They Call Me Coach

For over thirty years, Bob Jenkins had been defined by wins and losses in college basketball. As a highly successful Division I head basketball coach, he had reached the pinnacle of his profession. Then one day, without warning, he finds himself being dismissed from coaching by the athletic director of the university. He is angry and confused about how to navigate this turn of events and what to do with the rest of his life. His wife, Sarah, feels that God is moving in his life and leading him in another direction. Bob feels to the contrary that God has forsaken him. Against his better judgment and with pressure from Sarah and their twin daughters, he retires and moves to Florida to begin again. Then one day while working out at the local YMCA he happens upon a Special Olympics basketball team practicing. The thought of God leading him in another direction resurfaces. He will coach again.

Bernard Cullen Ritchen grew up on Long Island, New York. He holds a master's degree in education from Long Island University and a master's degree in business management from Stony Brook University. He has worked as an administrator at Stony Brook University Medical Center and as a guidance counselor at South Lake High School in Groveland, Florida. After retiring he has worked with individuals with special needs and coaches Special Olympics athletes. He lives with his wife, Aleta, in Leesburg, Florida. They have one daughter and son-in-law and four wonderful grandchildren who reside in Nanuet, New York.