CCM Coaching Tip #54 - Learn From Emmitt Smith

by Tommy Kramer, KramerMedia.net

In the 9/22/17 NFL Network's "A Football Life" special on Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys, they showcased one of the greatest seasons in his career - the back-to-back year when the Cowboys won their second straight Super Bowl under coach Jimmy Johnson.

On first glance, this is just about a football player. But if you know anything about Emmitt Smith, you know that this was one very special player, and definitely a special human being.

Before that 1993 season, Emmitt, as he always did, wrote down his goals. In order, the first five were:

Keep Jesus Christ #1 in my life.
Stay healthy.
Average 125 yards rushing per game.
Lead team and league in rushing for the third year in a row.
Lead the league in scoring.

Notice that although he did have personal goals, the first two were about staying centered, spiritually, and about helping his team the most by staying healthy, because as the pro scouts say, "The most important ability is AVAIL-ability.

In this era when so many troubling things and salacious headlines have seemingly become the norm, I'd be hard pressed to think of a better role model than Emmitt Smith. There has never been a hint of scandal about him, all of his teammates loved him, and all of his opponents respected him.

And about his fullback, who literally compressed his neck vertebrae by throwing crunching blocks to clear space for Smith to become the NFL's all-time leading rusher, Emmitt simply said "That was for the both of us. Two kids from different parts of the country, set out to do something special together. Darrell Johnston and myself will be forever linked, and I will never allow that to dissipate as long as I have breath."

Faith, teammates, friends, family. We use those words all the time. MEAN them. DEMONSTRATE their impact on your life, and your actions - and in how you approach what you say to the listener and how you say it. People hear and see more than your words, just like when they saw Emmitt Smith, after he retired from football, win Dancing With the Stars! That probably surprised just about everyone...but not God, and not the people who knew how hard Emmitt worked to accomplish whatever he set out to do.