Homecoming is the highlight of fall semesters at colleges throughout the country so we were excited when Saturday, October 22nd rolled around in Due West. At a morning brunch ceremony four remarkable people were inducted into the Erskine Flying Fleet Hall of Fame as part of the Homecoming festivities. Their accomplishments to Erskine Athletics deemed them worthy of being inducted into the hall of fame but it was their acceptance speeches in front of their friends and families which made the event so special.



Dr. Richard Taylor '69 has been a lifelong devotee to the Flying Fleet. Dr. Taylor's entire family are Erskine graduates. His loyalty as a fan, team physician, adjunct faculty for athletic training, and faithful financial supporter made his induction into the hall a no-brainer. Dr. Taylor's acceptance speech was filled with emotions of gratitude which is ironic since it has been his service to the college that stands out the most. Dr. Taylor is living proof that by being a servant you in turn can receive incredible internal personal reward.


Mickie Phillips Ellis '89 played softball and volleyball while at Erskine as an E.B. Kennedy scholar and Jake Todd award winner. Mickie has gone onto a life of service at nearby Dixie High School as a teacher and coach. Much like Dr. Taylor, her influence and impact has been tremendous after her college days at Erskine. Mickie has proven to be an oustanding developer of young women's character. Her speech displayed her passion for what she does and how she has used sport as her ministry to influence the lives of young people.

Eric Moody finished Erskine in 1993 as the one of the school's all-time finest pitchers. His career blossomed after leaving Erskine as he ended up in Arlington, Texas pitching in the major leagues for the Rangers. Eric is an incredibly humble man who expressed his gratutude to God for his accomplishments and the sacrifices made by his family, especially his wife. Eric thanked his dad for what he didn't teach him, which was the mindset of failure. His most touching moment came as Eric thanked his young boys for playing the game of baseball the right way,"If I played like you two, being a great teammate and sportsman, then I played it the right way."

Billy Lesesne graduated from Erskine in 1987 after a stellar soccer career that saw him named to the NAIA All-American team. Billy had grown up in Due West as his legendary dad had served the college as dean of students and director of athletics for many years. Billy returned to coach both Erskine soccer teams in the mid-90s, leading the Erskine women to the conference title in 1997. Billy is currently the associate head women's coach at Duke where the Blue Devils are ranked #3 nationally. Billy received an extra surprise from his former coach and current head coach at the College Charleston, Ralph Lundy, who showed up to present Billy his citation despite having a game that night in Charleston. Billy's speech included what an incredible impact Erskine had on his life and how soccer had begun to flourish in Due West while he was a boy thanks primarily to Coach Lundy.

It was an awesome ceremony because four incredible people shared their Erskine experiences and all four had one major theme. Erskine athletics had truly impacted their lives. Yes, they all had enjoyed incredible accomplishments but for each none of that was the real story. The story was what had been done for them. It is truly remarkable to be inducted into a Hall of Fame but what is more remarkable is to see people so deserving be so humble and gracious. The emotions of all four were touching. I walked away from the brunch wishing every student-athlete at Erskine today would be impacted in their experiences the way Dr. Richard Taylor, Mickie Ellis, Eric Moody, and Billy Lesesne had been in theirs. For it no longer is so much about what they accomplished but about what they took away from their experiences and relationships as a member of the Flying Fleet. It is memorable experiences that will bring about emotions for an entire lifetime and make them members of the remarkable Flying Fleet Forever.

September was a busy month. Busy can be fun as long as everything has a priority. Along with home soccer, volleyball, and cross country events, we had all of our sports begin practicing in September. Our tennis, golf, and softball teams even played in tournaments, and we saw some great accomplishments. Our men's soccer team defeated Division I Presbyterian, our softball team defeated Division I Furman, our men's cross country team dominated our home meet, Sandra Campbell was twice named the Conference Carolinas "Player of the Week" in volleyball, and our women's soccer team finished the month with its best start in six years. September has set an incredible standard to our year of the remarkable in Fleet athletics.

It was easy to look at my calendar at the first of the month and see how busy it was going to be. The problem with calendars though are that they only list the predictable. I knew all about our scheduled events but I have learned that being an athletic director is more about putting out "spur of the moment" fires on a daily basis. Planning is great, but most of the time my daily plans don't always get much attention. I am often reminded of the Rascal Flatts song, "If you want to see God laugh, show Him your plans." I realize as I get older (I won't get carried away and say wiser) that you can't do everything so you better learn to prioritze and focus. No question daily fires have to be addressed and at times watered, but not all of them can be given the same amount of attention. There has to be a priority list determining how they are handled so that the right amount of focus is given. How do you decide on priorities? Lou Holtz always describes it as "WIN," What's Important Now. That is fairly easy in this job. One of the most fun things we did this month was take a group photo of one athlete in uniform from each team (see the top of the blog). As I look at this picture I don't need to determine what's important now. Any issues dealing directly with student-athletes is top shelf priority everyday. Our job as coaches and staff are to provide student-athletes with the best experience possible so any issues dealing directly with student-athlete experience have my focus. We dealt with some tough issues this month in regards to student-athletes. Some issues required decisions that were not so fun to make. Regardless, whether we make the right decisions or not, we know the priority. There isn't an NCAA report, a budget concern, or scheduling conflict that supercedes the student-athlete experience. I love the picture taken above because it represents all that Flying Fleet Athletics is about...the student-athletes. No matter how busy October gets, we will keep our eyes focused on them. For it is the student-athletes who create the remarkable in the land of the Fleet.


**Erskine Director of Athletics Mark Peeler post a new blog on the first Monday of each month**














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