Sportsman of the Year!

By: Tom Verducci (Sports Illustrated; Dec. 7, 2009; pg. 60)


"He (Derek Jeter; Shortstop for the New York Yankees) was brought up to respect his environment and respect himself," Dorothy (Derek Jeter's Mother) says.

"When you like who you are, you're going to respect others. It's very simple."

"You've got to have strong values because there are people who don't want to see you attain or achieve," Charles (Derek Jeter's Father) says. "I don't think you magically get those values when you're successful. If you don't have it by then, you're going to be in a lot of trouble."

"I would be the same person regardless of what I was doing or where I was playing," says Jeter, who still talks to his parents each day. "It's not like I'm trying to act a certain way to make people happy. I'm just who I am. But again, it's something that I learned at a young age."


Coach Brown's Thoughts: Derek Jeter has always appeared to be a man of integrity and after reading this article, now I know where he got his wonderful values from. His Mother & Father made sure that their son & daughter received the love, knowledge & discipline to become strong, conscious & humble young people that would Prayerfully grow into successful adults. From what I have seen, it has worked. It is a beautiful thing!

Congratulations to Derek Jeter on being chosen as the 2009 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year!