PARENT NEWS
September 18, 2026
At our principals meeting on Tuesday this week, we had a great discussion about ch. 15 in Daniel Coyle’s The Culture Code, which is about leading/coaching people toward proficiency. One of our first activities was sharing with each other about someone who had genuinely helped us get better at something, whether professional or personal. What specifically did they do?
My share was about Eric Scharrenberg. He was the Athletic Director at Valley Christian High School in San Jose, CA when I worked there from 2000-2008. He was one of the first people to name my leadership gifts for me. I had inklings, but he pointed them out overtly.
But he didn’t stop there.
He gave me the opportunity to try using those gifts with the safety net of his help and supervision. I got to try organizing and leading some of the tournaments we hosted at our school. We would meet ahead of time, and he would ask me questions that led me to think about everything that would be needed to execute the event well, and when each night was finished, we would debrief together about the successes of the day and what could be improved for the next night.
I loved learning about leadership that way.
And it made me feel proud when the coaches of the other teams would compliment the event and ask if they could return the following year.
There’s an “old” movie (from 1981) called Chariots of Fire about the 1924 British olympic track and field team. One of their best runners was Eric Liddel, a Scotsman, and a devout Christian. His family wanted him to become a missionary and join them in China, but he wasn’t ready to set aside his running career. When he tells his sister that he will only join them after he completes his running goals, the disappointment on her face is palpable. Seeing her disapproval, he delivers this iconic answer:
“Jennie, you’ve got to understand: I believe that God made me for a purpose—for China, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”
When I run, I feel His pleasure . . .
That was how Eric Scharrenberg helped me feel about leadership, and that’s how we have an opportunity to help our kids feel, as both parents and educators. When we take the time to name someone’s giftedness for them, they can learn to develop it and feel God’s pleasure at its use.
Let’s give someone that gift today.
Together,
Dan Meester
Executive Director
