One of the Christmas gifts in our house was the book “The Winners Manual – For the Game of Life,” by Jim Tressel, the Ohio State football coach. The book details what Tressel calls the “Big Ten” fundamentals for success: Attitude, Discipline, Faith, Handling Adversity & Success, Excellence, Love, Toughness, Responsibility, Team, and Hope. (Since the Big Ten Conference actually has 11 teams, I guess it follows that Tressel lists 11 attributes.)

The book reminded me of how many inspirational winners we have working in our school district, teaching, coaching, leading and guiding our kids to success. They all have their own manual for winners, which probably resembles Coach Tressel’s manual in many ways.

I’m always reluctant to single out individuals, because there isn’t space for all those who could be included. But this time I’m going to do it anyway, with my sincere apologies to all those who could equally be cited.

Ron Masanek, one of our retired teachers who’s been our varsity wrestling coach for 44 years, obviously has a winners manual that he follows. It must have chapters on toughness, and handling adversity and success. In wrestling when you lose you’re all alone and sometimes flat on your back, and all of our wrestlers lose sooner or later. (Even four-time state champion Willie Wineberg lost two matches. And to the same wrestler, Princeton’s Quincy North.) Ron teaches our wrestlers how to win, but when they don’t, how to lose with grace.

I also think of people like Jeff Clark, our high school choral director. He has a winners manual for the Choraliers, who regularly win first prize at show choir competitions and last year won national recognition. And Aaron Fitzstephens, a high school P.E. teacher and our varsity football coach, who started the season by teaching his players about being a team, and only then moved on to subjects like tackling and tailbacks.

There’s Patty Webber, our Teacher of the Year, who models for her students a hugely positive attitude and also adds in lots of love, another of the success fundamentals. Jay Muldoon (English) and Mindy Reed (French) are not only outstanding classroom teachers. They’re also the guiding force in our renowned drama department. Discipline, responsibility and hope (all those opening nights!) are success fundamentals that they teach our thespians.

Not all of us work directly with students, but everyone on our staff has an effect on student success. No one has had a bigger effect than Bonnie Fitzharris, our curriculum director. We are all about teaching and learning, and she is the one leading the way. Her winners manual is about excellence.

These winners and so many others are why I have such faith in our school district and in the bright futures that await our kids.

Published in the Fairfield Echo, Jan. 14, 2010.