Responsibility, Dedication, Respect and Honesty

April 10, 2008

It was a simple time (the late 60’s) when I first met Mr. Meddock. Growing up then, we enjoyed many things which today most do not. Responsibility, dedication, respect and honesty were the core of our family and Mr. Meddock. Even now it is difficult to call him Dale. Most will remember the moments when competing or training with Mr. Meddock. I too have those memories but I have a different perspective of his impact on all of us.

As a young person, we usually did what the adults told us and or expected from us. This was true with Mr. Meddock. At the time he was shaping us into athletes, little did we know he was shaping us into respectable men. The sacrifice and dedication to the sport of Gymnastics was something all of our families and us were committed to. The constant phone calls to get rides to the gym were many. Now it is called “networking”, back then just a simple phone call and boy did we make many. If you could not catch a ride, you rode your bike to get to practice. Oddly enough the time spent in the gym did not impact our responsibility at home. Never once did we tell our parents, “I can’t because of practice”; we made our schedule to workout and adjusted accordingly. Back then this was known as just simply, whatever it took to do both, workout and home chores. This was the norm; today they title this “time management”.

Many personal discussions took place when Mr. Meddock felt we were old enough to understand and I do not know this for a fact, but I am sure he asked permission from our parents. To be quite honest, I listened, but at that time of my life, working out was much more important than the facts of Life. Never-the-less, I heard every word because most of the discussions took place in his red Volkswagen bug, rather a captive audience at the time. Today, this would not occur because of our society and its expectations. Back then as a teacher, you just did not teach just “student”, you taught a “person”. Mr. Meddock’s style of teaching was not 8 to 5 but more like 24/7. How he found time to manage his family and raise children is simply amazing to me. This was the core of Mr. Meddock and the experience while in his presence.

Now in preparation for our next steps in life, college, I think Mr. Meddock had a genuine desire to see each and everyone succeed. His constant communication with many colleges was simply to provide his team members the chance to move up to the next level. I was amazed as to how many of us were given the opportunity to go to college. Most of our families could not support that financial burden so Mr. Meddock found scholarships for most of us. Of that, I am very grateful but getting a scholarship was easier than keeping it. The work ethics and commitment we experienced while being with Mr. Meddock in the past proved to be exactly what we needed to succeed in this. To the best of my knowledge, most of us did succeed.

So in closing, I would like to express this simple thought. As we enter our older years, one begins to reflect back to the past and question the path chosen. I believe that we are truly better men all around for the teachings, mentoring and friendship of Mr. Meddock. One does not measure his success in life by monetary means but by the impact and success of those you helped, guided, and most of all steered in the right direction. Of the steering in the right direction, Mr. Meddock has truly succeeded.

We may have not kept in communication in the last 30 years but I assure you that your philosophy and teachings have shaped my life to the fullest. I too have passed many of these beliefs, experiences to my own family and I too see the fruits of our labor in my family.

So all I can say is thank you for everything you did for me.

Mickey Zawinsky
Class of ‘74











(Posted by BK on behalf of Mickey Zawinsky)