Vince Lombardi was head coach of the Green Bay Packers for only 8 years, yet his team won the National Football League title 5 times, including the first 2 Super Bowls, and today's Super Bowl trophy is named after him. His first season after taking over a team that was the laughing stock of the NFL he compiled a 7-5 record, and in his 2nd season he took the Packers to the championship game but lost. He vowed he would never lose another playoff game, and he didn't, winning the title in 5 of the next 6 years. Mr. Lombardi was obviously a great leader, and, interestingly, his core values reflect ours.
At the heart of Vince Lombardi's success was his character and integrity, because he knew it would allow him to build trust with his coaching staff and players. He believed in knowing all of them as individuals, and greeted each player on his first Packers team by name and with a firm handshake and by looking them in the eye, the first time that he met them.
Mr. Lombardi was dedicated to excellence in all areas of his life. As an example, he was devoutly religious, and went to church every day, before he would go to the stadium for practice or a game. From his time as an assistant coach at Fordham and Army he learned to regiment his days and never wasted a minute.
A third value that we share with Vince Lombardi is our commitment to growth. Mr. Lombardi's first job was as an assistant coach at a high school in New York City, but to get the job he also had to teach math and physics, 2 subjects he knew nothing about, and with no training in education. So he took night classes to learn all he could and within a few years he was winning awards for being a top educator.
I say all this to just remind all of us that we are on a path toward growth and we will be successful. There will be adversity, but the things we are doing will lead to success if we keep working together. Vince Lombardi was turned down for head coaching jobs more than 20 times before the Packers gave him his first opportunity, but he persisted and reached his goals. And we can too!
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