By Dr. Ferrell Miller
At the January 31 “Celebration of Optimism” gathering of JC Breakfast Optimist Club members at the Hampton Inn, Randall Zimmerman was the guest speaker. He is an instructor, Head Football and Track Coach at Junction City High School. He was originally from Western Kansas and graduated from Fort Hays State University. Before coming to Junction City High School in 1994, he taught and coached at smaller schools in Kansas. He told the Optimist Club members that “I have a heart for at risk kids, coaching and love this community.”
Coach Zimmerman shared that his “mission is to build champions for life. We are letting young people down if we just teach them a sport. Life is about discipline and hard work. It is about getting better every day. Only 7.4% of high school athletes will compete at the next level.”
He also stated that “life is not only about being disciplined and working hard, but it is also important to imitate successful people.” Youth, “especially young men at the high school level, need structure and positive role models.”
Getting better one day at a time is an important part of Coach Zimmerman’s philosophy in working with youth. “Kids think they can come into our Strength and Conditioning program and lift a certain weight and the next day double it. That’s not going to happen.” It takes discipline and hard work each day to increase skills – “discipline is a culture”.