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Highlands Today

Dungy An Example Of The Person We Should Strive To Become

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 14, 2009

There's a lot to dislike about sports these days, but every so often someone comes along that disproves stereotypes and earns every bit of respect paid to him. That person is Tony Dungy, the recently retired coach of the Indianapolis Colts. He is a rare man that every person can learn from.

Dungy was an excellent football coach. It took a long time for him to finally land a head coaching job, but he came to Tampa and turned one of the worst teams into one of the best. He then went to Indianapolis and, with a roster of incredible talent, became a fixture as a top NFL team and even won the Super Bowl. He was the first African-American to do that. But what's most impressive about Dungy isn't his football skills.

This extraordinary man demonstrates that strength, persistence, calm demeanor and a push for excellence always wins. It's a lesson we can apply to any of our lives. It's certainly a lesson that a lot of our youth athletic coaches need to learn.

Every player who played for Dungy said he taught them about professionalism, about being a good person, about making the right choices. Now Dungy will share his abilities trying to turn young people around. He wants to change the fact that African-American teens do so poorly in Indianapolis schools. He wants to touch lives in Tampa, where he lives. He wants to show that his strong faith and belief in people can translate to regular kids, not just professional athletes.

We admire Dungy for the way he lives his life and what he gives back to everyone around him. He sets a high bar for the rest of us to shoot for. Will he coach again? Who knows. But we do know that whatever he does and wherever he goes, he will improve the lives of everyone who knows him.

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