"Are you serious?" Martin asked in amazement. "You really died and saw yourself on the floor? For real?"

"Yes, Martin," said Coach Ken. "I really died."

"Did you see the light?" Martin asked. "You always hear about people seeing the light when they die and come back to life."

"No, I didn't see any light. But I heard a voice. A loud, clear, booming voice that said, Why are you persecuting my men? Stop condemning them. Stop bringing them down. Lift them up. Speak truth into them. Bring out the best in them.

"Next thing I know I'm in a hospital room and the doctors tell me that I had died for 20 minutes. No brain damage. No heart problem. Nothing, except a craving for fish tacos. Hard to believe, huh?"

"Yeah," Martin said.

"They called it a miracle. From then on I was like a new person. I felt different. I had always felt like I was in the first quarter of my life and I had three-quarters to go. After The Day I felt that I needed to live my life as if it was the fourth quarter, because I wasn't sure when the game was going to end. I knew it was time to change my ways and the ways I coached. I was a 300-pound jerk who never said one positive word to the players. I expected them to play the game the way I did, and so I coached the way I was coached. But after The Day, I knew I couldn't run people over any more. Instead I needed to invite them on my bus. I needed to bring out the best in them by sharing the best within me.

"I started eating healthy, lots of fish, started running, took a walk of prayer every morning, and one day during my walk I had the idea for the playbook. Right then I put it together and started to share it. So, when you first asked me why I wanted to help you, now you know this is why. It was because the day I died, I was given a new life, and I wanted to do more and give more with the life I had been given."

Martin was stunned. Coach Ken's words convicted him in a positive way. He realized that everyone needed a positive and supportive team to be his best. No one does it alone. He thought of all the people that God had put on his path to help him over the years and realized that he was indeed a product of their support, love, and guidance. And during Training Camp, the biggest test and challenge of his life, God gave him the greatest and most important teacher he had ever had—and the one he needed most. Coach Ken had become more than a coach. In a short time, he had become a friend and even more like a father. He walked over to coach Ken and thanked him for all he had done for him and taught him. He gave him a hug and said, "I'll see you tomorrow."