During his previous 16 seasons as head coach of the LSU-E baseball program, Jeff Willis has garnered a record of 779-178 along with six national championships.
Willis, who has also been the Bengals’ athletic director for the past 14 seasons, met with the Rotary Club Tuesday, November 19, and said all of his accomplishments on the field do not matter.
“We get caught up in our society and think trophies matter,” he said. “We think how much money sitting in our pocket matters. We think winning on a scoreboard matters. None of those things truly matter.”
He continued, “I always get asked to compare teams that we’ve had in our baseball program, and I never do that. I don’t know how good those teams are or will not know how good those teams were until they actually become husbands and fathers for themselves because these are the things that matter. These are the things that pass the test of time. These are the things that are passed down from them to their children and to their grandchildren.”
Willis talked about the worry and anxiety facing young people on his campus today and his role in their lives.
“When I’m dead and gone and go meet the Man upstairs,” he said, “He’s not going to ask me how many wins. He’s not going to ask me how many championships. He’s not going to ask me any of those types of things. He will ask me what you do with all those young people I sent your way. He’s also going to do that with you as well. I feel like I was put on a platform to be able to help young people.”
Winning, for Willis, is not about what happens on the field. It is about what happens in life. “My definition of winning is taking the God given talents and utilizing and developing them to reach your full potential in whatever walk of life you’re in,” he said.
“It’s important for us to understand winning is not on the scoreboard,” continued Willis. “It is not how much money is in your pocket. Winning is not about how much power you have or any of those things our world tells us what winning is.”
Over the past couple of years, LSU-E has added men’s and women’s soccer teams which have brought an international flavor to campus. These sports have also brought new students for Willis to reach through his winning philosophy.
“They’re so happy to be getting a college education in the greatest country in the world,” Willis exclaimed.
He then shared a story about one of these students who went to high school in New Orleans but is from Iraq. As Willis explained, the student’s family was labeled as being part of the West because of their Christian beliefs whenever the United States invaded Baghdad.
Willis shared how the student told him, “‘We were being persecuted for our religious beliefs.’”
The student went on to tell Willis about the toughest thing living in the United States. Willis said, “He said, ‘Coach, when people hear I’m from Iraq, they think I’m bad. But, there are so many good people in Iraq.’”
Another part of Willis’ winning philosophy is treating people the right way.
“Everybody in here would hold the door for the old lady with a walker, but would you hold the door for the person with all kinds of piercings and spiked hair and tattoos all over and wearing his pants low,” Willis said. “My question is why would you not. God loves that person just as much as the old lady with a walker. Sometimes it’s just a little bit of compassion you can show somebody that might change their life.”
“We all have stereotypes in our minds,” he continued, “but don’t always judge the book by its cover. The young person from Iraq had all sorts of piercings. He didn’t look like you and I. Just because his appearance looks a certain way doesn’t mean he is that person you think he is.”
Willis concluded by using the example of his bus driver to show what a true winner is.
“Our bus driver is Mr. Ken Marks,” Willis said. “That guy is a champion if you watch how he drives that bus and the organization he has. I’m amazed every single time about how organized he is and how serious he takes his job. I point out to my team all of the time to watch the bus driver and see how serious and championlike he takes his approach each and every day.
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Tony Marks
Editor