A coach’s approach—‘love them like they’re your own’—touches the lives of young people
By John Shaughnessy
Bruce Scifres smiled as he watched his longtime friend, Mike Kirk, coach his team during this year’s Indianapolis wrestling championship of the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO).
The executive director of the CYO in the archdiocese, Scifres has known Kirk since they played together on Butler University’s football team in the late 1970s, but that’s not why Scifres was smiling this time at his friend.
“You could tell Mike’s mental toughness and competitive spirit had rubbed off on his athletes,” Scifres recalled.
“However, what stood out to me even more than watching him celebrate with his guys after a big win was watching him interact with his athletes after a disappointing loss. He would put his arm around them, pull them in tight, and then say all the right things to let them know he was still very proud of them, win or lose. This is the real essence of coaching.”
Kirk has been adding that “essence” to the lives of children and youths through his 36 years of coaching in the CYO —a commitment that has led him to being named a 2023 recipient of the St. John Bosco Award, the organization’s highest honor. He earned the honor through his efforts to help children at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Indianapolis.
“My approach is, love them like they’re your own,” says Kirk, who along with his wife Lisa are the parents of three grown children and the grandparents of five. “And understand that your goal is to have them come back next year.”
A member of St. Matthew the Apostle Parish on the north side of Indianapolis, Kirk has made most of his impact in the CYO on the city’s east side, where he grew up and became a 1975 graduate of Father Thomas Scecina Memorial High School. He has also coached football for the past 20 years at Scecina, plus four previous years at Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis, where his children attended.
“I grew up in Our Lady of Lourdes, love the area of Irvington, and even though I moved away, my heart has always been in Irvington,” says Kirk, who works for the archdiocese in the stewardship and development office as a Catholic philanthropic adviser.
“I think I’ve made a difference in individuals’ lives over the years. There are dozens of kids who have written me letters or have come up to me at a wrestling match. They’ll tell me what I meant to them. That means a lot.”
For Kirk, his efforts to impact youths not just in a sport but in their lives is his way of honoring the three coaches who did the same for him growing up—Tom Yaggi, Phil Wilhelm and Ken Leffler, Sr.
That emphasis has included embracing and sharing his Catholic faith.
“I always tell the kids, ‘God has a certain plan for you, and it’s up to you to reach that plan. You’re going to make choices in your life, and if you do make the right choices, you’re going to fulfill God’s plan.’
“I also tell the kids that the skills you have are a gift from God, and you have a responsibility to use those gifts. And then it’s up to you to share them and give back.”
It’s just exactly what Kirk has done. †
Related story: Archbishop encourages CYO volunteers to keep Christ as their focal point