Throughout his coaching career, Ron Engels believed success was found by grinding it out.
Ron played college football, basketball, and baseball. After receiving degrees from Western and Central Michigan, he taught in high school and coached football and baseball for 56 years.
As the Head Varsity Coach at Wyoming Park High School, he led the Vikings baseball team to one state championship and three-time runners-up. He also led the football team to one state championship and one runner-up, racking up 15 conference titles, 11 district titles, and seven regional titles. He was selected to the MHSBCA Hall of Fame and earned coach of the year in 1980, 1984, 1992, and 2001.
He has won State Championships in football and baseball and has been State Champion runner-up three times. Ron was also inducted into the High School Baseball Hall of Fame and the Wyoming High School Coaches Hall of Fame.
Ron has also served as the President of the Michigan High School Baseball Association and was inducted into the High School Baseball Hall of Fame and the Wyoming High School Coaches Hall of Fame.
However, Ron learned that success is only temporary unless your foundation includes Jesus Christ. It’s not just wins and losses. It’s the experiences that allow coaches to see their players and teammates in a different light. Making a difference instead of making a list of accolades became his focus.
In 1975, Ron attended an FCA, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, breakfast, and the speaker was Ralph Honderd, an All-American Basketball player at Calvin University. His message was, “If you’re a Christian coach, what kind of a difference are you making?”
Ron was raised in a Christian family and always believed in the Gospel, which was a part of life growing up, but that comment hit him as nothing had before.
He prayed to accept Christ and make him a significant part of his coaching philosophy.
Life wasn’t always full of wins. There were losses along the way. Ron married his first wife in 1963. They had three children: Sara, a son Brad who passed away at six months old, and an adopted son, Derek. They were married for 35 years when she passed away in 1998 from heart failure.
Ron found his life on the line when he was hit head-on in Grand Rapids, MI, on an expressway by a car going the wrong way. He believes there are guardian angels who surrounded him in safety during that experience.
The Lord orchestrated Ron’s next wife, Barbara, into his life. They have been together for over 25 years, loving life experiences with their blended family and grandkids’ lives.
As a high school coach, Ron ran Chapels before football games. The players also prayed after games, win or lose. The school administration was never opposed to their gatherings. Ron also led an FCA huddle group in his home for Bible Study for all athletes for 20 years.
Coaching and praying before games, most players looked forward to their time together before competitions.
When Ron was the baseball coach at Cornerstone University, they took a mission trip to Cuba. This trip made Ron realize how blessed we are in the US and how hungry the Cuban people were to hear the Gospel. Ron continues to make a difference in the lives of athletes as he is still involved in Baseball.
Ron’s wife and his faith have grown because their Pastor preaches the truth of the gospel and how to make an impact for the kingdom.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Christ is a forgiving God, and nothing is beyond His reach to change our hearts and minds. We must SURRENDER to his Lordship and do it in a LOVING way. The drudgery of chasing success on our own is not the answer to success. Following Jesus, making an impact for His Kingdom, and pouring out His love for others takes the grind out of life and replaces it with hope and joy.
At this point in life, Ron’s main concern is that his kids and grandkids know the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior.
Will you pray as Ron has, repenting of your sins and asking Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior? When you pray to receive Jesus Christ by faith, God’s victory will usher you through death’s door to eternity in God’s presence.