Let's hope there are folks more like Tom Hansen out there

We hear this all the time when a nice person dies. "There will never be another guy like him (her)." Tom Hansen, a truly nice man, passed away the other day. I'm headed to his wake tonight. I will tell his wife how much I appreciated Tom from his days as the AD at St. Bernard's and the various sectional sporting events I worked for him. I will console his son the same way. What I won't say to them but am happy to do so here is this: Let's hope there are more Tom Hansens in the wings. We need more guys like Tom. He was an excellent administrator. He was fair to his students. He understood his school ... and the kids in it ... very well. He knew that the kids he had at St. Bernard's had their faults. hen they screwed up, he doled out the punishment necessary. But he never did in a vindictive manner. No, it was always meant as a teaching moment. He understood the school's athletic teams would have some very good moments (they won a couple of state softball titles) but they would often be overmatched. And, while he was as competitive as the next AD, he wanted his teams and ... his coaches to win and lose the right way. Play hard. Play tough. Play fair. And let the chips fall where they may. He understood that when the Bulldogs had the horses, they would win their share of games. But he also knew that when they played football against, say, DeLaSalle, they were likelt to be outmanned in size and talent. He could live with that. But he could not accept being outclassed. When one of his teams did that, he stepped in and corrected the problem immediately. We need more guys like Tom Hansen, not less, in athletics -- and in life -- these days. We need more guys who see the value in playing games and, yes, understand that lessons can get learned even when your football team loses 56-0. So I will mourn Tom's loss because, well, he was a helluva good guy. But I am also hoping that there are others like him ready to take over and run athletic programs. That is a legacy worth hoping for.