BUDDE BUDDY

Love is a Four-Letter Word Spelled T-I-M-E.

The desire to succeed can be overwhelming. Despite the most earnest effort and best intentions, most young people need help when faced with life’s challenges.

The Coyotes believe that powerful mentors with credible life histories bridge this gap. We believe that love is a four-letter word spelled T-I-M-E, and we define a mentor as a coach, guide, tutor, facilitator, counselor, or trusted advisor – someone willing to spend his or her T-I-M-E and expertise to guide the development of another person.

A Coyote Mentorship is a relationship formed between a mentor and mentee with the goal of sharing knowledge and expertise between the mentor and the mentee. It can be a formal relationship with written goals and scheduled meeting times – or as simple as an informal occasional chat or email exchange.

All Coyote mentors share these seven key qualities –

· Ability and willingness to communicate what they know
· Preparedness
· Approachability, availability, and the ability to listen
· Honesty with diplomacy
· Inquisitiveness
· Objectivity and fairness
· Compassion and genuineness

Decorated USC legend and NFL alumnus Brad Budde – and the Budde-Buddy Coyote Mentor Program.

Success must be learned – before it’s earned.

That’s the challenge posed by Coyotes advisory board member Brad Budde, former Kansas City Chiefs standout, College Football Hall of Famer – and one of the greatest offensive lineman in University of Southern California history.

In addition to advisory board duties, Budde serves as a ‘life coach’ to the Coyotes non-profit sports leadership organization, where selfless work ethic, accountability, and improving others – all staples of his decorated career – are standards he sets for the team’s array of mentoring programs.

Budde, a prominent Orange County businessman, was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame in 1998, the USC Football Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2010.

During his USC career under head coach John Robinson, Budde started and won three Rose Bowls, including one national championship.

“Before a man can become significant in this world he must first learn how to be successful,” Budde said. “Success is a byproduct of the fulfillment of the scripture in John 10:27, ’My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.’”

Among USC’s most highly acclaimed linemen, Budde became the first player since World War II to start as a freshman in 1976. As a senior in 1979, Budde was a unanimous All-American, USC Offensive Player of the Year, USC Most Inspirational Player and Academic All-American, and then selected as the first and only Lombardi Award winner in the school’s remarkable history. He wrapped his stunning USC career by earning the NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship.

The son of legendary Kansas City Chief AFL Hall of Fame lineman Ed Budde, Brad again made history during the 1980 NFL Draft, when the Chiefs selected him in the first round. He and his father Ed became the first and only father-son tandem in NFL history to be drafted in the first round, to the same team, to play the same position.

Budde’s eight NFL seasons fulfilled his life-long dream to follow in his father’s footsteps. Off the field, Brad and his wife, Nicolette, devoted themselves to working with abused and neglected children through Camp Opportunity and Division of Family Services in Kansas City, Missouri.

Following retirement from the NFL in 1988, Brad returned to college and earned his Master’s in Physical Therapy from Loma Linda University. For the past 20 years, he has rehabilitated senior citizens in South Orange County, California, as President of Budde Physical Therapy, Inc.

In 2005, Budde founded GameDay Management Systems, Inc., bringing the fundamentals of high-performing sports teams into the workplace.

The appointment of Jones directs a national spotlight toward the expanding footprint of the Coyotes, a California non-profit organization. Now in its sixth year of operation, the ‘Coyote Model’ of “Building Champions, Building Men” has become the nation’s leading prototype for developmental football.

A stunning combination of strength, speed and instinct made Jones one of the finest linebackers in the history of college football. The three-time All-American and Heisman candidate became the first Florida State University player to capture two national awards in the same year when he earned both the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker and the Lombardi Award as the nation’s top lineman.

Jones became the highest pick of any Florida State player in history when the New York Jets selected him fourth overall in the first round in the 1993 National Football League draft. He played 11 seasons with the Jets, starting all 80 games of his last five seasons. His 1,200 tackles (811 solo) are third all-time, and he posted eight consecutive 100-tackle seasons.  Jones won multiple Most Valuable Player awards, and was a first-team All-Pro.

Most recently, Jones was inducted into the Florida State University Hall of Fame and selected to the ACC 50th Anniversary Football Team. Previously, he was the New York Jets team selection and finalist for the prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Unique among NFL honors, the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award is the only one that recognizes a player for his community service activities, as well as excellence on the field.

Lewis retired after 200 games with 1,231 tackles (883 solo); 52.5 sacks; 14 interceptions for 241 yards; 79 pass deflections; 29 forced fumbles; 13 fumble recoveries for 74 yards; and five defensive touchdowns. His 2001 sideline hit on New England Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe – who had just signed a $100 million contract – provided opportunity to a little-known rookie named Tom Brady, and reshaped modern NFL history.