All-American tips fill book from Durrants

Adhering to that old Dizzy Dean aphorism, "It ain't braggin' if you done it," former BYU All-American basketball player Devin Durrant has written a book — with a considerable assist from his father, George Durrant — entitled, "Raising An All-American."

The book, published by Spring Creek Book Co. in Provo, hit local bookstores this past week, just in time, appropriately enough, for Father's Day.

Devin gives full credit to his father for the book's material, writing in the preface, "He has been the perfect father for me. He, in his own magical way, helped me find and place every piece in my All-American Puzzle."

The rest of the book identifies the pieces of that puzzle. The Durrant theory of child-rearing is that if you help a child put all the pieces together, he or she will become an All-American athlete, symbolically if not officially.

The nine puzzle pieces are: 1. The Dream, 2. Be Your Own Coach, 3. Be Coachable, 4. Work, Work, Work; 5. Rodeo Tough, 6. Dare Mighty Things, 7. Love The Game, 8. Make Your Own Luck and 9. Gifts from God.

You'll have to buy the book ($16.95 in paperback) to get all the details.

Devin says that the puzzle piece that glues it all together — that straw that stirs the drink (as long as we're quoting baseball philosophers) — is No. 2: Be Your Own Coach.

"You need to teach children to discipline themselves," Devin says. "They need to make their own bed without being asked, they need to practice the piano on their own, they need to take 100 shots every day because they want to, that kind of thing. The point is, a coach can't always be there. Once a child understands he or she is in charge, everything falls into place."

Another key to churning out All-Americans, Devin notes, is parents knowing when to back off.

"One big problem is fanatical parenting — parents driven to see their child succeed and interfering too much," he says. "My dad took a backseat. He was smart enough to let the coaches be the coaches."

While Durrant's book focuses on producing outstanding athletes, he stresses that the formula works for non-athletic pursuits as well. "One strong reason I wrote the book is to show how to use sports as a model for success in all areas of life," he says. "Sports participation is a part-time thing, but life is permanent."

Again, Durrant's own life is the prototype, proof positive that there is life, and plenty of it, after competitive athletics.