To All Who Will Listen
by
Chuck Klausing
I
am very concerned about the use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco by kids.
I have 12 grandkids and 3 great grandchildren.
I hope to get this message to them.
I
failed with the greatest football player I ever coached.
He played for me in high school and I predicted he would be a great pro
player someday. He led us to three
(3) undefeated seasons. People told
me he reminded them of Jim Brown the great Cleveland back.
No
player was more coachable and he believed in me and would always listen.
Maybe, because of two experiences where I helped him:
1. Once as a sophomore linebacker he bumped heads with a teammate and dislocated his jaw. The joint was up around his ear. No doctor was around so I used my first aid training and relocated it. The pain was terrible, but afterwards, he remarked, “Thanks Coach, I will always listen to you.”
2.
We would go to pre-season camp and had no place to shower; so, we bathed
in a small river. He wondered out
too far and went under. I swam out
and brought him to shore. He
remarked, “Thanks Coach, I will always listen.”
With his success, he played in the
Big 33 game and was awarded the Most Valuable Player.
In college he was the most outstanding sophomore in the Big 10.
At 21 years of age, he died of an overdose of drugs.
I went to his funeral and I prayed
at his coffin. His parents told me
it was my fault he died. They
said he would have listened to me. He
never smoked tobacco or used liquor because of my rules of no tobacco or
alcohol. I never mentioned drugs.
In the ‘40’s and ‘50’s, I knew nothing about drugs.
They are certainly with us today.
