You Can Win Too!: Success Favors the Prepares Mind

By Rudy Hubbard

Rudy Hubbard is a beloved coach, who performed well in football, growing up. He overcame many societal struggles, to find himself one of the first African-American football coaches at a major university.

Successful in his role, as a recruiter & educator, Coach Hubbard was sought after to assume a head coaching position at Florida A&M University. After a few seasons, his teams proved the only undefeated in the entire nation; they competed and won next-level National Championships in a way which had never been done and has yet to be repeated. Recognized for his substantial role and performance as head coach and his entire resume, Hubbard was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

In this book, Coach Hubbard shares his life and lessons learned about winning. The earlier chapters introduce his background and experiences, while later Hubbard expounds upon many of what he considers the most necessary components of developing a successful team, family, or workgroup.

The reader gradually transitions from being a companion along Hubbard's life journey and learning lessons with him to being coached by him. Because he is so relatable to so many, any reader can identify with him and thereby grow from what he shares in You Can Win Too!

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781667815305

Book preview

COVER.jpg

You Can Win Too!

Copyright © 2021 by Coach Ruddy Hubbard

ISBN: 978-1-66781-530-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express, written permission of the publisher or the author. The exception is reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Contents

FORWARD - YOU CAN WIN TOO!

01 - FIRST IMPRESSIONS ABOUT WINNING

02 - ELEMENTARY WINS

03 - WINNING AT THE NEXT LEVEL

04 - WIN WITH PEOPLE

05 - WHO’S IN YOUR CORNER?

06 - SEIZING THE MOMENT

07 - WINNING AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

08 - NEW BEGINNING

09 - LIFE’S DILEMMAS

10 - COMMITTED TO FIND SUCCESS

11 - LEVERAGING YOUR NETWORK

12 - CHOOSE YOUR PAIN

13 - LIFELONG LEARNING

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Landmarks

Cover

Copyright Page

Table of Contents

Forward

YOU CAN WIN TOO!

During my life, I have put myself in some pretty difficult situations, and it had to be God’s grace that allowed me to get out of them. So, as I undertake writing this book, I begin by thanking God for His Blessings.

And as I look back, to consider my humble, but very rich childhood, I give special honor & praise to my father and mother, who always made me feel I was special. The more aware I have become, the more I realize all the major personal sacrifices they made to support me. Words can never express how grateful I am to have been blessed by the mom and dad God chose for me.

The third influential person, whom I must honor is Wayne Woodrow (Woody) Hayes; one way and/or another, Coach Hayes proved influential on my young adulthood impressions about winning and what it takes to become a winner.

To be clear, it is these shoulders upon which I stand, as I place pen to paper in hopes to pour much of what I know on the subject of winning.

Throughout life, I have grown evermore convinced that indeed life does offer each of us opportunities to win greatly. And if all goes as planned, by the time you’ve turned your last page, you’ll not be the same person you were when you turned the first. I pray over these words, as I write them, that they convey my experiences in a way that you’ll grow in confidence that certainly, You Can Win TOO!!

CHAPTER ONE

FIRST IMPRESSIONS ABOUT WINNING

I was probably four or five years old when I overheard Aunt Ruby, my father’s older sister, telling some people that I was named after her. It was a fact I was completely unaware of at the time. What happened was that she essentially gave up on her hopes for a female child from my family, which was understandable. After all, I already had a brother who was seven years my senior – my parents had more than anticipated that if their first child was a boy, the next child would almost certainly be a girl; at least, that was their thinking. My aunt didn’t have any children at the time, and she was especially expecting that I was going to be a girl. Growing up, she and my father had developed a strong bond, as the family relocated from Alabama. She even physically protected my father until he reached his teenage years; they continued to have each other’s back well into adulthood.

A lot of people who lived in their neighborhood, including Cousin JT and some other people, had their freedom actualized from the South by my Aunt Ruby-she would go down South and get them because they were afraid to try to leave; she would then bring them to Ohio and assist them in finding employment. She was, in fact, a rough customer. My suspicions were confirmed when I discovered that she was bootlegging soda products and selling the liquor for her own profit. She married a man who enjoyed being outside, no matter the season. They were able to make a decent living during the hunting and fishing seasons, as well as other similar activities. He would go to work in the mill, but as soon as he got out, he was out hunting or fishing . Even though there was always a lot going on around them, he couldn’t even write his name. She ran roughshod over everything - she had complete control over him and everything else in the room because she held a significant role in the family. Overall, she was huge, everyone listened to her, and she cussed them out if they didn’t follow her instructions. The fact that she was also protective of them and knew exactly what they required meant that they had to respect her. So that’s how Rudy came to be my given name. Ruby was her name, and when I surprised everyone by coming out as a male, she reacted by giving me the closest thing she could think of.

My mother began spanking me when I reached the age where I could discern between right and wrong. However, Aunt Ruby couldn’t bear the sight of me being spanked and would tell my mother You are going to have to wait until I leave, because she was leaving for home at three o’clock and I don’t want to see him get spanked. She was always serious about it, so they had to come to an agreement. When it came down to it, she was a guardian angel in the truest sense of the word; she had been that for my father up until the point where he began to be protective of her in return. Aunt Ruby had a lot of influence on me and naming me was just one of those influences. She was most likely diabetic; she always required a cold glass of water, and it appeared that I was the only one who could make the water just right. She was always trying to make me feel good about myself. With hindsight, I am surprised at how special she made me feel about the ice water that I prepared for her. Because whenever she remarked on the ice water I brought her, she would say something like: Not just anyone can make ice water; No! No! He knows exactly how to do it and he does it perfectly, yes! Because of this, I felt unique and special. Events like this, which transpired between me and my relatives and neighbors, helped me to develop a winning identity that has served me well throughout my life: the identity of a winner.

We were all members of the neighborhood’s First Baptist Church, and every Sunday, my parents would get me dressed up so that I could accompany my grandmother to the service there. My mother and father were not regular churchgoers, but my mother took great pride in making sure that I looked exactly the part she had written for me in the script. She was overjoyed whenever I left for church. Aunt Ruby and my grandmother were regular churchgoers, so Aunt Ruby was always watching over my parents as my mother dressed me each Sunday. My mother appreciated Aunt Ruby’s approval, not only in terms of how she