I Can’t Breathe

We let politics take the lead,

As the voices of science we failed to heed.

I can’t breathe

Good solid leadership failed to step up and relax our minds,

As the sands ran from the hour glass & were precariously out of time.

I can’t breathe.

The wisdom of solid leadership Is missing as we continue to bleed,

As the continued endangerment of life we don’t need,

I can’t breathe.

We’ve failed to plan for the explosion of covid19,

As life as we know it has stolen so many dreams,

I can’t breathe.

As we literally watched the covid19 germinate,

We stoically watched as it began to terminate,

I can’t breathe.

This disease we sat and watched it come overnight,

Racism has been with us through as we fought for our right,

I can’t breathe.

Before it’s too late and you let your life unravel,

Decide the best path for you and yours to travel.

I can’t breathe.

We have to continue to fight the foot on our neck,

From the seen and the unseen without fear or regret,

I can’t breathe.

But each one,

Has to reach one,

To care enough to teach one,

To be there to help one – with what they need.

So each one …. can finally breathe.

by Mickey Clayton (www.mickeyclaytonfl.com) retired Head Basketball Coach at Florida A&M University, owner and CEO of MAC 4 Enterprises, LLC

WLCS and INSiiGHTS Game-of-the-Week Series

          INSiiGHTS Sports is proud to announce that it’s INSiiGHTS Game of the Week Series has found a new broadcast home with Leon County Schools public television station, WLCS. WLCS will air two games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons during prime time and during a yet to be determined weekly time slot, as well.

          The INSiiGHTS Game of the Week series has been a part of the WCTV2, now METV programming since September of 2016.

          INSiiGHTS founder Mickey Clayton states, “It was a blessing to be a part of the WCTV family. They took a chance on a start up company and allowed us to put high school sports in the homes of many people. We produced over 125 games in 4 years. We are forever grateful for the people over at WCTV, for believing in our team.”

          WLCS is interested in some of the features that INSiiGHTS has produced that feature some of the area schools and students both current and past.

          INSiiGHTS TV on YouTube houses all of the past sporting events from area high schools and middle schools for the past four years.

          Leon County Schools enjoyed the highlight segment of the Game of the Week Series that features a segment entitled the Dr. Arthur Woodard Academic Student of the Game honoree. These students are selected by their school for the highest grade point average and community involvement. These students and their families are featured in a recognition dinner in May of each year by the Woodard Foundation of Miami, Florida.

          Mickey Clayton, the retired former head basketball coach at Florida A&M University states, “As a dad, my wife and I enforced and reinforced the academic successes of our daughters through their athletic participation. It was important for INSiiGHTS to give additional praise to those students and families that excel academically within the sphere of athletics.”

          Vanessa Woodard-Byers, Executive Director of the Woodard Foundation of Miami, Florida added, “My dad,  Dr. Arthur Woodard was a Hall of Fame football player under Coach Jake Gaither. He was a successful coach and retired as the principal at Miami Central High School. Education was always at the forefront of everything he preached to us, his children and to his students that he viewed as extensions of his family. We have been thrilled to see his legacy continue to grow through the students honored through INSiiGHTS, especially in an area we started from, Tallahassee at FAMU and DeFuniak Springs.”

          Some of the games feature the growing middle school programs, as well as the high schools. All of the games since 2016 are housed at INSiiGHTS TV on YouTube. There is no fee, no registration required, and no subscription cost. INSiiGHTS comes at now cost to the viewer or to the students that are participating.

          There are stories and additional information on the INSiiGHTS web page at www. INSiiGHTS.com

          Mickey Clayton proudly stated,  “We are excited about this opportunity to continue to highlight and showcase these students and programs that are working hard to things in a positive manner. Let’s give accolades and attention to the many positive things that are around us even as we continue to work on those issues that require a different touch.”

          “We are even more excited to be a part of WLCS. We have been continually encouraged by the community to talk to Leon County Schools about being a part of their programming because so much of what we do involves around the students within the county. We finally approached Ricky Bell and the approval from Supt. Rocky Hannah was swift. We met with Dr. Michele Gayle and Dana Barnes to quickly move to integrate INSiiGHTS programming into the WLCS television schedule.

Community Story

INSiiGHTS is a Tallahassee idea, formed and created to enhance sports stories to give an insightful view of inside occurrences. The brain thrust behind the concept is former collegiate basketball coach and administrator, Mickey Clayton. Mickey himself a 1975 FAMU graduate enlisted the help of some of his friends to develop a sports talk show that has now evolved into a local high school sports production that recently telecast their 100th television show on WCTV2. All of INSiiGHTS shows featuring over 200 high school games can be found on the INSiiGHTS YouTube page where all the games and live-streams can be found and are free. 

Growing Up

Refusing to Retire

 

There comes that time in your life when you reach for that retirement ring and exhale a deep breath. You pause take a look at what you’ve accomplished and sit back.

Then you rest for a few months and look  back again and you realize you view has changed. It becomes not about what you have accomplished but the things that you have not done.

Those thoughts tap you in the back of your head until they become worse than a migraine headache being hammered into the back of your consciousness until you can see the vein in the middle of your head becoming its own individual highway.

Now you realize there are things you have to do ………………..  and your retirement becomes the blessing that allows you to follow the path you need to help others.

I am now on that path and want you to know … you are needed.

Children of China

My 11 days in China have come to a close.

I accepted an invitation from a friend and former coaching associate from Bethune-Cookman University. He has travelled the world assisting with various coaching clinics and seminars. We have discussed me being a part of these basketball odysseys before but I never put much stock in these whimsical hoop escapades. That was until I got a call and asked if I wanted to accompany him to China to assist a guy who needed two experienced coaches to help him in China. He wasn’t sure if it would happen but he wanted to line up another coach, just in case.

I told him I was interested and hung up the phone with a smirk.

My phone rang again in the morning and things instantly moved at a feverish pitch. We were scheduled to leave in nine days and I needed a Visa to go with my passport. I wondered what had I gotten myself into.I found out from Toronto to Shanghai was fifteen hours non-stop! It was going to be way too late to secure an exit row seat for my 6’6 carcass and I was going to stuffed into the seat built for the 5’7 guy. Ugggggghhhh.

My family was more excited than me, as they understood the significance of the opportunity. Any husband worth his salt knows his wife knows better than he does, especially mine. I call her TWTKE …..behind her back. That’s the acronym for The Wife That Knows Everything.

My daughters and wife were 125% correct!

It was a great experience.

We landed in Shanghai and there was no one there to meet us. Shanghai is roughly three times the size of NYC, so we were in panic mode because my friend Rick hadn’t been there before, either. An hour later we were picked up and talk about being thankful!

There are so many things to say but here are a couple of observations from Shanghai, Hong Kong airport and ZhongShan, Guang Dong.

First throw out everything you know about Chinese food from America. No General Tso’s, egg foo young, lemon-pepper chicken anywhere. I was in panic mode.

There was a restaurant that had french fries and I put in a double order and everyone reached in to devour them. It was too late to tell them it was my meal and not a appetizer for the table.

They eat so healthy it is amazing. The meals are loaded with vegetables. My diet has completely changed, at least for now.

They do stare at tall people, a lot. They often walk up and ask for you to take a selfie with them.

There is so much to absorb about the beautiful culture and legacy it made my head spin. But the exuberance and beauty of their children is breathtaking.

When they are in the gym, they absolutely love basketball. I have been around basketball my entire life and I have never seen anything like it. Their faces light up like glow sticks in the dark. They hang on your every word even though few understand English. They try to emulate every drill you show them. If you make a shot when you are demonstrating something, they cheer like it’s the NBA Finals.

To be a small part of the establishment of basketball academies in that country was really special.

Seeing my Florida A&M University Basketball MEAC Championship rings was one of the highlights for the students. They took hundreds of pictures of the rings, posted them on social media, wore them and nearly fought over the chance to touch them.

Sports had a way of making the flight shorter and the world smaller. The flight is not comfortable but the bright light in the eyes of the children of China make it more than worthwhile.

I would squeeze into that seat again for the chance to make a small difference.

Mickey Clayton, former Men and Women’s conference winning basketball coach at Florida A&M University, Owner/CEO of INSiiGHTS Sports

Tallahassee Student-Athletes become Teachers

by Mickey Clayton

Usually the chronicles of life teaches those involved in sports how to deal with the complications of life. This year the situation was reversed as life used the teams to show the community how to deal with the challenges of life.

Take the improbable journey of the youthful collection of basketball players from Florida High School and their youthful coach Darryl Marshall. None of them old enough to remember the state tournament being anywhere other than Lakeland and many of them not even knowing where Lakeland is. They attack their goal with a tenacity absent in many older and more mature teams as they don’t let others decide their fate by minimizing their lack of experience. They discounted those who tried to hang a weight scripted with “too young” around their necks. They continued to believe in themselves.

The same could be said for the youthful squad of the FAMU High School Baby Rattlers who blended youth and experience to craft another state championship. Minus the signature dominating players of the past, the Baby Rattlers embodied the “heart of a Champion” and refused to falter when pressed. They focused on one thing and wanted to prove the naysayers wrong. Their laser eyed focus was obvious when they were faced with an opponent that tried to physically intimidate them with hard fouls. They responded to the challenge of their much larger opponent and dismissed them with a series of lightening Rattler bites. The much smaller and younger Baby Rattlers left the court as champions, again.

Lincoln High School boys team continues to take body blows as the Trojans continue to stand tall. When faced with losing their coach amidst a whirlwind of accusations, the team continues to use the swirling winds to shape a stronger unit. The tempest stripped the team of frivolous distractions and forced the team to focus on the team goals that they set at the beginning of the season. In dedicating their season, they have become a team with a cause. Their commitment and focus should be a beacon to those dealing with individual problems.

The Girls of Rickards were a team devoid of any seniors. They dominated the regular season and didn’t often taste the bitterness of losing.The journey to Lakeland was high-jacked inside the gym of Jacksonville Ribault High School. They accomplished a lot and many have applauded them but the goals they set for themselves have not been actualized. Will the narrowing focus of their youthful stare motivate them to achieve their collective goal? The hardening of the jaw lines on the faces of the Lady Raiders will be a storyline for next year.

The Godby Cougars have fought and clawed the entire season. Coach Coville may have crafted his best job this year. He completely replaced his starting unit, replacing his graduating seniors. They blocked dissenters out and followed his lead. The heart of the Cougars could not be questioned. They realized and maximized their strengths as they masterfully hid their deficiencies. When the reality of life set a blind pick on them, they stood up and brushed themselves off. They did not complain, they did not whine, they honored their fallen Cougar and continued to play.

There is a lot to be said about the boys and girls that play basketball in the city called Tallahassee. These emerging men and women come from assorted backgrounds, various ethnic backgrounds and have different objectives in life.

We can all take a page from them as our children have become teachers.

Tallahassee should be proud of them.

The writer, Mickey Clayton currently owns and operates an on-line sports talk show at www.INSiiGHTS.com (@INSiiGHTS) and is the Executive Producer of the weekly television sports show on WCTV 2, INSiiGHTS High School Game-of-the-Week.

Don’t Leave your Child’s Future to Chance

Coaching and parenting are both extremely difficult jobs and while some aspects of the two are inter-changeable, many important ones are not. I have been a Division I Head Coach in women’s basketball and a Division I Head Coach in men’s basketball, as well. I have won championships in both. I coached on the traveling team circuit and coached my three daughters. That is a whole different story in itself, believe me. I also played collegiately.

I have since retired but I get asked a lot of questions about the game and the recruiting processes.

Here are just some of my thoughts and I would love to hear yours, too.

As an traveling team coach, it amazed me the number of times a college coach would ask, “…who else is recruiting him/her?”

Why does that matter? Does that validate to you the individuals talent level because state college is or is not recruiting them?

Advice: Do your homework, coach. Get ahead of the curve, often times a student and their parent remember the first offer and first college contact.

True stories: My institution signed a 7’1 kid who was a playground legend who attended a church school, without athletic sport teams. He had TWO offers and played in the NBA when he left our school.

Another MEAC school signed a 6’10 high schooler, who had NO college offers. He led them to a conference championship and is currently playing in the NBA.

INSiiGHTS televised a game with a running back who eventually ended up leading the state of Georgia in rushing. At the time of the broadcast he had no offers. I personally called three institutions who didn’t follow up. Now several SEC schools are recruiting him. Perhaps they have been watching our games

Advice: Never put all of your confidence in the coaches, always be involved in the process.

True stories: I had just stopped coaching collegiately and had far more confidence in coaches than I should have. When my daughter was a senior, my youngest daughter told me she had found a box that was full of letters from college coaches addressed to her sister. Being young she didn’t think anything about it until she found out that we never received those letters from the colleges and that the Coach subsequently had thrown them away.

There were two All-State selections from a record setting program. We had been unable to break the code to reach them. Much later, it was revealed that the coach was saving them for another school and was blocking all communication from other institutions. That particular University decided not to offer either of them.

I received a phone call telling me they were going to sign with a small NAIA school because no one had extended an offer to them. I got there immediately and was fortunate to be able to sign. One ended up being a 4-year starter for us and the other a 3-year starter and both graduated.

Advice: Don’t believe that if you’re good enough coaches will find you. There is some degree of truth to the comment but don’t leave it all to chance.

True stories: We were able to recruit a high number of kids because we received information about a kid and sometimes from the family and sometimes from the student, themselves.

We signed one young lady who was in Sports Illustrated as a part of a segment they called, Faces in the Crowd. The segment showed various sports accomplishments of people from all over the country. She had scored some mind-boggling number of points in a game and stated she was coming to our institution. At that point in time, we had never heard of her. We researched the potential student-athlete and offered her a scholarship. She started for nearly three seasons and graduated.

Parents, do not leave it to chance.

Contact potential college coaches – do it the right way to get your child in front of coaches.

Find out how, with a tried and true system, developed from our experiences.

Click here for information on our R.E.A.C.H. Program

Our template is proven to work for children of all sports.

The writer, Mickey Clayton (@MickeyClaytonFL) has served for over forty years in athletics at Florida A&M University. He currently owns and operates an on-line sports talk show at www.INSiiGHTS.com (@INSiiGHTS) and is the Executive Producer of the weekly television sports show, INSiiGHTS High School Game-of-the-Week.

Council of Dads

 

 

 

 

 

The First requirement of the Council of Dads,

Is to be the best friend your son ever had.

Next, you were the one who taught him to be a man,

the one who gently led your son by the strength of your hand.

 

When all others failed him you were never too far apart,

for you led him with love through a strong fatherly heart.

There is nothing, nothing live a mother’s love,

but a son needs the sizing of the dad’s glove.

It is from there he learns the winds of the world,

As before his childhood eyes, the problems of life unfurl.

 

It is where our fathers sit at the Council of Dads table,

Because the way they have lived through us, has made them enabled.

It is at the Council of Dads table where our dads all sit together strong,

bonded as one as they protect us from steps we take wrong.

It is an honor they take very seriously,

as they knew of each other before I knew of you or you knew of me.

 

They sit there reclined in their comfortable chair,

as they reunite with their dads who are already there.

Never ever forget when a problem does arise,

They are quickly summoned together for that protective fatherly ride.

They will support us in numbers with a strength unseen by man,

as they forever hold us up, with those fatherly hands.

 

Now they will have to have special sessions with the man named James,

Because he will have to learn on the Council there are things he can’t change.

He’s a leader and in his mind things have to go a certain way,

But in his world now, he won’t have the final say.

He has left a quiet confidence deep within you,

Know in your heart you, will be able to do all that you need to.

For he has left you marked with far more than his name,

as your creed to help others is your life’s flame.

The Dads smiled at James as he adjusted his Council of Dads chair,

As they told him, that was his last journey as his spirit would now ……. be everywhere.

 

<the inspiration for this comes from the great photo of the Tookes Family of four generations of men, it has always moved me. I hope I my did my brother justice>

The writer, Mickey Clayton (@MickeyClaytonFL) has served for over 40 years at Florida A&M University. He currently owns and operates an on-line sports talk show at www.INSiiGHTS.com (@INSiiGHTS).

 

 

 

 

 

Never Losing My Way

I have never lost my way,

even in my darkest hours I could hear you say.

“my son, always let God show you the way.”

Even in the face of storms that seemed unGodly strong,

I refused to let those winds push me down the path that was wrong.

I have tried to be the man you taught me to be,

To tell the truth and be of strength with integrity.

 

Not to be worried when the lies began to mount,

That I would lose so many so-called friends I’d lose count.

You always told me that walking a path alone,

Did not mean that I was on my own.

Even when people I had my trust in one time,

began to speak in tongue – in words that my ears could not find.

 

It was you that I placed my confidence in,

Even when lies were stronger than the hurricane winds.

I was determined to stand straight in the face of it all,

Because I know I could stand again, even if over false statements – I’d fall.

It is never the words of my enemy,

that cut the deepest in me.

But the silence of your so – called friends,

that allow the words of your enemy to sink in.

 

I’m blessed to have learned long ago,

some ideations cemented in my mind for me to know.

To stay on the path of truth and the honesty I see,

as I realize these words not to be my own, but yours through me

You have always been in my heart,

Even though in this man-made world  so many are worlds apart.

 

You have been the wind beneath my wings,

that allowed me to survive and keep me from crashing.

But no mistake in the words I’m trying to say,

I miss you dad, in every possible way ………

 

The writer, Mickey Clayton (@MickeyClaytonFL) has served for over 40 years at Florida A&M University. He currently owns and operates an on-line sports talk show at www.INSiiGHTS.com (@INSiiGHTS).