You are about to enter the world of Bill Yoast, so buckle up. This journey is not for the meek. It is filled with heartache, heartbreak, and hairpin turns. From the very beginning Bill Yoast had it tough and as he navigated his environment it got tougher. Thankfully he was up for it.
For most of us, we are not prepared for many of life’s challenges. We learn little about ourselves and others when we are on cruise control. As Bill Yoast points out, the most important lessons are learned when the riding gets rough. Through adversity the best stuff sticks. In hardship, character is built.
The author, Steve Sullivan, has captured the essence of what makes Bill Yoast different. There is not a word wasted. This story is about a man who knew from the very beginning that other people count the most.
We live in a time when heroes are quickly fading from view. Thankfully there are people like Bill Yoast who we can turn to for inspiration.
It was not the record-breaking achievements obtained on the gridiron that made this coach “A Titan to Remember.” It was his ability to see and develop talents in those he touched. He possessed a quiet strength; an invisible power that awakened the spirit in others. Bill Yoast knew how to build people. He knew that success off the field mattered more than what happened between the hash marks.
Steve Sullivan tells it like it was and not the way it should have been. The mistakes, the pain, the doubt is there. Bill Yoast was ahead of his time in racial equality and behind the time in seeking personal glory. Because of Bill Yoast kids became better. Some became great.
We often look to find our heroes from their accomplishments during major world events. What we often fail to recognize is that it was probably a coach, often not even known, who helped shape the character, integrity, and courage of those men and women that went on to achieve so much.
The lessons chronicled in this book should be required reading for everyone that wants to make a contribution. The author will take you to the edge of the cliff, where the view is the best. And from that vantage point, you will see, feel, and remember why Bill Yoast has been called an American hero.
Richard Ardia