A Champion's Perspective
The Dash & Coach Lou Holtz
How one of football's most celebrated coaches found in a simple poem the same truth he'd spent a lifetime teaching his players.
The Story
Lou Holtz — Hall of Fame football coach, motivational speaker, and one of the most decorated figures in college football history — has long understood that winning is about far more than what happens on the scoreboard.
Throughout a legendary career that included a national championship at Notre Dame and head coaching stints at six universities, Coach Holtz built his philosophy around character, faith, and the way a person chooses to live. When he encountered Linda Ellis's poem The Dash, its message resonated immediately — because it put into words what he had spent decades trying to teach.
For Coach Holtz, the dash wasn't just a poetic metaphor. It was the standard he held himself and his players to every single day: Are you giving everything you have? Are you treating people with respect? Are you living in a way you'll be proud of when it's all said and done?
For Linda, having a figure of Coach Holtz's stature and moral authority share her poem was a profound affirmation — a reminder that the poem's message transcends sport, and speaks to the very heart of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning.
"What matters is how we live and love, and how we spend our dash."
— from The Dash by Linda Ellis
The Original Poem
The Dash
by Linda Ellis
I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
from the beginning to the end.
He noted first came the date of the birth
and spoke the following date with tears.
But he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between the years.
For that dash represents all the time
that they spent life on Earth.
And now only those who loved them
know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not how much we own,
the cars, the house, the cash.
What matters is how we live and love,
and how we spend our dash.
So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more,
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy is being read
with your life's actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent your dash?
www.LindaEllis.life
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