Colts Coach Balances Football & Fatherhood
by auditioning contributor Sarah
Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy has his priorities straight. Even though he says he doesn’t get to spend as much time with his kids as his father did with him, he tries to balance his personal and professional lives. "Last night my son, a ninth grader, had a basketball game. So I left work, went to the game, came back and worked late into the evening. Those are things that are important to be able to do and fortunately, I’m the boss. I can do that," Dungy told a crowd at the Indianapolis Business Journal Breakfast last week.
Tony also hopes he has played an influential role in his players’ lives. "When I leave Indianapolis, I hope my players will say they got coached well, they got prepared well, and they learned something about life. And if they say – I’ll really be happy – if they say that and the fact that we won three Super Bowls, that would be nice, too," he said.
Tony is the "head coach" of the organization, All-Pro Dad, a program featuring NFL players and coaches who want to encourage men to be better fathers. He and his wife, Lauren, have five children, Jordan, Eric, Tiara, Jade, and the late James Dungy.
Tony’s son James, 18, committed suicide in December 2005. At his funeral, Tony advised, "Parents hug your kids every chance you get. Tell them you love them every chance you get because you don’t know when it’s going to be the last time."
Source: WTHR, All Pro Dad, www.colts.com
