Lessons Learned |
Lessons Learned
A few weeks ago I played golf with a successful business man and a terrific player. He played golf at Clemson back in the 1980s and still plays at a very high level. He knew I occasionally played with Clemson golf coach and his former college teammate, Larry Penley. He asked, "What do you learn when you play with Larry?" My answer took a few holes, but I explained I listen to every word Penley says. I can still remember conversations I had with him from several years back. I said I learn more about life than golf. In short, I learn as much from Penley as anyone I have ever met. Perhaps the biggest lesson is in his people skills. Penley loves his players, and it shows. The Hall of Famer says he doesn't have former players or call them former Tigers. Penley says once a Tiger, always a Tiger. He says you are a Tiger for life. I also have learned the value of experience. There is nothing he hasn't seen in his field. His experience of how to handle anything is a great asset. I will admit it hurt to watch some posters on Tigernet complain about Penley in recent years. Some doubted he could win again. Some doubted a team of players mainly from South Carolina could win again. Some said he had lost interest, and the game had passed him by. The personal attacks hurt more than the criticism. Many of us knew different. I saw Penley recruiting harder than I ever remembered. I saw him on the road more than ever. I saw the fire. Many of the people I hang out love Clemson with everything they have, but no one loves Clemson more than Larry Penley. I also knew he wanted to get his program back on top. This year it happened again when Penley helped the Tigers to the ACC title for the ninth time. This time they dominated the field and won by 11 shots. Yes, the fire to make Clemson great burns inside of Penley every day. In his 33 years as the head coach here the Tigers have won 68 tournaments including three wins this year. This month he was named the ACC Coach of the Year for the eighth time. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of those awards is the fact that he won them in four different decades. No, the game hasn't passed him by. Wednesday we saw evidence of that once again as his Tigers finished third in the NCAA regional in Stillwater, OK to advance to the NCAA Finals in two weeks in Oregon. Clemson will head west in search of its second national title, and the seventh-ranked Tigers will be looking for their fourth win in their last six events. I don't mind fair criticism, but some made personal attacks on a man that loves this place. That was hard to watch. I get social media and know this is how things work now. So does Larry Penley. He is a big boy and pays no attention to it. I doubt any of those brave souls that hide behind a screen name and became experts by typing insults on this website have called or written Penley to apologize or to congratulate him. Instead, he is too busy hearing from his supporters that never lost faith, including his former players. Prayer List The prayer list is a medium for our community to recognize those that are in need. If you would like to add someone to the list, please email me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com. Please let me know when it is appropriate to remove a person off the list. Those who need our prayers include: Jo Ann Bachman, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got Igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S., Daniel Rosborough, the Huffman family, Nancy Winkler, John Reeve, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L., Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Perrin Seigler, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, the Nicolopulos family, "the Jacksonville, FL guys," Kim Sims, the Coyle family, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee, Kelly Trakas, Jimmy Moore, the Thomas V. family, Emary Claire Young, Kitty Bowers, Julie Locke, the Scheider family, Lauren Kittles' family, Frank Gentry, Stacey McKeown, Dale Childs, Larry Lentz, Jr., Carl Sharperson, Scott Hannon, William Perry, Tyler Swaney, Lillian, Mark Feit, David Frame, the family of Matthew M. Watson, the Dowis family, Alan Putnam, the Olivers, Lee Tate, Ronnie Abrams, Eddie Greene, the Jackson family, Bill Vader, Jim Taylor, Tina DeWitt, Rock Horne, Bobby Wayne Thomas, Emma and Danielle Carothers, Robert Ditty, Mr. and Mrs. Murray Smith, Millie Heatley, Lynn Martin and family, Michael Pinson, Jake David family, Angie Crowley, Ira, Poly Wells, Dr. Muriel Bishop, Jack Cunningham, Emily Jefford Meister, Aaron Clackum, Pat James, Cortney Moore, William Moore, Angelia and Savannah Anderson, Scott Johns, Frank Carroll, Brandon Thompson, Alvin Sammons, Georgine McAlhaney, Glen Davis, Mike Price, Aaron Knight, Danielle Johnston and family, Nicholas Abrams, Lana Kuykendall, Gary, Gary G., William Huggins, Jim Bennett, Chantz Fowler, Ethel McElveen, Michele Gurganus, William Gentry, Lewis Usher and Tanya Sanders, Shon Cooper, Nick Collins, Amanda Peake, Chip Turner, Nick Collins, Allen Steen, the Sturkey family, the Lance family, Nick Chrisley's family, Allison Williams, Lt. Kyle Walker, Summer and Joel Johnson, Nicole O'Donnell, James O. Johnson, Joy Pruett and family, Bill Schmidt, Jack Bailey, Gardner Family, Charles Turner, Kathy Bartholomew, Ray Sanders, David and Robin Blocker, J.R. Ray, Kenneth Kowe, Lauren Sielicki, Jenna Phipps, Mark Lawrence, Jonathan and Jacki Sullins, Peter Laboy, Kat and Carlisle Jones, Elizabeth Galloway and family, Anita McDonald, Willard Harryman, Liz Surratt, Molly Senn, Jackie Shearer, Richard Sellers, Tim Drisdelle, Susan and Mike Brown, Julie Goodman Marshall, Willard and Dorothy Harryman, Justin Jernigan, Jack Cunningham, Mia Daughtery, Tee Senn, Skylar, Joseph Thomas, Mrs. Nelis, Sean Rowell, George Parker, Levon Kirkland and family, Catherine Sewell, Randy Davenport, David Vaughn, Keith Dalton, B.T., Bill Hilbig, Rita Elrod Hammond and family, Jim McKeller, Tony Alewine, Sharon Storck, Dick Baird, Richard Bagnal, Dustin and Brittany Peurifoy, Jan Allan, Josh Cox, Gregg and Sylvia Lewis, Travis Hamrick, Kaki Harmon, Jammie McKellar and babies, Karen Edwards, Jackson Lindsey, Cathy Hutson Gregg, Kristin Heckman, Jennifer Johnson, Jay Johnson, Lyndsie Johnson, Emily Davis, Hayes Davis, Judy Towe, Johnny Towe, Ken Brown, Elaine Brown, Rhonda Thompson, Tim Davis, Jacob Greinke, Jack Finley, Richard and Clara Crawford, Zach and Griffin Johnson, Israel, Frankie Allen, Bobby Allen, the Wessinger family, the Parsons family, Todd Price and family, Rosemary A Flynn, Dr. Mickey Shealy family, Mr. Gillespie, Bobbi Nicholson, Dr. Matt Stower, Tyler Kemmerlin, Parks Hutto, Patrick DeStefano, Robert Summerville, Michelle Richey, Julie Moore, Ashley Fitch, Drew Moyer, Kevin Anderson, Lyn Price, John Robert Smith, Allison Williams, Nicholas Wickiser, Lena Wright, Elizabeth Bruner, Hammond Family, Elaine G. Duvall, Addison Grace, Bennie Cunningham, Kevin Orcutt, Alan Finley, Keith Wells, Steve Byrd, Jessica Hernandez, Wayne Mullins, Rita Alexander, Tony Osterman, family and friends of Gary Cooper, Tonya Gibson, Mary Carmen Harman, Derk Denton, Tim Vacek, Mike Vacek, Jerry Brown, Phil Compton, Alma Jean Sullivan, Lindsey Motley, Riley Cook, Dwayne Wood, Eileen Thomas, Larry Nimmons and Family, Chrissy Adams, Annie Gregory, and our great country and the men and women in uniform that protect and serve it every day, plus their families.The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency
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