Dear Coach,

I have two pieces of bad news. The first is that there was a family tragedy. We found out that Kasie’s nephew passed away suddenly yesterday. We can’t fly yet because my son is still too young, so I packed up the family and drove all through the night to Oklahoma. The second piece of bad news is that I failed the Dale Brown Challenge.

When we arrived in Oklahoma, I had to make a selfish decision. As I sat there surrounded by our grief stricken family, I kept wondering when would be a good time to excuse myself to go work out. I realized that there was no good time in the midst of a wake to say, “sorry guys I have to go change into my gym clothes now.”  We fell asleep last night laying there crying, and when I woke in this morning, I’d failed the challenge.  

I will have plenty of time in my life to finish the challenge, but now is the time I have to show my family that they are my priority. My priority is to love my son's mother.  Family first. Love first, is something I learned from John Wooden.

I figured out a way to plan around business trips, flights from the west coast to the east coast, sickness, the birth of my child, and every obstacle I encountered.  This challenge has taught me to both plan ahead and be able to think on my feet. But the only thing I wasn’t able to plan around was seeing my family in sorrow and pain, and the loss of a loved one.

So, I respectfully say, Coach—you are the best man in this challenge.

Ryan