Whether you’re a fair weather fan or a diehard Seahawk’s devotee, the last couple of weeks have given us a lot to celebrate as our beloved team heads to New Jersey to compete in Super Bowl XLVIII. We at LifeWire are proud of our team and celebrate their success. We have also followed the tumultuous media coverage of both Richard Sherman’s outstanding defensive victory, and his subsequent controversial interview. In the wake of the resulting media onslaught, what hasn’t been highlighted nearly as much are the actions and words of head coach, Pete Carroll. Carroll took the opportunity, not to publicly distance himself or endorse the behavior of his star defensive player, but to coach Sherman in his role as a star player. With Carroll’s guidance, Sherman was able to focus the energy on his team’s accomplishment. Carroll also went on radio and responded to reporters by supporting his player praising his character, intellect, work ethic an d team leadership, saying,

“We try to grow and determine how we want to be and project and so this created a great opportunity. When you have a player you treat him like you would your own son, you stick by him, you love him and care for him and help him be everything he can be and give him the best chance to be all he can be.”

It’s this attitude and ethic that has made Pete Carroll a great coach, community leader, and leader of other coaches. Ten years ago, Coach Carroll lent this expertise to help develop a prevention program for schools called Coaching Boys Into Men. Developed by Future’s Without Violence this wonderful project equips middle and high school coaches with tools to help their young athletes build respectful, non-violent relationships. This evidence-based curriculum is extremely important considering 1 in 3 teen-age girls will experience abuse in their dating relationships with young men thereby increasing their risk of future violent relationships, unwanted pregnancy, and attempted suicide. LifeWire has talked with hundreds of coaches around Washington State who are now committed to going beyond game strategy and athletic development to build the characters of their young athletes. Right now, several coaches in the greater Seattle area are using the Coaching Boys int o Men curriculum with their high school athletes, working to build a team of winners in life, not just on the court. These coaches represent the best in coaching as they set about developing young leaders to become role models demonstrating respectful, non-violent relationships off the court, and the best competitive athletes they can be at the buzzer.

Thank you Coach Carroll.

Go Seahawks!

Ward Urion, Kirkland