knew he had never participated in sports. I knew Michael would never make it through football practice, let alone as a player. But so close on the heels of my "football is for everyone"speech, what could I say? I told them we could give it a try.

   On the opening day of practice, Michael was the first player on the field. We did 30 minutes of warm-up before starting a one-mile jog around the track. I kept my eye on Michael. At 50 yards he fell, and I helped him to his feet. "Michael," I said, "Why don't you just walk the mile?"  He looked like he was going to cry, and said that he wanted to run with the others. So I let him go on. Repeatedly he fell, each time picking himself up. After one lap (跑完一圈), I couldn't watch anymore, so I pulled him aside.

  The same thing happened every day for weeks. I assigned an assistant coach to give Michael special attention, and Michael put his whole heart into the training. As the season progressed, Michael gained strength both socially and physically. He began to laugh and joke with team members, and most of them started to see him as a crazy kid brother. Instead of laughing at him, they became touchingly protective (对人关切保护的).

   By the last week of practice Michael could run the mile without falling. We had won only one game that season, yet the team cheered louder for Michael's run than they had during our lone victory. Afterward, Michael approached me, and I told him how proud I was of him.

   Finally our big game came ---- and by the first time-out (暂停) we were losing by twelve points. I could see that some of the kids had already lost heart. But not Michael. He was playing as hard as he could, begging the team to keep trying ---- and no one had the heart to disappoint him. We won that game by one point in the final ten seconds ---- and finished the season as one of the top teams in the state.

    At our end-of-the-year celebration dinner, we always give a big award to the most productive player, based on a strict point system. The team captain, Steve, had scored the most points that season, and everyone cheered as he came to the front to receive his award.

   "As much as I honor this award," Steve said, "there's someone who deserves it more than I do. "The crowd fell silent. "Everything I accomplished this season, and everything the team accomplished, is thanks to one person. "He turned to Michael." Michael, you always said I was your hero. If I were half the man you are, I would be proud, because there is no doubt that you are my hero."

    Michael and his parents always tried to tell me how much I had helped him. I don't think they realize I was just a bystander. I know I never found the words to tell Michael that he had done more for me than I had for him. There are a lot more Michaels out there ---- kids who will never be stars but who give and get more from sports than the gifted athletes. It's those kids who make me proud to be a coach.

冠军之心

帕特·巴斯蒂德

    在我担任中学体育教练的第三年，我给学生和家长作了一个橄榄球运动之好处的讲演。我每年都要为招收新队员作这样一次讲话：我谈到橄榄球并不只是明星运动员的专利，人人都可以从训练、团队精神等等中获益。这一年的讲演后，一对神情焦虑的夫妇找到了我。他们那个小时候一直病歪歪的儿子实在想打橄榄球。他们曾试图劝他放弃这个念头，但是他铁了心要参加橄榄球队。

    当他们告诉我这个孩子的名字时，我的心一沉。迈克尔身高5英尺10英寸，体重约108磅。他是个孤僻的孩子，是其他孩子经常取笑的对象。而且据我所知，他从来没参加过体育运动。 我知道迈克尔永远不会通过橄榄球训练使身体好转，更不用说成为一名成功的球员了。 但因为我刚刚发表了“橄榄球适合于每个人”的演说，我还能说什么呢? 我对他们说我们就试试看吧。

    开始训练的第一天，迈克尔是第一个到足球场的队员。我们做了30分钟的准备活动，然后开始沿跑道慢跑一英里。我密切注视着迈克尔。跑了50码他就摔倒了，我把他扶起来，说：“迈克尔，你就沿着跑道走完这一英里吧。”他看上去好像要哭了，说他想和大家一起跑。于是我便让他继续跑下去。他一再摔倒，每次都自己爬起来。跑完一圈之后，我再也看不下去了，于是我把他拉到了一边。

    接下来的几周天天都是如此。我指定一名助理教练特别注意迈克尔，而迈克尔则全身心地投入训练。 随着时间的推移，迈克尔的社交能力和身体状况都有了进步。他开始与队员们一起笑、一起开玩笑，而大多数队员也开始把他看作一个着了迷的小兄弟。他们不再取笑他，而是令人感动地开始保护他了。

    到了训练的最后一周，迈克尔已能不摔一跤地跑完一英里了。那个赛季我们只赢了一场球，但是在迈克尔跑的时候，全队的欢呼声比赢了唯一的那场球时还要热烈。后来，迈克尔找到我，我告诉他我是多么地为他骄傲。

    “教练，”他说，“我今年还没有机会上过场呢 但我真想下个赛季能上场。我该做些什么呢 ”

       我叹了口气，告诉他什么时候顺路到我家来一趟，我会为他制定一份他可以自己进行的训练计划。

    迈克尔不上我的课，但我每天晚上离开学校时都看到他。他总是在进行练习或跑步，显然他在照计划进行。后来有个晚上，我听到有人敲我的门，原来是迈克尔。他的体重增加了10磅左右，而且脸色看上去也健康多了。他希望我加强训练计划，因为他觉得原计划已变得太容易了。我笑了起来，又增添了几项练习。

   到下个赛季开始时，开头的一英里跑，迈克尔比任何人都跑得快。虽然他在有些训练中困难重重，但他还是很好地跟上了其他队员。

       接下来的那个星期一，训练结束后，球队队长走到我面前。斯蒂夫很有天赋，但是懒散而且不守纪律。他是个优等生，虽然很少读书，他在同学中很受欢迎，尽管他有时很无情。换句话说，对斯蒂夫来说，一切都来得很容易。太容易了。

       斯蒂夫指着球场--迈克尔正独自一人在那里跑步--问我为什么迈克尔还在那儿。我叫斯蒂夫自己去问他。第二天晚上，我惊奇地看到斯蒂夫紧挨着迈克尔在锻炼。

    几周后，我们在为一场最重大的比赛作准备。在一场紧张累人的训练结束时，我解散了队伍。但令我惊讶的是，只有两个孩子离开了球场。其余的都围着迈克尔，他正领着他们进行另一项练习。

       我们的重大比赛终于来临了--而到第一次暂停时，我们已落后了12分。我能看出有些孩子早已失去了信心。但是迈克尔没有。他竭尽全力在比赛，恳求全队继续努力--没人忍心让他失望。 在最后10秒钟我们以一分的优势赢得了那场比赛--赛季结束时我们队在全州名列前茅。

    在年终庆功宴会上，我们总是根据严格的积分制度，将大奖授予得分最多的球员。 球队队长斯蒂夫本赛季得分最高， 当他走上前来领奖时， 大家都欢呼起来。

    “虽然我很看重这个奖项，”斯蒂夫说道，“但是有一个人比我更配得到上这项大奖。”大家一下子静了下来。“这个赛季我所取得的一切成绩，以及我们队所获得的一切成绩，都要归功于一个人。”他转向迈克尔。“迈克尔，你一直说我是你心目中的英雄。假如我及得上你的一半，我将感到自豪，因为毫无疑问，你是我心目中的英雄。”

    当斯蒂夫将大奖交给曾经鼓舞了全队的那个队员时，全体队员欢呼起来。

       迈克尔和他的父母一直想告诉我，我对他的帮助有多大。我想他们没有意识到我只是一个旁观者而已。我不知道该如何告诉迈克尔，他给我的帮助比我给他的要大得多。 在体育场上， 现在有了更多的迈克尔们--这些孩子们永远成不了体育明星，但是他们在体育运动中付出和收获的东西比那些天才的运动员要多。正是这些孩子使我为自己是一名教练而感到自豪。