LOYA RELEASES NEW BOOK

Mount Aloysius College head basketball coach Lance Loya is pleased to announce the release of his new book, Building Good Teammates—The Story of My Mount Rushmore, a Coaching Epiphany, and That Nun.

The book is an inspirational and insightful look into the value of getting people to be good teammates, whether it is on the sports field, in the workplace, or as part of a family.

Loya previously wrote and illustrated the children’s book, Be A Good Teammate, which teaches kids the importance of teamwork. The success of that book led to the publication of his new adult non-fiction title.

“Everybody is part of a team in some capacity, and I think that is why the message of the children’s book resonated so well with kids and adults.  I would visit schools to talk about the children’s book and inevitably a teacher or principal would approach me afterwards and tell me I needed to write an adult version of the book,” Loya said.

Building Good Teammates is the story behind the good teammate philosophy.  It details how a “Mary Poppins-ish” nun caused the coach to explore how his methods were influenced by his unusual childhood and his personal Mount Rushmore—the four men who had the biggest impact on his life.

Loya grew up living in Bedford County’s historic Ship Hotel.  Tales of his adventures in the iconic building and how the aftermath of the business’s failure scoped his early coaching style are discussed in the book.

Through the examination of the virtue of trust, a key component to being a good teammate, he explains how the coaches who impacted his life demonstrated how to have trust, build trust, and earn trust. Those three elements coincide with Loya’s three components of a good teammate—care, share, and listen.

When Sr. Eric Marie, a nearly 80-year old nun, joins Loya’s quest to build good teammates, the practices of the unassuming woman become the basis for the coach’s system. He explains how the Sisters of Mercy values of mercy, justice, hospitality, and service can be applied to using sports to teach kids to be good teammates.

“Coaching kids to be competitive is a worthwhile endeavor, but it should take a backseat to teaching kids to be good teammates. That is the kind of intangible skill that will allow players to experience happiness for rest of their lives,” Loya said.

Participation leagues, where every kid gets a trophy, lead to disillusionment.  Not everyone wins in the real world. Yet, coaching kids to be ultra-competitive guarantees no greater probably of players becoming productive, well-adjusted members of society when their playing days have ended.

“Organizations that are comprised of good teammates are always the most successful and contribute the greatest to society. Very simply, the world cannot have too many good teammates,” Loya said.

The book is published by Jetlaunch Publishing and is available through Amazon.com and various other book outlets.