A Coaching Legend's Greatest Win

Glenn Wilkes, the Hall-of-Fame college basketball coach and U.S. Army veteran whose knowledge of the game was topped only by his grace and humility, died this past weekend. He was 91.

Wilkes coached the Stetson University men’s basketball team from 1957-1993, leaving an indelible mark on the program, the sport and the entire state of Florida.

He was, in every sense of the expression, a bigger fish in a smaller pond. He fought for an on-campus arena at the university, ran a pioneering local basketball camp and authored several books on basketball strategy. He also won more than 550 games in his career.

After retiring, Wilkes went on to teach classes at Stetson on sports feature writing and journalism, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Whether we were familiar with Coach Wilkes’ story before or not, we should spend a few minutes today reflecting on its lessons.

We as leaders often set the loftiest goals imaginable. Make this amount of money, be recognized with this title, win these awards, work for this company, be in this position by this age. We let all of these external accolades determine our self-worth and are quick to categorize our lives as successes or failures simply by what our business cards say.  

Wilkes did not coach a college basketball blue blood, and he wasn’t a household name to even passionate fans of the sport.  

But he led a life of service, devotion and purpose, creating transformative experiences for hundreds of young men and instilling countless life lessons to players, coaches and students along the way.  

Few will be able to recall the best set he ran, his greatest in-game adjustment or a major upset his team pulled off.

But just about everyone who encountered him will remember how he uplifted them, how he gave them a sense of purpose, how he made their life just a little bit better on that day.

That’s Coach Wilkes’ greatest victory of all.  

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