FOREWORD

My dad spoke a lot about attitude. Whether he was coaching the 12-year-olds on my little league team, the 20-year-olds on his football teams, or speaking to a group of middle-aged alums, it was often about attitude. He would say that everyone always has a choice. You can choose to have the right attitude, or you can choose to have the wrong attitude. In our family, and with my father's teams, the only real choice was to have a positive attitude.

I ran up to my father after we beat Ohio State in 2004. Obviously, he was ecstatic, but it is easy to be positive after a big win. He said to me, "That was pretty good, wasn't it?" Of course it was a great feeling, and when something that positive happens in your life, it is easy to keep a positive attitude.

However, my Uncle Rob recently reminded me of a conversation he had with my father shortly after our game against Penn State in 2002. It was the Sunday after we had just been shut-out by the Nittany Lions, 49-0, in Beaver Stadium. This game was viewed by the coaching staff as a turning point, good or bad, for the Northwestern Football Program. We had come off a heartbreaking 2001 season and the 2002 campaign was not looking any brighter.

In the locker room after the game, my dad said to his players, "This is a program that is at the verge of doing some great things, and achieving some milestones that have never occurred in the history of Northwestern football. We have had to deal with too many disappointments this year, and we can either keep taking it, or we can do something about it."
In any case, in remembering that following Sunday, my uncle remembered asking my father, "How is the team doing?" My father replied by saying he was interested in seeing how the players would respond, how the coaches would respond, and if the team could figure out a way to move forward.

My uncle then asked, "Okay, but how are you doing?" My father replied in his well-known southern Ohio drawl, "I'm doin' great!" He did not hesitate. He did not skirt around anything. He simply said how he felt. The fact was, he was always "doin' great" because nothing was going to shake him from staying positive.

The best halftime speeches are not kitschy or gimmicky; they do not berate the players or insult the other team; and they are not a forum for coaches to "go off" on any players that made mistakes in the first half. The best halftime speeches (or post-game speeches) remind players to keep a positive attitude, and remind them to continue moving forward, no matter how hard it seems.

Granted, staying positive is not always easy, and it was a lot easier when my dad was around to say, "I'm doin' great!" After his passing, the things he said, the lessons he taught, and his memorable quotes have been comforting, but I am still going to miss my best friend. Difficult times are not easy, but I know my father would have told me to, "keep a positive attitude, and keep moving forward and good things will start to happen."

I hope that the speeches, writings, and thoughts in this book can help you stay positive, whether life is "shutting you out," or you just "beat Ohio State in double-overtime."

Jamie Walker, Son of Northwestern / Miami University Head Coach Randy Walker
(1954 - 2006)