Joe Springer, a freshman-basketball coach from Wisconsin, and his son Josh Springer, a varsity-basketball coach from North Carolina, have led a combined 12 People to People programs and bring more than 20 years’ coaching experience to their players. Both also share their “passion for teaching young people life skills through the game of basketball” with Sports Ambassadors, Josh says.
Father and son have coached together on three programs. In 2007, they were nominated to coach the all-star team at the International Friendship Games and went on to win the championship. It’s not the number of wins that keeps them coming back, though. It’s the students, the camaraderie, and the cultural exchange. Joe felt proud as he watched students from around the globe exchange emails, swap jerseys from other countries, and cheer each other on. “I didn’t see the different countries. I just saw athletes,” Joe says. “It shows that there’s hope for the future. People can get along.”
Like the athletes they coach, Josh and Joe have developed coaching contacts and friendships the world over through People to People. The quality Joe admires most in coaches and leaders is “the heart of a servant. The better leader that you are, the more you are serving those that you are leading.” Joe says he finds that trait in People to People program leaders. Josh agrees, saying, “If you’re not here for the kids, you’re here for the wrong reasons.”
Joe influenced yet another group of young athletes in July 2009. His 11- and 12-year-old basketball players competed in a bracket that included athletes as old as 14. “Our kids were really undersized,” Joe admits, “but they had so much heart and so much desire.” Their intense efforts inspired sports-lovers from around the world. An Austrian team, who in Joe’s experience would “never cheer for an American team,” showed up after their games just to cheer for his athletes. After one game, a referee introduced himself as the editor of a newspaper for coaches and refs and asked Joe to author an article on sportsmanship and heart. A proud Joe turned to his team and said, “Guys, that’s all you. You did that.”
Both Joe and Josh aim for victories, even the ones that don’t come with medals. As an adult, Josh has learned to appreciate his father’s values: “Growing up, I had the dad that all of my friends wanted to hang out with. He always took a huge interest in me and my sister and what we were doing.”
Now that he is training another generation of athletes, Joe still believes that “if you can affect the world one person at a time for the better, you’ve done your job.” Joe and Josh Springer have certainly done theirs.
