LIFE LESSONS

A blessing even now, three months after the accident that nearly claimed his life, Don Meyer calls it a blessing.  "You can't look at it any other way," he says. 

It was a blessing to crash into a semi that was carrying 90,000 pounds of grain while driving to a team retreat on Sept. 5.  It was a blessing to lose his left leg below the knee, to endure eight surgeries, to spend weeks in the hospital fighting pain so intense that he would croak church hymns as tears streamed down his face.  

It was a blessing, Meyer says, and here's why:  If the wreck hadn't happened, if the doctors hadn't performed emergency surgery to remove his spleen and reattach his diaphragm, they wouldn't have discovered the cancer burrowing into his liver and small intestine until it was too late.

(Northern State basketball coach Don Meyer, the man who only needs five more victories to surpass Bobby Knight for the most wins in NCAA history.)

From a recent Sports Illustrated article on Coach Meyer:

And you could even see it on that awful day in September.  Riding alone in his gray Toyota Prius, Meyer was leading a six-car caravan west on State Highway 20 to a hunting lodge for the Wolves' annual retreat when his car started drifting over the center line.  "I was looking for the turnoff," Meyer recalls, "but then I must have fallen asleep."  An oncoming semi going 50 mph slammed into the left side of Meyer's car, the impact sending the driver's-side doors hurtling skyward as the Prius spun into a ditch. 

When his players reached the car, Meyer was still conscious, but his left side was battered.  Yet instead of panicking, the players summoned the poise that Meyer had already cultivated in them.  One of them called 911.  Senior captain Kyle Schwan asked a few veteran players to help the younger players form a prayer circle, then joined graduate assistant Matt Hammer and sophomore guard Brett Newton next to Meyer.

Schwan grabbed Meyer's hand, and the young men fell back on the slogans of the practice court.  We've gotta be tough, Coach!  It's the fourth quarter!  Dead-ball breathing - relax!  Narrow focus!  NBA!  Next Best Action!

"They saved my life," says Meyer, who was airlifted to an Aberdeen hospital after a 30-minute wait.

"It's a testament to Coach," Schwan says.  "In essence he saved his own life because of the way he taught us."

Here is the link to read the entire article:

It is the essence of what a coach should be -- someone who teaches more than passing, cutting and screening.  He or she teaches life lessons about teamwork, sacrifice, courage, discipline and toughness.

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