← Called (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Called (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Called to Form the Young w/ Fr. Mike Schmitz and Coach Lou Holtz
00:41:55
In this powerful episode of "Called", Father Mike Schmitz sits down with legendary football coach and devout Catholic, Lou Holtz. Together they explore the urgent challenge of forming the next generation in faith and character. Coach Holtz shares timeless wisdom drawn from decades of leadership on and off the field—his famous three rules for life (“Do what’s right, do your best, and show people you care”), the importance of making good choices, and the lasting impact of faith, family, and responsibility. From stories of his coaching days at Notre Dame, to lessons learned in the military, to personal reflections on marriage, loss, and legacy, Holtz offers a heartfelt testimony of hope, perseverance, and purpose. This conversation is a masterclass in faith-driven leadership, reminding us that true success is not measured in wins but in lives formed and hearts changed. To receive updates on the podcast text CALLED to 33777. If you have a question or a story of someone living out th...
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- [00:01]
A
Coming up, in today's episode of Called, if someone came to you and said, I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus but have no idea where to start, what would you tell them?
- [00:12]
B
Well, first thing, get down on your knees and ask God to guide you. If you really want God's gift in your life, just ask him and accept it and open up your heart for it. If you aren't as close to God as you once were, I wonder which one of you moved. And remember this, when people need love and understanding the most is usually when they deserve it the least. I was a football coach, but more important than that, as a father, as a husband, as an individual, my wife, 59 years. I lost her five years ago, but it's been very, very difficult. But now the grief is starting to turn to gratitude.
- [00:56]
A
Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and welcome to the Called podcast, brought to you by the Catholic Initiative and produced in partnership with Ascension. In this podcast, we dive into the different ways God has called us to be his presence in the world, hearing real stories of mercy, stories of courage and compassion. Today we're talking about forming the young, which is something of a crisis in the church right now. Studies show that half of all young people raised Catholic no longer identify themselves as Catholic by the time they reach adulthood. And for every one person who joins the Catholic Church, six are leaving. This, of course, isn't a new concept, but it's been something that has been emphasized again and again in the scriptures. In fact, Proverbs 22:6 says, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Our guest today is someone who exemplifies this verse. Having formed young people for decades, Coach Lou Holtz, who is a legendary, not only legendary football coach, but legendary human being, legendary Catholic in the United States, coaching football at Notre dame, having led six different programs to bowl games and four programs to the top 20 rankings. Most famously, he led the University of Notre Dame to a national championship in 1988, igniting a legacy that still inspires generations of athletes and fans today at the University of Notre Dame. Coach Holtz is a best selling author. I've read his books. He's a sought after motivational speaker. I've heard him speak and it's incredible. He has a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. He's also one of the founders of Holtz's Heroes Foundation. Coach after all that, it is an honor to have you here on the podcast today.
- [02:32]
B
Thank you for having me, Father. I Hope I can live up to the wonderful introduction you gave me.
- [02:38]
A
Well, it's part of the story. It's part of your story. And so I'm so grateful. Now, I mentioned at the end Holtz's Heroes Foundation. Could you, just to start our conversation, could you share a little bit about what is Holtz's Heroes?
- [02:51]
B
Okay. What happened was in 2008, they inducted me into the hall of Fame. And at the same time, the players came back and decided they wanted to start an organization and it would be Hilt's Heroes. I said, that's fine, but, you know, it's like Leahy's Lads. But I don't want it to be all about social. You got to be able to do other good things for people. And they have done so many wonderful things. They run the food bank in so many different cities, provide scholarships. But more importantly, when an individual or an athlete passes away and other athletes assign to that family to make sure they have all the necessary utensils to get their education. But more importantly, to explain to their child what a special person their father was, what a good athlete it was, how much he was loved and respected. We want the children to have a pride in the fact that their family is very, very special, even though their father isn't there to provide the right leadership. So that's how it all started. And Notre Dame only one time has given their annual award to an organization, and that was the Holta's Hero. So they've done a lot of good things, but I didn't want it to be one where it was just to drink and party, but to have a function where they're helping other people, that's incredible.
- [04:26]
A
There's a young person I know, she's just starting her sophomore year in college, but, you know, five years ago, her father passed away. So a young dad leaving behind the young family. And he was an athlete at the university as well. And it was fascinating to see, or so inspiring to see. So many of his former teammates did what Holta's Heroes is doing, where they came up to the family and they said, how do we. We want to tell you great stories about your dad. We want to be able to be encouraging you in the sense of you have a lot to be proud of when it comes to your father. And that's, that's, that's incredible that you have that foundation that does that. So it's not just a one off. It's not just kind of like a. If it works, great. If it doesn't, too bad that you Are designing it that way. Just praise the Lord for that. That's amazing.
- [05:11]
B
They've done it for over 20 years. They do an awful lot of good things. But we just think it's important for a child when they lose their father to make sure they understand they come from a special part of the family and how much they're loved and appreciated.
- [05:27]
A
And praise God for that. Today, this episode's about forming the young. You've seen thousands of young men go through some pretty intense times, but as a coach, you know, I, I've, I. I've read a lot of the. I've listened to so much that you've said. As a coach, what role did you see yourself playing in that formation? When it comes to here's my athletes, but also I'm forming people.
- [05:52]
B
Well, I think a coach is very, very important, and the role he plays is to make sure that child has the. Or the athlete or whoever it is has the opportunity to succeed in different phases of their life. And I felt my main obligation was to make sure our players understood that life's a matter of choices. Wherever you are, good or bad, or because of choices you make, you choose do drugs, drop out of school, join a gang, get tattoos from head to bottom, get arrested. You're choosing to have difficulty in life, and please don't blame me for the problems you have. It's all about choices. So we try to teach athletes. You know, a lot of people can go into business farther and make a lot of money, but when they die, that ends. When you're in coaching, you have a chance to be significant, and significant is when you help other people be successful, and that lasts many a lifetime. So we just try to teach them to make good choices and put peer pressure on them, because choices have consequences. Whatever we are, good or bad, because of choices we made along the line. Wow.
- [07:05]
A
So it sounds like you mentioned peer pressure, positive peer pressure, because I'm guessing that if it was just you, if it was just the coach saying, here's my standard, but no one else shared it, that it would be. You could be easily seen as a dictator, right? You could be easily seen as though, you know, Coach Holtz is a tyrant. But if you created a culture of people who said, no, no, we're going to take responsibility for our choices, then, and the standard is high, then people can live up to that or fail to live up to that. How do you create a culture, though, of people who are not? So it's not just you, but it's like you've actually Formed other leaders. You formed other athletes so that, yeah, it's not just Coach Holtz against us or for us, but it's a culture. How did you do that?
- [07:49]
B
Well, it's a very good question, Father. A football team, like a business, goes through four different phases. First phase, you learn how to be competitive. You learn how to be competitive because you do the fundamentals. Then you have to go through stage two, where you learn how to win. You learn how to win by doing the little things. Everybody does the big things. It's the people that do the little things that will succeed. Then you go through stage three. You have to learn how to handle winning. Once you start winning, Father, everybody forgets what it was like when you were losing. Everybody wants credit standing around. And then you go through stage four. Stage four is you reach the championship stage. And that's where the players take charge of the culture. They don't wait for me to correct something. They'll get onto each other and say, that's not the way we do things here at Notre Dame, et cetera. So you're trying to build a culture on it. And so many years ago, I came up with three basic rules. And I've, you know, in 45 years, I've never needed a fourth rule. And the three rules are rule number one, do what's right. You know the difference between right and wrong. And if you don't get out the Bible, rule number two, do everything to the very best of your ability. Father, not everybody can be all American. Not everybody can be an A student. Anybody can be the best they're capable being. And rule number three may be the most important. Show people you care. You're never going to meet anybody again that doesn't need a smile, a kind word and encouragement. We all do. So let's not worry about ourselves. Let's worry about the person next to us and how we can help them and do those things. And the reason that I think I've been popular as a coach is because those three rules and those three rules will enable them to be better husbands, better employees. It's not complicated. So we just try to teach our athletes to make good choices. And the same rules you made good choices when you're an athlete. The same three rules that enable you to make good choices the rest of your life.
- [10:12]
A
Yeah, I read the short little book that has those three rules in it, and I've actually preached on it. I've used it in homilies because it's like you said, you don't need a fourth Rule there's something we want to make things complicated and it's very straightforward. Micah, chapter three, one of the books in the Old Testament. Micah's talking to the Lord and he says essentially, what? What shall I do for God? What shall I offer him? And God just says something really simple, kind of like the three rules. He says, you know what the Lord requires only to do good and walk injustice and walk humbly with your Lord. In that sense of. It seems very close to your three rules of do the right thing, to always do your best and care about people around you. That is just so straightforward.
- [10:59]
B
It's that simple, Father, you know, four to five years never needed a fourth rule. And those three rules have never let me. Because there's three things. When you deal with people, if you have a problem with person, can you trust them? Yes or no? Are they committed? Excellent. Yes or no? Do they care about you and the organization? Yes or no? I promise you, the person you admire, respect. You just said yes to all three questions. Person you got a problem with, you either can't trust them, they aren't committed, or they don't care about other people. And so now we know what the problem is, we got a chance to solve it. So that's been the three rules for my children, our athletes, and I've never needed to change them. And I have no apologies.
- [11:43]
A
Okay, formation. You're in charge of formation of these athletes, these young men. Did you ever have like a. I mean the three markers are very, very critical. Like those three rules. Did you ever have like a vision of what kind of person you wanted them to be? Other than? No, I just want them to be people who do the right thing, who do their best and care about others. Is that, that's it? I mean, sorry, not saying that's it like in a minimum way, but like that's, it's, that's it in the sense of.
- [12:12]
B
Well, let me tell you why those three rules are so important. Because when you follow those three rules, your self confidence is going to skyrocket. And when you believe in yourself and you like yourself, you're going to do much, much better. But if you violate those three rules, you're going to understand that you're cheating yourself. You know, you can fool me, you can fool the people on tv, you can fool the official, but you can't fool yourself. When you put your head on the pill at night, you and your loan don't know whether you follow those three rules. And if they violate those three rules, then we have a chance to sit down with them and say, jim, I don't believe you're doing the best you can in Spanish too. And here's why you got an A in Spanish. One, you're getting a D in Spanish. Two, you missed class three times, Tiny hall twice. I don't believe that's the best you can do. Because what we have to remember, father, never criticize the performer, but we have an obligation to criticize the performer. And remember this, when people need love and understanding the most is usually when they deserve it the least.
- [13:22]
A
Right? Yeah, absolutely. And that I always say that that's what God's mercy is. God's mercy is the love that we, we deserve the least but need the most. And I love that you said that. Okay, that, that sense of don't criticize the performer but criticize the performance also that what we. Self esteem, you know, we can use self esteem or even maybe, maybe, maybe not self esteem. It sounds like you might be leaning more towards, and I want to put words in your mouth the term self respect where it's not in the self. That self esteem respect I can give myself when I know that I'm a person who keeps my promises.
- [13:56]
B
That's another way of putting a self image or self awareness. But that's what life is all about, is feeling good about ourselves. And when we do that, we'll feel good about helping other people and start looking for positive things instead of negative things and everything. And I worry a little bit about the direction of this country because of that. Hey, what's in it for me? It's unbelievable.
- [14:22]
A
Have you ever, like, when it comes to helping people move that way, like so that what's in it for me versus that third rule of care about others? Have you found there were any people that like, wow, it was really hard to get them to a place where they cared about anyone other than themselves and. Or is it impossible to help people care about someone other than themselves or what. What do you, what have you done?
- [14:43]
B
I think that's a very good question. I can't honestly answer it except to say this, that life is a matter of choices wherever we are, good or bad, because of choices we make. And too many times when we don't have a good self confidence, we worry about ourselves. And the problem with society today, Father, is you know better than I, that when we feel bad, we try to pull other people down so that we feel better by comparison. And that's what's wrong where we cross criticize everybody if we forget that people need a smile Kind, word and encouragement. That's part of life.
- [15:23]
A
Yeah. Yeah. And so would it be the case where you've experienced, you know, someone who. I mean, because it seems like even working, whether it be as a football, in. As a football athlete or in academics, there's something very clear about, okay, this is the right way to do this. This is the wrong way to do this. So that notion of, like, you know, doing the right thing also, like, effort can be measured in that sense of. I can tell whether or not you're putting the effort in. Where are you really trying your best? It seems like that last piece, though, that piece about, do you care about someone other than yourself? That could be a bigger hurdle to get over. Because, like, well, no, I can do those first things. I can do those first two choices. I can make those. I can live that way and still be all about myself. What. What have you seen or have you seen where someone pivots and like, oh, they go from a place of being all about themselves. They do the right thing for themselves. They do their best for themselves. To be able to say, like, oh, actually, I've looked up and I've recognized that the best gift I can make is a gift of myself.
- [16:26]
B
Well, I will probably lose half your audience when I say this, but if I were president, I was very astute. The automatic draft rule, that when you turn 18, you're going to go in the military for a year. For a year. And you know why? Because I was an officer in the Army, I learned more than a military father than I ever learned in a college classroom. And being in the military formulated my coaching philosophy as much as anything. Because Woody Hayes was a captain of a ship. He ran our football program like the military. And I did the same thing. You know, if you want to fail, you have the right to fail, Father.
- [17:14]
A
Right.
- [17:14]
B
But nobody has the right to cause other people to fail. And that's where our big obligation is today. We have an obligation. The person next to us is greater than the obligation we feel we have to ourselves. And too many times when I was in the military, what they emphasized is, it's not about you. It's about the organization and caring about the person next to you. And if you don't do everything to the very best of your ability, you may cause him to lose your life. That's a sobering thought. And that really affected me in the military. When I got out of college, I went in the military, and they emphasized, it's all about other people, not yourself, how simple it made life.
- [18:02]
A
Well, you know, I actually we, we align pretty closely. I have always had a quiet opinion. I've kept myself about like, I think it's some level, you know, there's other countries in the world that in order to be a fully fledged citizen, you've served somehow it's good to have a nation of soldiers, you know, but also because, like you said, you learn how to take responsibility. And that recognition of, I think of, of the men whose lives were completely inter during any of the wars that we've had. You know, unfortunately, we've had many wars, but they've, but they've given up. They've let their lives be interrupted, they've let their lives be massively altered or even ended for the sake of the person next to them. And I just like you're saying that that sense of changing the heart in.
- [18:50]
B
This, in this case, there's nothing easy about it. But see, if you were the military father, we wouldn't have all these problems where people don't like the country and where they find fault with everything and everybody along that line. And I love this country. Everything I have, I raised, I belong, I owe to this country. My father had a third grade education and it was it. He never went to college or anything else along that line. And he taught me one thing. We'll take care of you when you're young, you take care of us when we're old. And that's such a simple philosophy. They take care of you when you're young, you take care of them when they're old. It's not the government's responsibility. That's your responsibility as a child.
- [19:40]
A
Well, you know, it's funny that you say that that word responsibility is the, is the, is the hinge right there. Because, because whether or not it's, you know, via the military or some other thing, but I always will say, like, how do you, in our culture, how do we, how do we measure whether someone is an adult or not? You know, we don't have a clear dividing line. Say. Well, I would say this. I say a person is an adult when they begin to A, take responsibility for themselves and B, take responsibility for the people near them or the people they're connected to.
- [20:09]
B
It's a good way to put it. Father, if somebody said, why were you successful as a coach? I said, because of what we did at the end of practice. Now this sounds crazy, but it was one of the most effective things we did. I'd say to the offense, okay, no sprints, but you just run me two 20 yard dashes, full speed after practice, that's all. Just two. And so we get in the huddle and there's no defense. We call the play, we snap the ball, we run 20 yards. But I had a coach in charge of the huddle. Everybody was in the huddle the right way. We used to have Adidas shoes. So our theory was stripe on stripe. And if you were in the huddle, right, no. And maybe somebody didn't line up properly or was this far off the ball, that didn't count. Or somebody didn't run all the way through, that didn't count. And after 20 times, they'd be boned. And I'd say, hey, don't get on me. Get on your teammates. You're the ones that are keeping me here. I want to go home, too. And once they understood that it was important for them to do their role because it affected the entire group. And if they did, the entire group was going to suffer. So it was things like that. I learned the military. It just made common sense.
- [21:38]
A
It does make sense. That sense of, you're creating a culture that will take care of each other. They'll either raise each other up or. Yeah, because you don't want to let each other down. Obviously, faith is important to you. You mentioned that you know, your own father getting some real good guidance. The military giving you great guidance. How has your faith given you guidance, particularly when it comes to leadership, when it comes to how you've lived your life?
- [22:06]
B
Well, fortunately, my family was Catholic and both sides were Catholic and both grandmas were Catholic. And my Grandma Holt, she went to church every single day. She went to mass, 7 o' clock at St. Anthony. One of the most beautiful people I've ever known. And so everybody I was around was Catholic. And lo and behold, I get in high school. And we didn't have a Catholic high school, so I went to a public high school. And that's when I found out everybody wasn't Catholic. I thought everybody in the world was Catholic because that's how we were around. But what is really important, I was taught by the nuns, the Sisters of Notre Dame out of Cleveland, Ohio. They were great. I mean, some of the meanest human beings I ever met, pound for pound, were done. Sister Mary Bernadee or Sister Mary Batista, who was so kind and gentle, but they had an obligation that was to teach you religion, teach you how to live, teach you how to treat other people. And I was blessed to go to a Catholic grade school where we have catechism and we had a Midnight choir and, you know, all those things. And I loved the month of May where we would sing songs to our mother. It was just great. But those were the best days of my life because all my aunts and uncles were Catholic as well. And every time we did something, we tried to say a little prayer as well. And my son, to this day, I have four children, but Kevin, particularly, you don't dare sit down to eat without saying grace. I mean, that's a no, no, but that's the way it should be. You know, understand that we're here for a larger purpose, that God put us here for a reason. Just be the best we can be and treat people you like to be treated and not complicated.
- [24:17]
A
Yeah, that's so important. You know, I work on a college campus as well. I've been a chaplain at the University of Minnesota Duluth for. This is the start of my 21st year this fall. But one of the things I love working. I love working with. Working with the athletes. And something I find is that a lot of our athletes, they get their identity from excellence. They get their identity from being either student athletes. You know, they're great at academics and at athletics, or. Or they get their identity in their athletics. And then when that last game comes, when that last tournament's over, when the last playoff is done, when the last race is done and they step off the track, off the field, off the court, they have to find. If they haven't yet, they have to find who was it. What's a. What's a deeper identity? Um, did you ever, like, when you had. I mean, because you had, like, the. Some of the best athletes in the. In the country, in the world you worked with over the course of your. That it's really easy, I imagine, to get your identity from being the best athlete. Was there anything that you'd see them, like, would they go off their last game and they weren't going pro, where there was that crisis, where they did come to a place of realizing, okay, there's more to my life than just my sport.
- [25:26]
B
Well, I don't think there's any doubt, Father, that one of the reasons that so many professional athletes die broke is because they put everything in association with their athletic performance. And see, I was a football coach, but more important than that, as a father, as a husband, as an individual, and we have to understand our purpose and why are we here. And it wasn't because of football that I was done. It's not really important. What is important is your teammates and your family and being able to look people in the eye and being proud of who you are, what you do, what you stand for.
- [26:13]
A
Well, have there been other coaches or other. I mean, even, like, religious figures, you know, myself, I imagine that at Notre Dame, you saw a lot of priests come through, but other coaches who have said, hey, Coach Holtz, how do I. How do I do what you've done in that sense of, again, not just being excellent as a coach, but being excellent as that, that father figure. Excellent as that. Yeah. Leader.
- [26:37]
B
There are some people in coaching that do a tremendous job. Dabo Sweeney, Clemson, really does a great job. He teaches the players how to make good choices. That's all life is really all about. It's making good choices. And so we have an obligation in the leadership role or as a parent. And we have to remember this, a parent is really the coach of that family as far as setting standards and teaching people how to do things and correct them. Not reprimanding them, but correcting them. Explain to them why that choice is not the right one. It's going to help them in the long run. Just teach them how to make good choices. And there are a lot of coaches in this world that do this, that don't get their recognition, that weren't a Notre Dame, etc. But God bless how fortunate we were to be in a profession where we could influence other people. Because I say Woody Hayes died many years ago, but he's still alive with Barry Alvarez, with Urban Bayer. And these are coaches that coach for me, and I coached many ways the way Woody Hayes did, and it's all about making good choices.
- [27:57]
A
Yeah, that sounds. It makes it sound so accessible, really, ultimately, when it comes down to it, like, this is something that can actually be done. Also, it sounds like, I think sometimes when it comes to parenting, when it comes to parents who are trying to pass on the faith to their kids or anyone who's trying to pass on the faith to the next generation. Sometimes we can be obsessed with or preoccupied with performance maybe, rather than the performer or the one doing it. What would you say? Because I. Because there must been times where you had to, you know, correct someone, where you had to hold them to a standard. You know, I'll find sometimes, again, these. Among these young people who say, well, I don't want to go to Mass anymore because I had to go to Mass when I was a kid. Imagine something similar could be. Well, I don't want to work out anymore because Coach Holtz will put us through all these drills and. And I don't want to do that anymore versus like, no, no. But he was holding you to a high standard. And just like your parents were trying to give you something good when they brought you to Mass. Coach Holt was. Holt was giving you something good when he's asking you to run these 20 hour dashes. What would you say to that? Whether it be that young person who's saying, well, I don't want to do this anymore because my parents made me, or to that parent who hears this from their child, like, yeah, you know, you made us go to church. So now, now I'm rebelling against that. Any words of wisdom for that?
- [29:18]
B
Well, if you aren't as close to God as you once were, I wonder which one of you moved. What bothers me today? Father, so many people aren't interested in getting married. There isn't anything better than being married to the proper woman. I was buried at Beth for 59 years until she passed away. And that was the greatest thing was be with the right person. Because two of you together can support one another, encourage one another, help one another through the difficult side. Because one thing I do know, everybody listening to your show is going to have problems, going to have obstacles, going to have difficulties. That's part of life. But you get up off the ground, you brush off your shirt and you just move on.
- [30:08]
A
Well, you know you had something in the book on the three rules. You recounted the story of when you and Beth had their house fire. And there's something that you had said to just encourage her to keep moving forward about the value of what you've lost. Do you remember what that was?
- [30:28]
B
Oh yes, father. It was June 22, 2017. I was awakened at 2:30 in the morning with a smoke alarm and I awoke my wife. We put on her bathrobe and got out of the house. It was on fire. Lightning had struck it, it caught it on fire. And lo and behold, there we were. The house was burning. The fire truck came and they had trouble with the water supply. In any event, we lost everything. Everything we had in that house was burnt to the ground. And there my wife is sitting there Sunday morning crying. And I said, you know, you have 12 hours to cry, to feel sorry for yourself, to wallow in self pity. But after 12 hours we're going to look forward. The Lord put eyes in front of our head rather than back so we can see where we're going rather than where we've been. And I said, we're going to build this house bigger and better. And I gave her an unlimited budget and she exceeded it. We managed to build a house again. And yeah, we lost a lot. So much paraphernalia. Memories. We have memories in our heart, not in an item.
- [31:52]
A
Wow. And then nothing. You lost that night you were going to take with you anyways.
- [31:56]
B
No, absolutely. You can't take it with you.
- [32:00]
A
And that's. And what, what an incredible. Like. But you're saying when you're yoked together with your spouse and to be able to endure that. So, so she got to grieve for both of you maybe. And you got to be the strong one for both of you and that sense of being. And I always. You mentioned the, the crisis in marriage. And we'll wrap this up. I have one question for you before the end. But that crisis in marriage, so few young people getting married, even in the church. But the weddings, I get to do. One of the gospels that many, many young people choose is the Sermon on the Mount, where at the end of the whole Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, he says, those who hear these words of mine and don't act on them like the person who built their house on sand, you know, the rains fell, the floods came, winds blew buffett of the house and it collapsed. But those who hear these words of mine and act on them was like the one who build their house on solid rock. Same rains, same floods, same winds blowing, buffeting the house, but it did not collapse because it was set solidly on rock. And it sounds like one of the things you're saying of that word of encouragement of when you have that life or whatever, whether it's a single person currently or someone in their vocation, priesthood, religious or married person, is to like, if you build your lives on that foundation of Jesus, like doing what he asks us again, doing the right thing as your best, caring for those around you, then, yeah, the same rain, storms, fires, but it doesn't collapse because it's that fall solidly on rock.
- [33:22]
B
Oh, absolutely. You know, having a faith in God doesn't mean you aren't going to have problems. It enables you. You can handle them because you understand what's really important to you. And I'm happy to say that all nine of our grandchildren are good, strong Catholics and have a good Catholic family that they're raising their children in. They're not all married yet, but that's their choice as they go along. But all we can try to do is support our children, our grandchildren.
- [33:57]
A
Well, I have one last question, if that's okay. This is actually someone had written in, his name's Michael no relation. Michael K. From Florida. And he's followed your career, and he says you've had 12 stops on your coaching career from Iowa to New York Jets, University of Notre Dame. He asked the question, he says, as you grew professionally and relocated into new surroundings, new teams, new environments, how accepted were you into the Catholic faith communities along the way? Was everyone welcoming to you of you and your family as a Catholic, or was it ever a battle you had to kind of fight when you went to a new place?
- [34:36]
B
Well, don't ever run to run away from something, but run to something. When you're looking at this job, should I go there? Don't run away from a job, but be sure and run to a job. And I love coaching another day because during 2A days, which was basically 30 days, we covered a proverb each day.
- [35:00]
A
Wow. Wow, nice.
- [35:01]
B
And you know what's really amazing is Mike Grass Mason, a great defensive lineman, many years later, said that was one of the most important things that he remembers was because proverbs teaches you how to get along with fellow Peas parables teach you how to get along with God. But I just think it was great being at Notre Dame because I could express my faith and not have to worry about somebody calling the president or being upset, etc. That's really the amazing thing. That was one of the great things. But as you go around and I look back and I think, you know, yeah, all seven spots were great. William and Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame, South Carolina, they're all great. But I'm not sure I could have been just as happy had I stayed at William Mary for the entire career. But then again, it's not my decision. I can't go back and change things. But I just tell people what I learned. And like I tell people and coaches call me all the time, I don't give advice. Advice means you got to do this. I give you my opinion. When I did it this way, we lost. When I did it that way, we won. Now you. You make that choice.
- [36:34]
A
You make the call.
- [36:36]
B
It just. I've been blessed and just trying to be a good, positive person. And, you know, I have an awful lot of physical limitations now, Father. I can't walk. I can't play golf. I can't stand. But when I'm sitting, I don't have any pain and my mind still functions. That's one of the advantages, Father, basically being a dull person all your life, when you start to lose it, people can't recognize that. Well, you can't remember that Guy's name, he said, well, he couldn't do that five years ago, so it's no big deal. But it's when I'm standing up and I have problems, but I count my blessings. My wife, 59 years, I lost her five years ago, but it's been very, very difficult. But now the grief is starting to turn to gratitude. You think of all the good times we had together. One thing, the best advice I give everybody is a father, is make sure your children know how much you love your mother. I never said a negative word to my wife or about my wife in front of our children. Now, my wife and I had a wonderful relationship and raised four beautiful children, so we're blessed.
- [37:54]
A
Wow. You know, Coach, it's. It seems like just listening to you, and again, as I said, I've heard you before, and I've really. I've been a distant admirer in the sense of just. It seems like you're a man of, I mean, many things, but one is of principles and the others of patience. That the principles in that sense of like, no, here's the foundational principles, like you mentioned. I'm not going to give advice, but I will hear the principles I live by. Do the right thing, do your best, care about others. Like, those are the principles I live by. The fundamentals are, here's how you win fundamentals, then go on to the next thing. And also patience in that sense of, I'm not going to critique the performer. I'm going to critique the performance. That willingness to give grace but also hold people to a standard. And that seems like the balance, right? The principles is the standard and the giving people grace is the patience that it just seems like you've had with your athletes, in your marriage, with your kids and grandkids. And that's just, That's a huge gift, massive gift that you've been been to, again, not just to football, but to the faith and. And to this world. And so just really grateful.
- [39:00]
B
I've been blessed, Father, to be with good people.
- [39:03]
A
Well, I got to be with a good person right now. And Coach, I once again just want to. Cannot begin to thank you. I have one question that we like to ask of every guest at the end of the podcast, and it's this simple question. If someone came to you and said, I want to live out God's presence in the world, like, I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, but I have no idea where to start, what would you tell them?
- [39:31]
B
Well, first thing, get down on your knees and ask God to guide you. Because, you know, Father, the president of Notre Dame, great human being, always said, come, Holy Spirit, and God will guide you. If you really want God's gift in your life, just ask him and accept it and open up your heart for it. But it's so important to have a faith in God. And I believe that, particularly when I'm 89 years of age now, you start saying, what. What was life really all about? It's about helping other people and those three rules. So I appreciate you having me on, Father, and thank you so much.
- [40:22]
A
You bet. Thank you. Is it okay if I close with a prayer right now?
- [40:25]
B
Please?
- [40:25]
A
I'll say a quick prayer. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Father in heaven, I give you thanks. Thank you for. For Coach Holtz. Thank you for his wife, Beth. Thank you for their 59 years of marriage. Thank you for their children and grandchildren and for all the athletes who were moved and experienced what it is to have a father, what it is to have someone who cares about them in their lives. We ask you to please bless Coach and bless his family and all those he loves. Please bless every person who's listening or watching this podcast. We ask you to please be with us all, give us exactly what it is that we need for today, and help us to be grateful that you have called us from this world and in this world to be your hands and feet, your presence in this world. Once again. I want to thank everyone here. If you.
- [41:10]
B
If.
- [41:10]
A
Thank you for listening to the called podcast. If this podcast inspired you, the conversation with Coach Holt inspired you, share it with someone who needs encouragement today. I think what Coach Holtz. Holtz had to say today was very encouraging. Subscribe whenever you get. When you get wherever you get those podcasts. And if you have a question or a story of someone living out their calling to serve others in the name of Jesus, please email us@infohecatholicinitiative.org and until next time, remember, we've all been called. Let's start answering it.