Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz stresses core values at First Tee fundraiser

College Football Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz never imagined he’d be a public speaker.

Holtz, who started his football career playing linebacker at Kent State, said he took the only speech class of his entire life at the university — and finished the semester with a C.

“I just talk about things I believe and things I’ve done,” Holtz said. “The stories I share are actual stories, and that’s why I can [speak] without notes or anything else because I’m talking about things I believe.”

Holtz served as the keynote speaker at the Executive Dinner for the First Tee of Akron organization’s fundraiser on Friday night at Firestone Country Club.

Holtz, who became an icon for Notre Dame football after a national championship in 1988, told an audience of over 300 executives from businesses in the Greater Akron area about three core values he teaches and lives by — doing what’s right, doing everything to the best of your ability and showing people you care.

“We complicate life, but it doesn’t need to be that way,” Holtz said. “It all goes back to the attitude we have. I never felt I coached football. I coached life.”

First Tee is an organization that uses golf as a vehicle to promote good character and well-being in youth. Through five different programs, First Tee tries to stress its nine highlighted values: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment.

At a national level, the organization partners with the PGA Tour, the Master’s Tournament and the LPGA. With such large sponsorships, people like former Firestone High School golf standout Patrick Shultz may even get the opportunity to connect and play with professionals.

“I was afforded a lot of opportunities through First Tee,” Schultz said. “I got to go play at Pebble Beach, and play with [professional golfer] John Morse. It was a blast.”

Schultz spoke at Friday’s event as one of the program’s graduates, and is still involved with the program today. Schultz led Firestone to three undefeated seasons on his way to three City Series championships and now golfs for Malone University.

Frank Stams, First Tee’s executive director, played under Holtz at Notre Dame before his seven-year stint in the NFL. Stams was also the one to reach out to his former coach for the event, and within two weeks of announcing Holtz would be the keynote speaker for the evening, First Tee sold out tickets for its fundraiser.

“I told the players, ‘You give me everything you have for four years, I’ll be there to help you for the next 40,’?” Holtz said. “When a player asks me to do something, I’m going to make every effort to do it, plus … First Tee is great. I love golf.”

At 78 years old, Holtz credits growing up in Ohio for the way he has fostered moral values and standards, which were the same values he spoke about during the dinner.

“I’m an Ohio boy,” Holtz said. “The morals, the values, the lessons I learned [I still use]. There are no better people than people in midwest Ohio.”

These were the same values that served him well during the Fighting Irish’s matchup with the Miami Hurricanes in 1988, deemed the “Catholics vs. Convicts” game.

With tremendous championship implications, the two undefeated squads had already fought in the tunnels before the game started. Holtz said he was embarrassed and pulled his team aside and stressed character just before kickoff.

“I told them, ‘You go play the game with character and integrity, and go represent the lady on the dome,’?” Holtz said during the speech.

Holtz also spoke about showing care for others, even before they go through tragic life events. He mentioned how First Tee does this for its golfers, and then talked about his wife of 53 years.

After being diagnosed with Stage Four cancer, she was given a 10 percent chance to live. After she made it through treatments, she told an interviewer that she learned just how much her family loved her.

“We didn’t love her any more [than before],” Holtz said. “We just showed it. We don’t need to wait until a catastrophe.”

In all, Holtz spoke primarily about how leaders can effectively use life’s options to their full advantage, and help others do the same as well. He credited First Tee for showing others what they can do when they maximize their potential, which is one of the biggest reasons Holtz lives by the three rules he highlighted throughout his speech.

“Life’s about our choices. Where we are is based on our choices. That’s what First Tee is all about,” Holtz said. “There are only five colors in the rainbow. Look what Michelangelo did. There are only seven music notes, and look at what so many great musicians have done with them.”

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz stresses core values at First Tee fundraiser