Coach Gerrits

Had a great time with @Pitt_FB for a visit!! And great conversation with @HarlonBarnett and @AdamCalt ! Was great to look into a top ACC program and see what they’re all about! Also got to watch an intense spring practice! Thank you guys so much for having me out! Hail to Pitt! @coachdaoust @CoachDarveau @coachcsanders @CoachDuzzPittFB @CoachPriefer @CoachArchieC @LindseyLamar5 @Coach_JoeBowen

19 years ago, a high school basketball coach put his team manager into a game for the final four minutes. The kid had never played a single minute of competitive basketball in his life. He scored 20 points. Jason McElwain was diagnosed with severe autism at age two. He didn’t speak until he was five. He couldn’t chew solid food until he was six. He wore a nappy for most of his early childhood. As a baby, he was rigid, wouldn’t make eye contact, and hid in corners away from other children. He tried out for his school basketball team every year and got cut every time. Too small. Too slight. Barely 5’6 and about 54 kilograms. But he loved the game so much that his mum called the school and asked if there was any way he could be involved. The coach created a team manager role for him. For three years, McElwain showed up to every practice and every game. He wore a shirt and tie on match days. He ran drills, handed out water, kept stats, and cheered every basket like he’d scored it himself. On 15 February 2006, the last home game of his final school year, the coach let him suit up in a proper jersey and sit on the bench. With four minutes left and a comfortable lead, the coach sent him in. His first shot missed. His second missed. Then something shifted. He hit a three-pointer. Then another. Then another. His teammates stopped shooting entirely and just kept passing him the ball. He hit six three-pointers and a two-pointer. 20 points in four minutes. The highest scorer in the game. When the final buzzer went, the entire crowd rushed the court and lifted him onto their shoulders. His mum tapped the coach on the shoulder, in tears. “This is the nicest gift you could have ever given my son.” McElwain won the ESPY Award for Best Moment in Sports that year, beating out some of the biggest names in professional sport. He’s 36 now. He works at a local supermarket, coaches basketball, has run 17 marathons including five Boston Marathons, and travels the country speaking about never giving up. When asked about that night, his coach still gets emotional. “For him to come in and seize the moment like he did was certainly more than I ever expected. I was an emotional wreck.”

Lions signing center Cade Mays. (via @TomPelissero)

l am very excited to announce that I am FULLY COMMITTED to Hope College. Thanks be to God for this opportunity, it's a childhood dream come true. Thank you to my great coaches who have helped me to improve my play throughout the years. Last but not least, I could not be more grateful for my parents and their endless support along my journey. GO DUTCHMEN AGTG @HopeCollegeFB @MIexposure @MichFBFrenzy @PStuursm @Coach_HThompson @GerritCake @TrevorRaby

My guy! 💪

Met Greg on a recruiting visit to Valpo. Great to see he is in coaching and having so much success! Excellent hire for VT. 💪

Officials in HS football checking to see if the players pants are covering their knees

O-line coach’s dream RB. Dude can pop off for 6 from anywhere. Most explosive player in the OK conference.

Coaches take a look at my most explosive plays of this past season! 4.48 forty yard dash! 22.8 clocked top speed! @CoachDawkins1 @Coach__Myers @coachDJDavis @GoodrowCaden @NickGrieco32 @LindseyLamar5 @CoachSchugars @CoachWooster @TheCoachGriggs @CoachCSmith__ @CoachPaschall @DaveAbberger @CoachPriefer @CoachFaust1 hudl.com/v/2TVYm7

Super proud of my dude! He didn’t end up here on accident! ✅ Broke high school records ✅ Broke college records ✅ Team Captain in both HS & College ✅ All-Conf./All-State honors in both … All in the toughest conference, top to bottom in the state, and one of the top D3 conferences in country. List goes on and on. Production, leadership and capacity are most often limited by mindset and not size. Opposition is simply opportunity to honor God! Nothing more, nothing less! Most everything we will value in this life, outside of salvation in Jesus is earned through hard work and selfless effort! Looking forward to watching Ethan play football this year for @UNAFootball ! 1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. #TogetherTough

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Why @DaveAbberger never rocked this attire on the sidelines was his biggest coaching mistake to date.

@calebhouser9 I didn’t realize you were a Buckeye fan. That explains the original take 😂. As long as you keep beating Michigan I’ll cheer for THE highest payed roster in the Big Ten.

@GerritCake Now do a count of how many schools are in Ohio. Pretty easy to compare one of the biggest schools in America to Oberlin who has 3k kids… Admitted students average ACT is 28-32. Average gpa is 3.8. Go Bucks buddy.

It has to be tough to be an Oregon Duck fan and see their program buy elite talent and yet do nothing with it every single year… Their logo is quite literally the same symbol for how many titles they’ve won. But hey, sweet uniform combos.

@calebhouser9 I agree! Hartline was easily the best WR coach in the country. Ohio state is the superior brand in every way but cool jersey combos. As for the education piece that was a quick google search.

@GerritCake & got blasted by OSU when it mattered most. J. Smith was signed by OSU out of HS & has been the best WR in the country. Comparing OSU to Oregon at WR, I’d be happy to show you the success differential. Let’s not knock education if you don’t know the facts of the school too.

@calebhouser9 They did win the Big Ten title last year. Nothing may be a stretch. I’m not sure how you can fully separate paying players not to leave and paying players like Jeremiah Smith to join. I’m sure Smith didn’t go to Columbus for the 15th best education in the state of Ohio.

@GerritCake I don’t believe using NIL to mainly retain your own recruited players out of high school is buying a title. Did OSU have elite transfers? Yes, 3 last year. Every school does. Oregon has Nike funding one of the biggest NIL banks in the country and has nothing to show for it.

White and purple might be the coldest color combo in the nation.

Couldn’t think of a player more deserving! @BrentDearmon get himself a weapon!

Weeks 6-10 highlights! 907 yards 89 carries Over 10.1 yards per carry! Along with 19 REC for 278 yards! @CoachPostmaGV @PStuursm @DaveAbberger @coachtylerpike @CoachDawkins1 @Coach_Rob_WSU @TheJoshGuilford @GoodrowCaden @MichFBFrenzy @CoachCSmith__ hudl.com/v/2T8i9M

💥#ROAR