A Review of Mark Richt's Book Make The Call

 I have been reading Mark Richt's book, Make The Call, which, I must say, has been an eyeopener for me about football and those who play the game.

I was privileged to hear Mark at a dinner banquet for the Church of God minister's of South Georgia back in December 2021 at which time he warmed my heart with his demeanor, his humility, and his announcement of his onset of Parkinson's disease.

He very generously gave everyone a free copy of his book that night which was amazing since it totaled hundreds of copies.

I began to read the book because, he had influenced me and touched me greatly the night he spoke at the banquet.  I didn't know if it would interest me much because I assumed it was about football.  Even though I like a game of football periodically, I am not a die hard fan of any sport or sport team; but, again, he gave us a book, and I had been touched by his life he shared with us at the banquet, therefore I decided to read the book.

Not only has the book been an enlightenment to me about football, I was able to look at his personal life, and so much about other people's lives through the pages of the book.  I began to see how a football team had a lot going on off the field.  I began to see how coaches influenced the lives of their players for years to come.  I began to see how the coach can have lasting significance in the life of individual players, especially as male role models; but also, I began to see the spiritual lessons that Mark wrote about.

For instance, in the chapter on being prepared, chapter 13, he used biblical illustrations about being prepared; namely, the ten women who were waiting for the man to show at the wedding.  One half the women had to leave and buy more oil to keep their lamp burning because the groom had not arrived; the other half had  figured in before hand that possibly there may be a delay and they would need more oil for their lamp.  The point was, they were prepared.

Another illustration was about the business man that gave three of his workers a certain amount of money before he went away for a lengthy time and told them to make good use of the  money.  Two of the workers actually doubled the money, but the other worker decided he would just keep what he had and not take a risk.  When the business man returned, he was happy about the increase two of the workers had but not so happy about the man that only showed up with excuses about not increasing his money.  

It really hit me hard to once again, even though I had heard the stories many times, that a day is coming when I will need to show my work to Jesus Christ.  

Preparation has always been difficult for me, procrastination has been much, much easier.  I have, overtime, become better with preparation, but overall, looking back, I could have done better in so many situations.  

The book points out that in coaching, the coach and team that prepares, have an edge in the game, a big one!  It is the players who are prepared for any given play, will more than likely score the points.

He mentions in that chapter about how Josh Brooks was hired for assistant director of football operations because of his preparation for the interview.  Mark called him back when he was in the elevator at the air port and told him he was hired, even though he had also looked at other impressive portfolios. 

If preparation cramps your style, which is often my case, this chapter can help us all with that.

I have a few more chapters in this book, but I will never see another football game with the same perspective as before.  It is definitely akin to lessons in leadership on a playing field.