HEADLINE

Devon Hind’s “Run For Your Life” … An Inspiration for Everyone

Lyn Scarbrough

November 21, 2014 at 12:02 pm.

It was September, 1993 and Devon Hind, the former All-American track star, had been away from the sport for a dozen years. His lawn service and handyman business had been successful, but it was time for him to return to coaching, so he accepted a part-time position at Simmons Middle School in Hoover, Ala.

On Sept. 8, after his boys and girls teams ran their first cross country race of the year, Hind penned a hand-written note to his athletes.

“What a proud coach you have!” it started.

Hind didn’t realize it then, but that would be the first of many beginning lines in messages over many years, designed to inspire the young people under his influence.

In that first message, his instructions were solid …

“All I want you to do is the best that you can,” he told the girls’ team. “When you do that, you’ll be successful.”

“Don’t get discouraged if you got beat by someone you didn’t think you should have,” he challenged the boys’ team. “Take it as a challenge.”

And, he closed with this maxim – “It’s all in the state of mind.”

Coach Hind continued writing those messages, some single-page notes, some lengthy letters from the heart. Over the next two decades, he never stopped.

Now, Devon Hind’s admonitions are in the book, “Run For Your Life: Twenty-One Years of Inspirational Letters from a Coach to his Athletes.”

If you’re a current or former athlete or coach, you need to read this book. But, this one isn’t limited to people in the sports field. The messages are applicable for anyone in any walk of life who has ever needed encouragement or guidance.

“Run For Your Life” would be an ideal gift for Christmas, Father’s Day, birthdays or at any time for any special person. It can be purchased by contacting Coach Hind at [email protected] or by contacting Bluff Park Hardware at 205-823-1953. You can check out the web site at www.devonhindpublications.com.

The book is unique in content and format. Rather than the professional appearance of a typewritten page, each message is a scanned replica of the original hand-written letter, complete with creative headlines, smiley faces and the coach’s signature. You feel the passion and dedication in every page.

Hind challenges and praises his team whether they underachieved or won state championships. And, the coach knows a lot about winning championships.

A state two-mile high school title winner in Michigan, he was a four-time junior college All-American before joining the track team at the University of Alabama. He was a five-time All-SEC performer and set the school steeplechase record. He took over as head track coach at Hoover (Ala.) High in 2003 where his teams have won 19 state championships and 24 runner-up finishes. There have been 91 individual state titlists and his teams have captured 23 state relay championships. In 2013, the National Scholastic Sports Foundation honored him as The Mike Byrnes Indoor National Track Coach of the Year.

Hind and his wife, Mary, have three daughters and three grandchildren. He has been active in his church as a deacon, Sunday School teacher and choir member and has worked with two mission teams to Ukraine, supporting orphan children in that Eastern European country.

“Run For Your Life” includes more than 200 letters, focusing on life topics, such as risks, goals, pain and confidence, among many others.

Some were in championship celebration, like in October, 2002 … “Don’t judge your success by the number of pats you get on your back. … Gain your satisfaction as you look back upon your journey. Relish the moment you’re in. Life is a journey, enjoy every bit of it.”

Sometimes there was disappointment, like in September, 2006 … “Things happen other than what we expect, other than what we had planned. … I say ‘such is life.’ You know, that’s not always a bad thing. It’s always possible to find something positive in any situation.”

Many of Hind’s insights came from personal experiences away from the track, like when his daughter, Whitney choked on a pickle or his three-day standoff with daughter, Sara, when she didn’t put her toys away.

A September, 2001 letter entitled “Challenge,” just a week after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, addressed the shock and uncertainty, and stressed the importance of planning strategy and pulling together.

An October, 2002 letter, entitled “Loyalty” was a dedication to Sam Sheehy, director of the Boys Club in Auburn, Mich., a man who according to Hind’s parents “had more of a positive influence on my life than any other individual.” Many of Hind’s athletes might say that same thing about him.

Hind mixes humor and symbolism in his messages, including in the titles of many letters … Bugs, FIDO, Cuckoo, and Cookies to name a few. (Spoiler alert: Those messages are built around a dead wasp, an example from a one-armed Vietnam blast victim, an old Jack Nicholson movie, and a vegetable dinner at Burt’s on the Bluff cafe.)

More than twenty years after that first letter, the author admits that the effort has far outgrown his initial plan.

“I never intended to put my letters in a book when I began them,” Hind acknowledges. “In fact, the first letter just happened. It was received so well that I wrote another one the next week … and the next … and the pattern was started. On the few occasions that I haven’t written a letter, the athletes and parents told me they looked forward to them – ‘you better not skip writing again next week’ was the message.”

“I’ve laughed at the idea many times,” he said, “thinking who would want to read those!”

In a November, 2003 letter, Hind discussed a Scripture suggested by Sunday School class friend, Kitty Hester. It was Philippians 4:8, an admonition from the Apostle Paul to “fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right” and to “dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about.”

He closed that letter with this message to his student-athletes – “I realize that I’ve had so much to praise God for and to be glad about. Thank you for sharing a part of your life with me.”

Thank you, Coach Hind, for sharing your letters, for sharing your insights and for sharing your heart.

Thank you for “Run For Your Life.”