Crazy In a Good Way


When I asked my friends, who played soccer with me, about our coach, Mr. McGuiness, it seems a popular answer was “ He's crazy.” I would agree, he is crazy, but crazy in a good way.. Patrick McGuiness Sr. describes himself in three words: outgoing, friendly, and entertaining. This description couldn't be more true. McGuiness stands at around six feet tall, has messy gray hair and can be seen sporting random soccer jerseys. Growing up with a family of six in Broad Ripple in the 1960's and 70's would be an intriguing start to a truly interesting life. Growing up McGuiness's father coached sports teams; consequently, exposing McGuiness to several sports. McGuiness played football, basketball, track, wrestled, and played rugby in high school. Mr. McGuiness is my hero because he lives life to the fullest and works as hard as possible.

High School in one word for McGuiness? Simply, “fun”. It might seem puzzling to someone who doesn't know him, but fun is definitely something McGuiness aims for whatever he may be doing. McGuiness attended Cardinal Ritter High School in Indianapolis. He didn't fit in because of his diverse personality. He was in the student government, he was a liberal, a jock, on the Dean's List, and got in trouble sometimes for, what he calls, “ too much fun.” After graduating high school (class of '75) he attended Rochester University in New York, paying for his education with his own money. He majored in Biology and Chemistry because of his initial intention to become a doctor. He ended up not becoming a doctor because he was, “ frustrated with the system.”

McGuiness has lots of fun in life, but he is also hard-working and wise. Though currently a salesman, Mr. McGuiness has had several different jobs. His first job ever was loading a catering truck for his neighbor's catering service, who catered for St. Cecina ( a Catholic Church in Indianapolis). He also did stand up comedy in New York For five years. He started as a bartender, but got suggestions to do some stand up ( I would imagine it was because he was the most fun guy to be around, and probably was doing some makeshift stand up at the bar), so he went to amateur night and it built on that. Currently he is a businessman who sells computer monitors to companies. He has his own office in Noblesville (which started as working out of his home.) Owning and running a business probably isn't a walk in the park, it would require an excellent work ethic to succeed. His schedule consists of getting up at 6:30, going to work between 7 :30 and 8:00, doing one hour of office administration “stuff,” works the phone until 11:30, restaffing until 2:00, and 3-4 days a week traveling to anywhere from Mishawaka to Merrillville. He says it is constant work because he has to do multiple tasks, but he gets through it because he loves what he does and he makes it fun for himself and his employees.

Mr. McGuiness lives life to the fullest. Just a few examples of this are things like going to last year's super bowl in Miami with his son, Patrick. He also went to Alta, Utah to go skiing with his two kids, Patrick and Claire, he assures me “God lives there,” and, “it's where the locals go to ski.” He has also taught me, and others, many lessons. These lessons range from fair play in sports to if you really want something you must work at it. He probably learned some of these lessons from his hero, Congressman Andy Jacobs. McGuiness was good friends with Jacobs' nephew and was at Jacobs' house frequently as a kid. He says Jacobs is very friendly and would come and talk to them and teach them lessons, such as to always work hard and don't give up, that probably helped them to become more successful.

At this point you probably think Mr. McGuiness isn't very fun and outgoing, maybe entertaining, but not fun or outgoing. If so you're mistaken. I;m sure you would realize this about four seconds into one of his CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) soccer practices. I've gotten plenty of imitations of Coach McGuiness's trademark, “GEEMINY CHRISTMAS!” In fact, I was talking to one of his former players the other day, and he said he didn't like Coach McGuiness. This confused me. Now that I think of it, Coach McGuiness may have been fun, but he expected us to work hard. I'm not trying to put anyone down, but I think this player just didn't understand Coach, and how he taught.

“Show Up and do the work, it's the most important investment.” That's what McGuiness told his daughter when he dropped her off at college before her freshman year. At first glance, this doesn't look like anything too profound, but if you think about it, he's right. As long as you do the work and keep up with school, you'll do fine. McGuiness's advice isn't all about work, for soccer he advises to just have fun and do your best. For the broader topic of life though, McGuiness says, “ Honesty will get you through no matter what.”