Kohawks Fullfilling Expectations

The Coe Men's Basketball Mission Statement: To Excel in the classroom and on the court, contribute to the broader community and have fun in the process.

The Kohawks did excel in the classroom last semester averaging a 3.2 grade point average. In addition to that, three Kohawk men's basketball players (Kevin Dux, Christian Parent, Marc Gorenstein) were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court. The award recognizes junior and senior basketball players for their excellence in the classroom.

Needless to say, we are very proud of the work our guys do in the classroom!

Cedar Rapids Named As One Of America's 10 Best Places to Grow Up

If you could create the ideal community to raise a child in, what ingredients would you include? First off, you'd probably want a low crime rate. A strong school system would also be key. From there, you'd need lots of other children, expansive green spaces to play in, and plenty of nearby family events. Toss in an abundance of artistic and recreational activities, and all of a sudden you've got one heck of a place to grow up. At U.S. News, we wanted to find out if any communities like that already existed—and if so, where they were located. So we dug into our database of 2,000 different places all across the country and pinpointed the locales that met these criteria. We then examined these communities more closely to determine which places offered the best combination of safe neighborhoods, fun activities, and top-notch educators. Our selections appear below, in our list of America's 10 Best Places to Grow Up:

Cedar Rapids, Iowa: It would be tough to find a safer community than Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the crime index is about a fifth of the national average. And with a solid school system, plenty of fun activities, and affordable housing costs, this eastern Iowa city can keep your kids happy without emptying your wallet. Tim Boyle, the executive director of the Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, says the city's manageable size—it has just 123,000 residents—allows its young people to get involved in a variety of different activities. "The thing that I like about Cedar Rapids is you could end up with a junior or senior in high school who is an offensive tackle on the football team and has the lead in the spring musical," Boyle says. In addition to a strong music program in its public schools, the area has more than 50 public tennis courts, more than 75 parks, 23 sand volleyball courts, and even a BMX dirt track. During the winters, which can get extremely cold, children can remain active on three indoor soccer fields and five ice-skating rinks.

The rest of the list:

Virginia Beach, Va.
Madison, Ala.
San Jose, Calif.
Overland Park, Kan.
Boston
Denver
Rochester, Minn.
Plano, Texas
Edison, N.J.

U.S. News and World Report
By Luke Mullins

Thompson Promoted to Associate Head Coach

Coe College head men’s basketball coach Pat Juckem has announced the promotion of assistant coach Aaron Thompson to the position of Associate Head Coach with the program. Coach Thompson joined the Kohawk coaching staff during the 2006-2007 season helping lead the Kohawks to a 19-7 record and second place finish in the Iowa Conference. According to Juckem, “This promotion reflects the significant role Aaron plays in our basketball program. The student-athletes in our program benefit from Aaron’s passion for their development on and off the court. We share a vision for our program competing at the highest level on a yearly basis.”

Thompson was a three-time All-American at Mayville State and was inducted into their athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.

Coe Graduate Fred Jackson in USA Today

Confident Jackson ready to give Bills' backfield a boost

PITTSFORD, N.Y. — If Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson's NFL rookie year in 2007 was a chance to prove himself, then 2008 was affirmation that he indeed belonged in the NFL.

What is 2009 for Jackson?

"Just continuing to build on a successful career," he said. "I've got a good foundation for myself so I want to go out and still make plays and help this team win. We've still got a long way to get to where we want to be. That's my No. 1 goal — to help this team and get quite a few wins."

Jackson's path to the NFL is unusual. He played at Division III Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, didn't get drafted, starred in the United Indoor Football League and NFL Europe's Rhein Fire before getting a chance with the Bills. And when he wasn't playing in an indoor league or Europe, he worked as a youth counselor.

Former Bills coach Marv Levy, a graduate of Coe College and one-time coach there, helped get Jackson a tryout with the Bills.

"Coach Levy told me to keep doing what I'm doing and get some more film," Jackson said.

Jackson's versatility — he can run, catch and block — earned him a spot on the team and at the end of the 2007 season, he had a 136-yard rushing performance against Miami and a 82-yard rushing, 69-yard receiving performance against Washington in consecutive weeks.

Jackson played in every game last season, again posting a 100-yard rushing game and multiple games with three-plus receptions. He's similar to New England Patriots running back Kevin Faulk, a third-down back who does a little of everything.

Marshawn Lynch (47 receptions) and Jackson (37 receptions) combined for more catches than any running back tandem in the league last year.

With Lynch, the starter, suspended for the first three games of the season for violating the league's personal conduct policy, Jackson is slated to start.

Even when Lynch returns, Jackson will be involved in the offense, which is expected to be more up-tempo, often using no huddle. Jackson might even line up as a receiver on occasion.

"I get a lot of positive feedback from my coaches and teammates and in turn, that just makes you confident, and you want to go out and make plays for those guys," Jackson said. "I've got an expanding role that again creates confidence."

By Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY

Character vs Reputation

Abraham Lincoln was very concerned with character, but he also was aware of the importance of having a good reputation. He explained the difference this way: “Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Put another way, your reputation is what people think of you, and your character is what you actually are.

In a world preoccupied with image, it’s easy to worry too much about our reputation and too little about our character. Building a reputation is largely a public relations project; building character requires us to focus on our values and actions. Noble rhetoric and good intentions aren’t enough.

What we’re looking for is moral strength based on ethical principles. Character is revealed by actions, not words — especially when there’s a gap between what we want to do and what we should do, and when doing the right thing costs more than we want to pay.

Our character is revealed by how we deal with pressures and temptations. But it’s also disclosed by everyday actions, including what we say and do when we think no one is looking and we assume we won’t get caught. The way we treat people we think can’t help or hurt us, like housekeepers, waiters, and secretaries, tells more about our character than how we treat people we think are important. People who are honest, kind, and fair only when there is something to gain shouldn’t be confused with people of real character who demonstrate these qualities habitually, under all circumstances.

Character is not a fancy coat we put on for show; it’s who we really are.

By Michael Josephson

Brad Axdahl - 2006 Graduate

Brad Axdahl is a sharp shooting 2006 graduate from Nora Springs, IA. You can find Brad’s name all over the Kohawk Record Book. He is 2nd with a career free throw percentage of 86.8, 5th with 160 career three point makes, 3rd with six three point makes in a single game and lands 34th on the all-time career scoring list with 699 points.

Brad was very involved on campus being a member of Psi Chi, Mortar Board, Flunk Day Committee, and the Business Honor Society. He also completed two internships, one of which was working with the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Los Angeles Angels Minor League Baseball Affiliate).

Immediately following graduation, Brad was hired at TrueNorth, an Insurance and Strategies Agency in Cedar Rapids.

Brad and his wife Bri were married on August 31, 2008 and live in Cedar Rapids.