De La Salle Coach Frank Allocco Defines the Essence of Coaching – Putting Yourself Second April 14, 2009

A Winning Coaching Philosophy – Put Yourself Second

De La Salle Coach Frank Allocco Defines the Essence of Faith-Based Coaching

The dreams of a young athlete to lead the Notre Dame Varsity football team down the gridiron were dashed after three years of hard work in the first minute of the first game of his senior year when a broken collar bone became the instrument of life-altering change. Science tells us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction but the nature of the reaction, when it comes to life-altering experiences, can be positive or negative regardless of the situation. The key determining factor is how we approach dealing with the cards we are dealt. Realizing that your greatest dream may not be the path to your greatest success was the foundation for building one of the greatest successes in high school basketball history.

Catholics@Work is proud to announce that Frank Allocco, the Head Basketball Coach at De La Salle High School in Concord will be our featured speaker at the Tuesday, April 14, 2009 breakfast forum.

Mr. Allocco was named the head basketball coach at De La Salle in May of 1997. In twelve years his teams have won 12 league championships, 7 section championships, 3 regional championships and 2 state championships. They have been to the Final Four of the state seven of the last eleven years. Coach Allocco was named the National Coach of the year in 2000. In January of 2004, Coach Allocco was recognized as the California Interscholastic Federation North Coast Section Honor Coach for 2003-04. In 2005 he was the Head Coach at the Michael Jordan All-American game at Madison Square Garden. Coach Allocco is the only coach in California State History to win a State Championship at two different schools and is the third all-time winning percentages.

Coach Allocco draws on the words of radio actor, screen writer, director and producer, George Seaton, “Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to”. Interestingly Seaton was born in South Bend, Indiana, the home town of Coach Allocco’s Alma Mater, the University of Notre Dame.

Mr. Allocco became the Head Basketball Coach at Northgate High School in 1991. Prior to his arrival Northgate had just 1 winning season in their previous ten years. In his six year tenure the Broncos compiled a 167-28 won-lost record. They were the California State Champions in 1995 and were the State Runner-up in 1996. He was named East Bay Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996.

Coach Allocco will share with us aspects of his journey from a passionate high school and college athlete, whose dreams were dashed, how he found his path, the essence of his concept of faith-based coaching and how we can embrace these principles in our everyday lives.

Alison Yount, president of Catholics@Work said, “After listening to Coach Allocco the first thing that comes to mind were the words of Henry Ward Beecher a 19th century social reformer and abolitionist, ‘Ones best success comes after their greatest disappointments”. “It is important for all of us”, Yount continues, “to listen to what the coach has to say and find a way to take it to heart.”

The event will be held at Crow Canyon Country Club, 711 Silver Lake Drive, Danville, California 94526 on Tuesday, April 14, 2009. A full buffet will be served starting at 7:00 am (mass will be offered at 6:30 am at the same location). The costs are $20.00 dollars for members and $25.00 for non-members. To register (and to pay online if you wish) go to our website, www.catholicsatwork.org

Official Website: http://www.CatholicsAtWork.org