“It was a tough thing to go through. But finally, as I was recuperating, the doctor wanted me to do some physical therapy. He asked what kinds of sports I liked. I named half a dozen things, because I’ve always stayed active. When I mentioned I’d been bowling a few times he said, ‘That’s what I want you to do.’ It was good exercise, using different muscles. So that’s where it started.

“The first game I ever bowled was a 69, and I said, ‘This will never do. I can do better than this.’ I’m very competitive. So I joined a Tuesday ladies league. That was in 1962, when you could bowl three games for about a dollar and a half. It was a lot of fun. And I’ve been bowling regularly for more than 60 years.

“I feel like I’ve made some contributions along the way. I really enjoyed the coaching aspect. I taught bantam, junior and senior bowling classes, and I was a bowling instructor at Lee College. I’ve met so many interesting people. Bowling has meant a lot to me: friendship, camaraderie, participation, challenge, competition. It’s been my second home, so to speak.

“These days, I normally bowl just on Mondays. But I’m also filling in on another night for a lady that had surgery. I used to bowl a lot more often. Except, Saturday was for doing the washing, mopping and catching up on chores at home, and Sunday was for church.

“You know, everybody’s life follows a stream one way or another. I’m just glad mine went this way. I don’t plan to stop anytime soon. As long as I don’t wake up with a tag on my toe, I’m going to bowl.”

— Dot Sitton, 89

During her career, Dot bowled numerous 200-plus games and 600-plus series. She was president and secretary of Baytown Women’s Bowling Association, and served in other roles on local, state and national levels. Dot received the Hall of Fame Award from Baytown’s combined women’s and men’s bowling association. She also is fondly remembered as the longtime bowling lanes DJ for Rock ’n Bowl and Kikker Bowl nights.

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“If it was not for what I’d gone through, then I couldn’t do what I do now. I’m what’s called a mental health and addiction recovery peer support specialist. Simply by the word peer, it means that I’ve been there, done that. I realized that for the first time in my life, my path, my past, could actually become my asset.

“When I help someone as a recovery coach, I’m not as concerned about what they did in the past. What I want to know is what can I do to help them in their recovery today. I’m a barrier breaker. If there’s something standing between them and being sober today, we talk about it. We figure it out together so that I can help them through it.

“One of my passions is working with the homeless. I’ve been homeless. But never to the extent that I was during 2020. That was a very, very hard year for me. When I worked at the Sobering Center in Houston, many of our clients were homeless. One of the worst things you can do is take away hope from someone. Once someone has no hope, it’s the worst feeling in the world. So when I was able to sit down with someone, especially older people, and relate my story — that I didn’t get clean and sober until I was 57 — you could see that little spark of hope come back.

“What I do is absolutely amazing. I think it’s my purpose. I used to ask God, ‘Why? What made me walk down this path? Why did you let me do this?’ God always has an answer, a bigger picture. We only see a very small part of it. And I think the reason I had to walk down that path of drug addiction and going in and out of prison was simply because now, I can turn around to somebody else and lend them a helping hand up. It’s the most fulfilling thing.”

— Karen McKee

Karen is a recovery coach who currently serves as residential manager for a safe house at Rescue Us Mission in Houston.

Related:

• From life of drugs to recovery coach

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“Throughout my life, it seems like people have always been seeking my advice on how to handle certain situations. I’ve often wondered, why me? What is it that I provide that’s helpful? Maybe it stems from the fact that I’ve been through some hell, and I’ve persevered. Also, I tell the truth. I don’t hold back. I say, ‘I’m telling you this out of love. But know that you’ve got to do different if you want to make a change.’

“I have mentors, too, who help me figure out what I want in life. Really, that’s what life is all about. You have things you want to achieve, but you may not know how to make it happen.

“I’ve always been a person who lives by truth, no matter how ugly it is. I teach my children: you’re responsible for you. I am legally. But spiritually, you’re responsible to connect with who you are and know who you are, so that you can then impact others around you. Because we’re only here for a split second. My kids are fully aware that they’re going to die one day. That is the one thing everyone is promised. So what is it that you want to do before then? Who is it that you want to impact?

“I’ve started to do life coaching because I love helping people figure out who they are and where their next step is in life’s journey. When I sat in therapy and looked at the therapist, I was like, that’s the chair I want to be in. I want to help people understand why they think the way they do, why they’re in the situation they’re in, and help them move to their future selves. I think that’s my gift, and I enjoy sharing it.”

— Rebekah Mansker

Related:

• Her childhood was ‘really, really hell’

The post Life coach draws on her own experiences appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“My daughter is in fourth grade. My son is in sixth grade. And I’m that dad who gives them a message in the morning before they go off to school. The main thing that I kind of beat into their heads is, ‘Your purpose is to change the world, just a little bit, in a positive way.’

“There is so much negativity out there. We see it on the news. We see it on social media. We’re fed it every single day. That’s why I’m so inspired when I see someone go against the grain to help people make better choices and to get past the barriers we have to break.

“Recently, I’ve spoken at a few schools because I know that our youth can be strongly influenced one way or the other. Right now, their minds are like sponges. So one of the things I tell them is that whatever they believe is impossible, it’s really not. It’s about reaching your potential and having confidence in yourself, more than anyone else.

“As cliche as it sounds, the first step is to believe in yourself. Whatever circumstances you may come across, you have to know it’s just for that moment. Getting caught up in that fear, it blurs our vision to the point that we don’t want to experience it again. We’re afraid to experience failure.

“But if you want to be successful, you have to be willing to accept failure. You have to allow yourself to fall, but then get back up again and keep marching forward. It takes patience sometimes. But in the end, we all are capable of achieving our goals, of becoming who we truly want to be.”

— Vincent Grant

Related:

• He’s helping people reach their full potential

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“When I was young, my mom would sit me down while she worked out. She took care of her health and her body. She had health books laying around everywhere. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I guess that was kind of setting the foundation for me.

“About my junior year in high school, I was always working out. I was the first guy to get there and the last guy to leave. As I was showing progress, some of the guys in the upper class took notice and started working out with me. And once I saw that, I fell in love with it. I saw what taking care of your body and your mind, and really training hard and staying focused, can do for you. That’s when I started falling in love with what I do now.

“My job as a trainer, as a coach for my clients, is to find out what lights their fire and gives them the potential to get to where they want to be. I help keep them accountable and stay motivated. Life is going to do life. Life’s job is to smack you down and stomp on you. It’s your duty, if you choose to accept it, to rise up and fight against it. To be able to climb that mountain, to cross that stream, you have to apply the effort. We all want to be successful. I’m just trying to help people reach their full potential in life.”

— Vincent Grant

Related:

• ‘We all are capable of achieving our goals’

The post He’s helping people reach their full potential appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I grew up during the Great Depression. Unless you lived in those times, it’s hard to imagine how poor people were back then. We didn’t have much. So when I became interested in playing basketball, my mother took a gallon syrup bucket and nailed it to a wall in our home. She made a rag ball for me, and I developed my touch by shooting at that bucket.

“Looking back on what happened to me, I’m so grateful that someone from a little town (Palestine) in East Texas could earn a scholarship to play basketball at Texas A&M. Especially since I was just 5-foot-7½ and weighed 135 pounds, which is still the record for the shortest men’s basketball player at A&M. Then to win the team’s defensive player of the year award in my junior season, and for us to reach the NCAA playoffs for the first time, it’s pretty amazing to think about.

(Note: Woody Walker passed away on Feb. 9, 2021.)

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“I want to be a high school track coach. I’m really inspired by my high school coach. I had her four years, since I was a freshman.

“She was great. She was like a mom to all of us. She would say we were her girls, and she was like our best friend. Even to this day, we still talk to her.

“She helped make sure we didn’t get in trouble. We knew that if we did, they were going to call her. And that was worse than calling our parents.

“I want to be like her. I’d like to have girls look up to me, who want to be in my office, who want to run track, who want to do something instead of just not doing anything.”

— Shanysa Gobert, 21

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“In high school, I played volleyball, basketball, softball, track and I did power lifting. When you go to a small school, you do a little bit of everything. I loved it. Now I want to teach and coach.”

Who has been your biggest influence?
“Coach (Donna) Cox was a real inspiration to me. She’s been coaching at the same place (Hull-Daisetta High School) for years. And to watch her coach, it’s like watching someone do something they really love. Coaches can have such a positive impact on so many kids’ lives. She did so much for me personally. Basically, she showed me how to be a better person. One day, I’d like to make that same kind of impact.”

— Meah Herman

The post She wants to be just like her high school coach appeared first on The Baytown Project.