Calvin to Host Former NFL All-Pro

November 30, 2005 == MEDIA ADVISORY
 
A man Parade Magazine recently called the most important coach in America will
speak at Calvin College in January 2006.

Joe Ehrmann is a former Baltimore Colts football star turned pastor and coach.
 And he has some novel ideas about what it means to be an athlete and what it
means to coach athletes.

Area coaches, athletes, school administrators, community leaders, pastors and
any others interested in sports, religion and masculinity will have a chance to
hear Ehrmann's philosophies of life and sports on January 12, 2006 at 7 pm in
the Fine Arts Center at Calvin when he speaks on "Coaching from the Inside
Out."

Tickets are $5 and went on sale this week at the Calvin Box Office.

That evening those in attendance will hear from a 13-year veteran of the
National Football League and a former All-American at Syracuse University. But
what they hear may not be what they would have expected from a former defensive
lineman. Ehrmann believes that masculinity ought to be defined in terms of
relationships and taught in terms of the capacity to love and be loved.

Aaron Winkle is coordinator for Christian formation at Calvin College and the
person responsible for bringing Ehrmann, who has an organization called
Building Men and Women for Others, to campus.

He says he likes what Ehrmann stands for. And he notes that people who think
Ehrmann's philosophies sound good in principal but not in practice may be
surprised by his results.

"The book about Joe (Season of Life) blew me away," says Winkle. "It's an
amazing story, an in-depth look at what the coaches at Gilman are trying to do.
When I read it I knew it was something we could benefit from at Calvin. But I
also want to see our area high schools and other area colleges benefit from
this different way of looking at sports."

Winkle says Ehrmann has credibility on two fronts: first as a former Division
I and NFL athlete and second as part of the coaching staff at a nationally
ranked high school team.

"Gilman wins," Winkle says simply. "They have a no-cut, everybody plays
policy. They talk about their job as coaches and players being to love each
other. It all sounds too good to be true, yet they make it work. Their kids
graduate and go to D1 schools like Duke and Notre Dame. They have success on
the field. It's an amazing story."

Indeed, this season Gilman finished the regular season at 9-0 and ranked 19th
in the USA Today national prep rankings.

That's the beauty of Ehrmann's approach says Winkle.

"There's a great section in the book where one of the parents asks Joe what
kind of success he expects Gillman to have. He tells the mom that he has no
idea. Won't know for 20 years, he says. That said it all for me. It's a totally
different way to look at high school and college sports. And a totally
different way to think about coaching."

Winkle is working with a variety of local school systems to ensure that their
coaches, athletic directors and athletes have access to the event. He says
he'd love to see Ehrmann's talk become the start of a whole new way of thinking
about athletics in the West Michigan area and beyond.
 
For the full story see http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2005_06/ehrmann.htm

Contact Aaron Winkle at 616-526-6679

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Received on Wed Nov 30 09:46:30 2005