Frosty Westering

Frosty

In 32 seasons at the NAIA II and NCAA Division III college of Pacific Lutheran University, Dr. Forest "Frosty" Westering won four national titles and finished as a national runner-up four other times. He won more than 78 percent of his games at PLU, going 261-70-5 at the private school. Before coming to PLU, Westering coached at Parsons College in Iowa and Lea College in Minnesota.

Westering retired in 2003 with 305 total victories and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005. He led the Lutes to NAIA national titles in 1980, 1987 and 1993, then in the school's second year after making the jump to Division III, led PLU to the 1999 national title. The Lutes became the first team to win five road games to win the title.

His record at the small school about an hour south of Seattle was staggering. He never had a losing record in any of his 32 seasons and had 19 total playoff appearances. Three times he was a national coach of the year.

But that was just one part of Westering. He was a professor and successful author, transferring his beliefs about coaching into life skills. Westering wrote two books - "Make The Big Time Where You Are" and "The Strange Secret of the Big Time: What Makes Life Great" - and regularly spoke to groups of all ages. Westering also started a mentorship program among PLU football players with local elementary students where they spend about 2,000 hours annually at schools working with kids. https://www.si.com/nfl/2013/04/12/frosty-westering-former-pacific-lutheran-coach-dies

To Frosty, it was not all about winning and losing games. It went beyond that. It was about making the ‘Big Time’ and enjoying teammates’ company. It was about serving each other and going above and beyond the call of duty.

Sure, a team can go undefeated and win the national championship but a concern of Frosty’s would be making sure the team is relishing the process. Players only have four years to appreciate every prayer before a game, every practice, every snap, every team meeting, and every moment in the huddle. 

No one can play football for their entire life, so that is why Frosty stressed the notion that it is important to live in the moment. Frosty’s personality was bigger than life itself and his philosophy on life was unlike any other. https://frostywestering.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/enjoying-the-trip/