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Recent road trip
shatters dreams
By Tim McGraw
Basketball Coach
The greatest fear I have as a Junior College basketball
coach happened to a good friend of mine, Louis Orr,
who is the men’s basketball coach at Navarro
College.
His team had just experienced an exciting win at
Paris Junior College and was headed back to Corsicana.
Victories at opposing schools are very meaningful
but their optimism was shattered when an assistant
coach, in a second in time, turned into the path
of an oncoming truck. Two players died, others were
severely injured, and basketball became meaningless.
For twenty-eight years, Coach Orr has been the coach
at Navarro. While there, he has been a model coach
who has helped players move on to four-year schools.
It seems undeserving that the first time he gets
major media attention, he is going through his toughest
time of tragedy.
I enjoy road trips with our players. This season
we have traveled to Colorado, Kansas and Florida.
Trips provide an atmosphere that helps to bond our
guys together as a team.
But while driving on a trip, there isn’t a
time that I don’t look into the rear-view
mirror and say a prayer as I see a group of guys
who have so much potential in life.
We have a motto for our basketball team that we
put on our recruiting literature: “Building
Leaders Through Basketball.”
I hope all of us involved in community colleges
reflect on Navarro’s sad time and come away
remembering that whether we are driving a van or
teaching in a classroom, we have tomorrow’s
leaders in our care.
Life is precious and short, so we need to live lives
of meaning as we help others.
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Tim McGraw
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