To the man filled with quotes, Coach Eckert.

What if I told you, just about every practice during my spurt as a Varsity basketball player (3 years) started and ended with the same thing? Your first thought is that obviously practices start and end with stretching, running, or scrimmaging, but you’re wrong. Every Liberty practice was kicked off with an uplifting quote from Coach Eckert and wrapped up with an even more inspirational one. I was introduced to hundreds of quotes from hundreds of speakers ranging from basketball coaches to disciples in the Bible.

However, out of those hundred quotes, only one sums up my relationship with Coach Eckert: “The Pain of Regret is far worse than the Pain of Discipline.”

From the early summer mornings and the late school nights in the gym, the discipline was prominent in our relationship, but the regrets were not. Everything you approached on the court and off the court, you approached with the same mentality and faith, your intense preparation for everything prevented regrets. Without your preparation and dedication, I wouldn’t be anywhere near “regretless” and as a team we wouldn’t be near as successful.

As I looked up at the scoreboard and saw the time run off the clock in the Regional Semifinals against Lancaster, I knew my life would be haunted with the regret and disappointment of not winning a state championship. Somehow though, as the team cried in the locker room, you spoke with no regrets. You put everything you had into the preparation for that game and that’s all anyone could’ve ever ask for. I will always envy, that unlike anyone else in the room, you experienced failure and still won.

The past three years playing for you have been memorable. The fact that no matter what was going on, ups or downs, wins or losses, your door remained open. You took the reigns of a group of six best friends (Cam, B, Carter, X, Trey, and I), that had been playing together for the past six or so years, and coached us like we were family. Instead of separating us, you brought us closer together. Not only did you help us grow on the basketball court, you helped us grow off the court too. You were way more than a basketball coach to all of us.

On top of that, I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to play this past year. You took a chance on a 5’10” guard, that can’t touch rim, and for that I am forever grateful. You gave me the opportunity to compete alongside my best friends and cherish every moment on that court. You ignored the stereotypes and established a path for me to succeed. For 32 minutes a night, I gave you everything I had, because I knew you were giving us everything you had.

So Coach Eckert, I want to thank you for eliminating all those regrets from my life without any notice. I want to thank you for believing in me as a basketball player when I didn’t believe in my own abilities. I want to thank for making me a better man and leader through faith and hardwork. I want to thank you for always demanding and pursuing perfection. I want to thank you for making me a better leader by displaying how a good leader acts. I want to thank you for turning a team of athletes into a family. I want to thank you for being my coach.

A quote for the man filled with quotes, “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” -Steve Jobs

Thank you for everything and God Bless,

Bradley Saad

Dear coach Eckert,

There are so many emotions that run through my mind when I think of you. To you, the word “Coach” went so much further than the basketball court. Not only did you teach each and every player that went through the Liberty Redhawk Basketball system the correct way to play the game, you taught us how to be better men. And for that I want to thank you.

I want to thank you for the influence that you have had on my life. To me you were kind of like a second father figure. You always had our best interest in mind off the court. You always made sure that we were doing well in the classroom, so that when we left you we would live up to our full potential. You are one of the reasons I had success in high school. I always had someone looking over my shoulder that truly had my back. For this I am forever grateful.

I want to thank you for pushing me to my limits. When I thought I was at my breaking point, you always preached that this was making us mentally tough. At the time I thought this was only to be used during a hard basketball game, but you were preparing us for the real world. Life is going to push you to your limits, but choosing to keep going is what makes a man successful. You also taught me how to be the best man, husband, and friend I can be by the example you set. I will continue to use the lessons you have taught until my life meets its end.

God put you in my life to put me on the right track to becoming the right version of a man and I can never repay you for how you have impacted me. I will miss you.

Thank you for everything, I love you coach

Trey Curry

To coach Eckert,

The man who approached every practice the same despite his attitude, to put his team’s success first.

I want to thank you for holding me accountable for everything I did and demanding excellence everyday. You have changed the way I approached not only athletics, but life. You have helped become a better man on the court and off of it. You are one of the few people, who has left a mark on my life, that will be there forever.

For every time you built me,I am grateful. For every moment, you tore me down, I am grateful. And forever instance you taught me something on the court and off, I am grateful.

Not only did you teach me how to act on the court, you were a model of how to be a man, father, and husband, that I one day strive to be.

To the man who taught me something greater than basketball,

-Cameron Kurak

To Coach Eckert,

You taught me how to be the best man that I could be. You showed me that without people doing the little things in life, you won’t accomplish the bigger things. Everyday for the past three years, coming to basketball was an outlet and was a time to be with a group of people that I call my family and I thank you for it.

You always had a positive outlook on life and always seemed to make us laugh. You wanted us to be the best on the court and the best off the court. Through all your stories,quotes, and life lessons I have become a better son, friend, and man. You made sure that we did the right things on and off the court and through this I know what it takes to reach my full potential. I want to thank you for helping me understand myself and the world around me. I have grown so much in the past three years and I look up to you as a mentor and family.

I learned that life is bigger than myself and you have influenced my life so much. I thank you for pushing me to my limits even when I didn’t want to because you saw something more in me. I want to thank you for the sacrifices you made for the team to make us the best. I catch myself quoting you because of how much you influenced my life.

Thank you for everything you have done,

Xavier Coleman