The Klimb with Adrian Branch
Inspirational podcast hosted by former pro athlete turned high-performance consultant, interviewing a broad range of guests sharing their stories of resilience and encouragement.
The Klimb with Adrian Branch
Defining Your True Legacy: Dereck Whittenburg's Path to Greatness
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What defines your true legacy? For former NC State standout Dereck Whittenburg, it's how many people you've helped along the way—not the trophies, accolades, or championships you've won. As a young boy driving with his father past the White House, Whittenburg wondered what it would be like to meet the president someday. That childhood dream became reality not once but twice, as his journey took him from the Maryland playgrounds to NCAA basketball glory.
The heart of Whittenburg's story isn't just about championship rings or coaching successes—it's about his remarkable pattern of turning setbacks into comebacks. He shares how breaking his foot during his senior year at DeMatha High School taught him resilience, only to face the same injury years later during NC State's championship season. Through mental toughness and unwavering positivity, he recovered faster than expected both times, contributing to what became known as the "Cardiac Pack" under legendary coach Jim Valvano.
Whittenburg's wisdom extends far beyond the basketball court. After his playing days, he rebuilt his career coaching at Wagner College and Fordham University before reinventing himself again as an Emmy-winning documentary producer. Most meaningfully, he helped co-establish the Jimmy V Foundation, which has raised nearly $400 million for cancer research, honoring his beloved coach's legacy.
"People have to believe they are worthy of success," Whittenburg advises. "Stay the course, believe in yourself, let people help you, and your dreams can come true." Through the Dereck Whittenburg Foundation, he's now helping first-generation college students achieve their educational goals, embodying his philosophy: "If you want to lift yourself up, lift someone up today." Listen to discover how to transform your own setbacks into powerful comebacks that benefit others along the way.
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Welcome to The Climb
Speaker 1Hi , I'm Adrian Branch , former pro-athlete turned motivational speaker and certified life coach . And welcome to the Climb , a show where we celebrate the stories of resilient people sharing how they turned adversity into success , From the business sector to athletes and beyond . Be inspired and learn what it takes to climb . Hey , hey , everybody , Welcome to another episode of the Climb . This show is about being intentional , about everybody hearing a story about how you can overcome . We want you , the listener , to take bullet points away from what it took for a person to climb , what it took for them to overcome . And today's guest is just wonderful . He's got so many nuggets , so much wisdom that we don't want you to miss who he is . His name is Derek Wittenberg . He's from the Washington DC area , celebrated author , world champion , NCAA champion . He's also an executive movie producer . He's associate director at his alma mater , NC State , and you're in for a real treat . He summarizes what this show , the Climb , is all about . So , Coach Wittenberg , welcome to the show , sir .
Speaker 2Absolutely . Thank you very much . It's my pleasure my ex-teammate , former teammate at the Bath of High School .
Speaker 1And true revelation here , folks we had the same high school coach . Derek was two years ahead of me , though he's like 14 years older , so there was no age limit for where you could be a 12th grader , but I'm so proud of you . Coach , I'm going to jump right in . Tell us a little bit about your story Growing up . We grew up three miles away from each other , glenar in Maryland , and you tell a story about telling your dad Dad , one day I want to visit the White House , and ultimately , we'll tell it about that . You actually did it .
Speaker 2Yeah , I was 12 years old and we were driving down . My dad worked for BMW Mechanic in Alexandria . We were driving down 395 and I'm saying to my dad , I wonder what it's like to meet the president and go to the White House . And , for a short story , you know , played in the boys club basketball , then got a chance to go to the famous DeMatha High School and , undefeated , with your brother , the late Tommy Branch , went undefeated their first national championship in 1978 with Morgan Wooten Senior year . We have a great senior year .
Speaker 2All of a sudden I go to NC State and then four years later in my senior year we win the national championship . I get the chance to go to the White House and visit with the late Ronald Reagan who was the president at the time . What a wonderful experience . And then , 30 years later , we got invited to the White House by the first black president , barack Obama . To the White House Because back then the teams it wasn't legal for a team . Obama to the White House because back then the teams it wasn't legal for a team to go to the White House and he wanted to invite us back 30 years later . So what a great experience and I just can't . I'm humbled and honored to be a part of all of that great journey .
Speaker 1I want to double back and talk about when you were in the 10th grade . I was in the 8th grade , you were in the 10th grade . Folks , I want you to get this . Coach Wittenberg had always had the clutch gene . So there was a dunk contest against the number one and two rated school boys in the country , albert King and Gene Banks . Magic Johnson was also in that same class , rated number four , but you won the slam dunk contest . And where I want our listeners to know what was the mindset as a 6'1 sophomore taking on the two top players in the nation ? But you had no fear . Where was that born out of ?
Early Dreams & Dunk Contest Victory
Speaker 2Baltimore Civic Center sophomore . First of all , all my teammates wanted me to do the famous 360 dunk because nobody on my side have ever tried a 360 dunk . So , believe it or not , dutch Morley , the point guard , was the guy giving me instructions on what dunks to do and what order . And I did that famous 360 dunk at the end and man , the crowd at the Baltimore Simpsons was crazy . But the dunk contests were different . They had one group of us doing the dunk contest and then they had Albert King and Gene Banks featured at a different time doing the dunk contest . But it was unanimous that I won the dunk contest with that famous 360 dunk . And I remind Albert and Gene every time I see him that I peaked him in the dunk contest .
Speaker 1I don't think at almost 65 , anybody's dunking anything but a donut nail , coach . But I was there and I was amazing and you always had the clutch gene . And in this story you guys are going to hear more about Coach because he coached the same way that he played mentally tough . I want to hit you on another story your senior year , our sophomore year at DeMatha . You're our leading scorer , you and Sidney Lowe . Every time they talk about Wittenberg they talk about Sidney Lowe , who was also a classmate . They went to NC State together won a championship , so those two are inseparable with winning championships .
Speaker 1Your 12th grade year , you broke your foot and that was a big loss for our team . Yet in your story and we talked about this a couple days ago , I don't know if you ever recognized that in your story you always have a setback and then a comeback . Tell the listeners what was the mindset as an All-American senior leading scorer at DeMatha and you've got to miss a great portion of the year . But then you come back and hit some game winners . But what was that process like , with the broken foot and having to be patient ?
Overcoming Injuries: High School & College
Speaker 2Well , one thing is it seems to be devastating when it actually happens and you're thinking , oh my goodness , I'm not going to play again and believe it or not . My mom had a remedy . I broke my foot and back then you know the doctors , you know they tell you Dr Stan Levine , you know the great doctor for the Redskins also , was our doctor gave me a little kind of a little plaid , something that I can put on my foot as a brace , made up a brace for me . But I was supposed to be out Adrian about five to six weeks and I came back really early . I came back within three or four weeks and I came back . It was a little bit of pain but that brace really helped me . But mentally , my mom also . When I got home she had the old remedy , the heating lamp , and I would ice it and I put the heat lamp on it . I put heat ice and then I would put the heat lamp on it and really it probably helped my recovery . That's an old remedy back in Alabama .
Speaker 1So where was the steak on your eye ? You also had a steak on your eye for a lump , huh Well , but it worked . You came back and hit some game winners . So the pattern was mentally you stayed ready . But then in the All-Star Games , your last high school games , two times I didn't know , I thought it was once you hit game winners because you kept yourself mentally tough . Tell us about that one being ready .
Speaker 2Yeah , it is about being mentally tough and really being positive too . Being mentally tough is about being positive , about taking on this situation , being ready to come back . I came back . We won the city championship , played in the All-American Games . I came back like I didn't miss a beat , Still made All-Met . You know that was a big thing back then , Adrian , you had to make All-Met . So I still made the All-Met team and I just remain positive because I think that everybody looks at situations that what things happen to is doom and gloom . But I came back and just so happy but I think , a lot of positive energy around between my family , my teammates . Coach Wooten really encouraged me and made me believe that I had an opportunity to come back . I did and I finished up an outstanding senior year in high school .
Speaker 1I want to ride that horse because I'm taking notes as you're writing this down and wait till you finish your basketball career and really hit us with some wisdom . You said mentally tough and being positive , being patient . Then it happened again . Another setback to a comeback . And this is really amazing because your senior year at NC State with Sidney Lowe , a teammate in high school , you broke your foot again separate foot and then you came back and became the cardiac pack . So tell us about that mindset again , your senior year and what it took to get back .
Speaker 2Same mindset . Who in the world would believe that would happen again ? Right so , but this time I already had experience and it's happened before . But it's the opposite foot . Right so I'm on the right foot . But it was a speedy recovery this time because they actually implemented or planted a screw inside the foot . So what helped ? It healed a little faster . So , once again , it's supposed to be about four to eight weeks .
Speaker 2I was back within three again and I came back and it was still kind of sore . But I just didn't want to let my teammates down . I didn't want to miss my senior year . I came back and the team had already made adjustments with me . I think that George McClain and Sidney had stepped up his game and Ernie Myers guys came off the bench . I mean , everybody had stepped up in my absence and really take a turn .
Speaker 2We took a little dip , but we also recovered and the team was in a good way right there . So it was interesting how Valvano would implement me back turn . We took a little dip , but we also recovered and the team was in a good way right there . So it was interesting how valvano would implement me back into the starting lineup right away . And then , uh , that didn't happen right away . We lost a couple games and then we won that senior game , uh , at reynolds coliseum , going into the tournament in which we were 16
The Cardiac Pack's Championship Run
Speaker 2and 10 , and we probably had to win the ACC tournament in order to get in the NCAA . So that's . The journey was really starting to begin when we started in the ACC tournament .
Speaker 1Mentally tough . You had experience so you could be patient . You knew what it took and then they put a screw in your foot . Tell us about that magical ride , because it had to be a mindset to be the cardiac pack and never quit can-do spirit . So what happened on that magical ride , where it's rated the top 20 , top 26 , all-time underdog ? Stories of winning a championship .
Speaker 2Yeah , it's . You know , valvano had a dream and a belief from day one , and this is Jim Valvano .
Speaker 1Coach , jim Valvano .
Speaker 2Jim Valvano , my coach , and he always , from day one , had this dream and this vision about winning the national championship . And we still believe this . It's our last year . Remember Carolina had won the championship in 82 , just my junior year . So it was our time , it was our last shot at it . So we're going into that tournament thinking , you know , we got to do something , we got to get here .
Speaker 2Well , valvano was the calming force , the outstanding leadership at the time and made sure that he was getting us in the right mindset to listen . One game at a time . And the famous quote survive in advance one game at a time . And that's where it started with that Wake Forest game , winning that last second shot , going into Carolina , going to overtime against the great Michael Jordan , which he fouled out of the game . And we come back and win that game . And then we're playing against the three-time player of the year , the great , great Ralph Sampson , one of the great college players in the history of the game . We got to play Ralph Sampson . Seven foot four , seven foot four , talented , can do it all . We got to play him in the championship and it's his last chance to win ACC championship .
Speaker 2So a lot on the line in that ACC championship and in a dramatic fashion again . But here was the key to winning that game against Ralph . Ralph Tampson must have made the first five baskets I mean like dunks Dunked on our whole team , adrian About four times and Val Fallon said that's it , that's it . I remember that we played a . That's it , that's it . I remember that Boxing one , we playing a boxing one , that's it , this guy is not going to beat us . And Val Fallon put that boxing one on him . And the rest was history Really contained Ralph . They still tried to give him the ball , but also put pressure on the other guys to think that now some other guys got to shoot . They can't look to Ralph all the time and they were not prepared to take those shots .
Speaker 1Won the championship . You beat a five slam , a jam of Clyde Drexler and Olajuwon Hakeem Olajuwon two top 75 players . Go back to this real quick , Jim Valvano . What were the lessons that you've learned from him ? He was an amazing guy and you play for two Hall of Fame coaches our high school coach , Morgan Wooten , and then the great Jim Valvano . What were some of his life lessons ?
Speaker 2Well , one thing you can count on Coach V about is that he enjoyed life , his passion and enthusiasm for life , his positive attitude about challenges and going forward and achieving your goals . He was just magnetic in that way . I mean he knew how to motivate people , empower people and he was an excellent game coach . And so we believed him , he believed in us , we trusted him , he trusted us . It was just a magical relation and connection and he was the ultimate players coach . Nobody talked about the players coach back then , but Jim Valvano was the ultimate players coach and we just enjoyed so much playing for him .
Speaker 1It's interesting . I took some notes here with the cardiac pack and some of the keys to surviving . You said that also . What you learned is he's transparent , truthful , and that eventually goes to being
Coaching Career & Leadership Lessons
Speaker 1trustful . Break that one down for us .
Speaker 2Well , I mean our coaches back then and teachers always put everything out front . That's transparency . Right , you lay it on the line . This is what you need to do . This is the process and therefore , if it's transparent , you know the deal . The next part of that is being truthful . Tell people the truth , especially on a team . What's your role , what's your responsibility ? What's your responsibility not just as a teammate , but as an individual and as a student as well . So he also didn't require everything as just being on the basketball court , but also you as the individual and as a student as well . So that's where the transparency plus truth equals trust . That was a steady , three-pronged attack on how you relate to people .
Speaker 1The magic happens . You visit the White House , that 12-year-old boy talking to his dad , mr Wittenberg , who was a classy man God bless him and Mrs Wittenberg . You go to the White House and then I think the Derek Wittenberg story really kicks in , because I wrote down this quote too In 1983 , was a part of me , but it wasn't all of me . So after you finish playing basketball , you get into coaching and you start impacting young people's lives . Tell us about the next dimension that you had and what you tried to do as a coach .
Speaker 2Well , it all starts here , Adrian . Like , you win a national championship and you think that everybody thinks your next step is automatically going to go to the pros and you get drafted . You're on this high . I get drafted by the Phoenix Suns as third player , first player in the third round . I go to Phoenix .
Speaker 2I think , yeah , I'm fine , I'm the MVP of the championship game . I can play , man , I can play , yeah . Yeah , you think about setback . You're in the national championship , you're killing them in training camp and next year you got cut . This is how you get cut in the NBA . They don't write you a letter Right after the bus in training camp . The guy comes to you at the bus and says , man , you're not going to be with us next year . That's how you get cut in the professional right . It ain't pretty man . So I'm getting cut off the bus on what's my next step , what I'm going to do and everything . And all of a sudden I said you know what ? I'm going to go overseas and play . So I go overseas , go to France and play over there for about a year and really having a really nice career .
Speaker 2And all of a sudden I meet this little lady named Jacqueline Whitberg , get married and I take my first coaching job at George Mason with Joe Harrington , who worked for Lefty Giselle and played at Maryland . That was my first coaching job . And by battle , I took that job at George Mason , who worked for Lefty Giselle and played at Maryland . That was my first coaching job . And Valvano , I took that job at George Mason , and boy , that was a treat . And then I came back with Joe again , went back to NC State and all of a sudden I got started my coaching career . But when I came back after Europe and started that GA position , that was the start of my career . Vivaldo offered me that position . I came back and got my coaching career started and then my first full-time job with Joe Harrington was life-changing .
Speaker 1Talk to him three days ago . He's doing well , living out in Maine coaching his daughter , and he's forever young . He's like an evergreen tree . It's interesting , I saw you In fact , I was privileged to actually call this game Fordham .
Speaker 1I talk about , in fact , coach Wittenberg's in four Hall of Fames he's at the Mather Hall of Fame , the NC State and his jersey number 25 retired Then Wagner where he was winning championships , first one and coach of the year , and then the DC , our hometown DC Hall of Fame . So he has been doing it for a long time . But even more off the court he's been impacting . I've got to tell you guys , I remember that game at Fordham coach , where I called that one for ESPN , where we were colleagues for three or four years . But you beat Travis Ford and it was a huge game and I didn't think you had a chance because it has six guys . Nobody had a matching uniform on at Fordham . Some guys were playing in their dress shoes but you went to work and beat these guys . How were you able to do that and galvanize young people as a leader ?
Speaker 2Well , first of all , fordham was a school that didn't have much success . They had elevated themselves from the MAAC until the Atlantic 10 , was about five steps up from the league they were in before . They never had great success there . But coming off of Wagner , I thought that you know went to the NCAA tournament for the first time ever . You know I had six guys on the D's list . All my kids graduated 3.0 for four years , so had a great success at Wagner . So I was looking for another challenge and I saw this challenge at Fordham . Same type of school , academic school , good kids . I recruited some really excellent kids at Fordham and we were on our way . And that year I think I don't know if it was the year before or after , but we had came in fourth place Adrian in the Atlantic 10 . And Fordham never came close to fourth place in that league . And so I had a bunch of , you know , brian Dunstan and Marcus Stout . That was just two excellent players that had . Both of them are in the top 10 in scoring and Dunstan is second all-time .
Speaker 1Yeah , power forward . That's the one , Dunstan , there we go . Yes sir , yes sir .
Speaker 2Today we wouldn't be able to afford him because the NIL would be so high for him . He would never play for me . But Dunstan and Marcus Stout were excellent players and we had a great run there . Those were great kids . We just could never get over the hump because that league was just a tough league . You had Carl Hobbs at GW , you had Phil Martelli at St Joe's , you had Sean Miller at Xavier . You had Travis . You had Phil Martelli at St Joe's , you had Sean Miller at Xavier . You know you had Travis . You know .
Speaker 1UMass .
Speaker 2There was some great , great coaches and teams at LA when I was in there and it was a privilege to really coach at that league because , you know , my idol was the late John Chaney .
Speaker 1Oh yes , Temple University .
Speaker 2I got a little nugget for you .
Speaker 1My idol was the late John Chaney . Oh yes , Temple University .
Speaker 2I got a little nugget for you . So John Chaney retired his last game . He played against Florida and the start of the game they came out , everybody had on white , the mayor was there , everybody was eating Philly cheesesteak . I mean , it was the John Chaney Temple game . And I looked at that crowd and I told my kids I said listen , we are not going to be the sacrificial lamb today . We cannot lose this game . And I was yelling and screaming at my team . We were three minutes to go . I'll never forget . My sister said Coach , we're up about 15 points with about three minutes to go . And he said John Chaney is playing man-to-man . And I looked at that coach and I said there's no way , john Chaney don't play man-to-man . He said Coach , he's playing man-to-man . In my mind I was saying the game is over Because we had beat the Temple zone . That's right .
Speaker 1Nobody's ever done that .
Speaker 2Nobody's ever done that . So we win the game at Temple . His last game at home I'll never forget it . It was Adrian . There must have been 40 , 50 reporters there to talk about John Chaney . Right , his last game at Temple . You know how many reporters talked to me ? Zero . It's the biggest game we ever won in Florida's history . Never beat John Chaney at Temple and none of the reporters talked to me at all , and one reporter came on the business . I hope John Chaney had Temple . And none of the reporters talked to me at all and one reporter came on the business . I hope John Chaney had a nice one . They had forgot about the game . They just wanted to talk about John Chaney , the moment .
Speaker 2They didn't care . That's the moment . But I later saw that summer I saw Coach Chaney and Coach Chaney saw me . It was in a red lobster and Coach Chaney comes in there . He said , wittenberg , you know why I love you ? I said why , coach , it's because you know I love you . He said after you beat me , you didn't run around the country bragging about it .
Speaker 2I said Coach , listen , you are my idol , you are a pioneer . I want you , I want to emulate you . I said , coach , as competitive as I am , I want to beat you there . But my other part of me is saying that's the legend man and I can't do that to the legend . I'm happy I got the win , but I said you are a legend and you're a pioneer and if it wasn't for guys like you , there would be no me . My goodness , humility , that's another nugget for you .
Speaker 1That was a big-time one . I'm just thinking . You sent Ralph Sampson Hall of Famer home and then , graciously , john Chaney as a coach . Now I want to double back down , coach , because your whole story again is from set back to come back . So at Fordham you're graduating players , you have all stars , and then they fire you One in four all of a sudden . They fire you One in four all of a sudden . They fire you . And then you had a comeback where we'll talk about books and success . What was the mindset again , and how did that affect your identity ? Because as a coach , you get attached to who you are sometimes as a coach .
Speaker 2But the most interesting about our
The Jimmy V Foundation Legacy
Speaker 2business is sometimes it don't always go as planned . And you got to understand that going in and it had been 26 years straight and I think me and Pat Kennedy were the only two guys that had gone 26 years straight without being fired . But if you stay in coaching long enough you're going to get fired . And so it was just really interesting and strange the way it happened , because I recruited those kids , that relationship , those families , and all of a sudden in the back door in the midnight hour . I mean it's different when you get fired at the end of the year but when you get fired in the beginning of the year , but when you get fired in the beginning of the year , the year started . It's so different .
Speaker 2So you got to watch your team play , you got to go through all those emotions , so I sat back and , you know , took it all in and started thinking about the future . And then and then one thing led to another . I'm watching the Fab Five film and I said you know what ? This is a great film , but I need to tell my story . And that's when I took on a job at ESPN and then I came up with the idea and called my good buddy . Jonathan Hawk and I wanted to tell the story about our great run back in 83 with ESPN and , thanks to John , his team , he helped me put it together .
Speaker 1Tell us about that one . So there was a 30 for 30 . It talks about the magical run . You become an executive producer and you start winning some hearts . In fact , show those rings real quick . There were some rings up there . What are those , Coach ? You got to tell us what those are .
Speaker 2This is my Wagner College .
Speaker 1Okay , and the national championship .
Speaker 2The championship rings . Yes , right there , wagner College , we won their first NCAA championship and their first conference championship and their first regular season championship as well . Wow , and that's my NC State National Championship ring . So I wanted to always wear those on special occasions and I mean , putting together that film was another special moment , because you get a chance to reminisce and go over the story again with all your teammates and coaches and people of that nature , and then you know , thinking about my coach , jim Vivaldo so much and told his story as well , right as an overcomer , absolutely , absolutely .
Speaker 2And what a wonderful project . And sometimes you know you write a book or you tell a story . You don't know how it's going to work out . You just want to tell the story and and it just came out better than we ever thought .
Speaker 1Want to end me with ? Yeah , want to end me with that . One Another accomplishment and I love the mindset that you had with sacrificing and encouraging people . And then I think your best work was still ahead with the 30 for 30 . Then you were also an event chair for the Jimmy V Foundation . Tell us about how that happened and what was happening to your beloved coach , our beloved coach I'm connected with . He recruited me as well , coach Jimmy V . Tell us a little bit about what happened with Coach V .
Speaker 2Well , I know Coach V Well about Vano Coach V , it's very interesting , very similar stories , right . So we go to the national championship . You know , obviously we're all gone and he continued to coach . It had a lot of success , went to the final eight . I came back and coached with him a couple of different occasions and even in his last years Final Eight I came back and coached with him a couple different occasions and even his last year as a state I was back there . Coach went in from 88 to 90 .
Speaker 2And you know we get some NCAA violations as this stuff happens . And then they fire him . You know he fired him as the ADN basketball coach . And then we go on to years and I'm in ESPN and everything , and Lord and real , he gets diagnosed with cancer and I never thought that Coach V would ever get sick , but he was very sick and he probably had two months to live . And he came back for the 10th anniversary of our championship team in Reynolds Coliseum and we knew then that it wasn't going to be much longer .
Speaker 2And so Coach V comes back and very similar stories that you know . When he gets fired , guess what ? He goes to work for ESPN too . So the same thing kind of happened to me . So long story short he came back and he got diagnosed Before he passed away . He started the Jimmy V Foundation and I was one of the founding members of that organization myself John Saunders , you know , bob Lloyd . There was some , just some wonderful guys that actually started off the organization and that's the beginning of this V Foundation , this 32-year run . What a great run of we raising money .
Speaker 1Over 400 , nearly $400 million or so 100% of it $400 million yeah , awarding over 600 grants across the country .
Speaker 2100% of every dollar goes directly to cancer research . So very humbled and honored to be a part of such an organization that's going to help so many different people around the world and we've got to continue that fight because cancer is a disease . Now , that's not a death sentence , but we can thrive and survive with cancer and we find us some cures and slowly but surely we're going to beat this dreaded disease .
Speaker 1Tell us quickly how you and Coach were so close , because you were the only player from that 83 championship team that was entrusted to be on the board and then I just learned recently from you that you were the only player that was a pallbearer . So how was you guys relationship so close ?
Speaker 2Well , he first came to his press conference he said he said three things . I'm going to look at you guys as a person , as a student , as a player , and I remember just like it was yesterday . He said if you ever want to come in my office and talk to me other than basketball , my door is always open . So after practice I would go back up there and we would chat about everything under the sun , never talking about sports just kind of hang out . You know , once a week , once or twice a week , I'll go out and hang out with him and talk to him . And we just built this relationship . And so this relationship carried on even after I left NC State . So that's how we became very , very close . And one thing he knew for sure , and I knew for sure , that man loved his team . But we had a special relationship and I loved that man as well . I loved him like a big brother , I loved him like a father . He was the very special relationship that Jim and I had .
Speaker 1It's interesting because you've carried that over with your relationships and now what you currently do as an associate athletic director . And you , my goodness , go to nearly 200 events throughout the year , so you are always engaging all the way from the cycle of life , from weddings to funerals , to engagements and banquets . What I want to touch on is some of your quotes . I love your quotes and oh , by the way , you had time after Emmy for 30 for 30 , you get ready to write a book from the streets to the White House . But I want to hit your quote here . I love this quote where you said your legacy is defined by how many people you've helped along the way and how you've used your success . What does that mean ?
Speaker 2Well , we all have had so many great experiences , especially in sport , right , and at the end of the day , if you can't use that to share and give service to others , that's what you're on this earth to do , and it's not always about you . What possessions you can buy your house , your car , the clothes that you wear that's not what it's about . At the end of the day , your legacy is going to be about the people that you help and empower in their journey , and that's rewarding to me . If you want to lift yourself up , lift someone up today . That should be your mantra , and so what we do now we're in the fourth quarter of life and what we have to continue to do is lift people up , get them to believe in their dreams and their journey , and therefore we have done our service to the man above .
Speaker 1Wow , wow , coach , and this ties in . It just goes by so fast . I want to ask one more thing . You may say the same thing differently . Last question I would have
Building Your True Legacy
Speaker 1for you is how can you encourage somebody to keep on climbing ?
Speaker 2Well , really , it's as simple as this . And , adria , we're doing it . Where we speak across the country to all different organizations and people of all walks of life , people have to believe in themselves and understand that they are worthy of success . They are worthy of success , and it's not going to be easy . And if you can get them to believe in themselves , to understand where they want to go in life and stick to it , they can do it . The A can actually do it . I tell people all the time listen , you cherish everybody else's success , but you relish in the fact that your success is going to come to you one day . Stay the course , believe in yourself , let people help you and believe in your journey and your dreams can come true as well . And your dreams can come true as well .
Speaker 1My goodness , wow , coach , that was really rich . That was fantastic . I'm humbled . I'm humbled to be your brother , your teammate and just continue to learn from you . Where can folks find you ? Where can they follow you if ?
Speaker 2they want to know more about Coach Derek Wittenberg . Well , first of all , they can find me . The best way to find me is go to the Derrick Wittenberg Foundation , the DW Foundation , and look at our website and all the wonderful things that my wife and I are doing to help kids finish college . It's all there . I think that's where we want to start . Listen , we were first generation graduates , right , that's where we want to start .
Speaker 2Listen , we were first-generation graduates . Right , that's right , and it's nothing more powerful than that . And before I want to end , I want to tell you something . Adrian , your parents were godsend , your dad and your mom . Your dad would pull me over to the side and say , listen , you got to pass the ball a little bit .
Speaker 1Big Charlie , Big Charlie .
Speaker 2You know Big Charlie .
Speaker 1You know Big Charlie before .
Speaker 2Big Charlie , you know Big Charlie , you know Big Charlie . He said you can't shoot on the ball there , he wasn't lying .
Speaker 1Oh my goodness .
Speaker 2But , I definitely get the support of your parents . You know back then people underestimate the parents at every game . Your mom and dad , they were at every game . Your mom still wore the leather jacket to this day yeah , she did . When she was at Morgan Wooten's service she had the leather .
Speaker 2she had the leather , miss Jacket on . Yeah , so we . That's what my book's about . It was that . All the people that helped us our parents , our coaches , our teachers , the people at the rec center you know , mrs Osborne , for me , who helped me go to DeMatha High School and recommended me to go to DeMatha High School , it wasn't for those people who took interest in us . Adrian , like your parents , man , don't tell them where we'll be right now . Sports really gave us a great outlet and learned so many tangibles and tangible things about life . I'm so glad people like your parents and our parents was in our lives .
Speaker 1Thank you . Wow , we're going to drop the mic right there and say man , Coach Wittenberg , thank you . We're going to have to do this one again . Thank you for your time , Thank you for your wisdom and we'll see you soon .
Speaker 2Absolutely . Thank you , brother .
Speaker 1Coach Derek Wittenberg , everyone full of wisdom . Absolutely Thank you , brother . At Adrian Branch Speaks and download the Climb wherever podcasts are available Listen . We love you guys tons . Thanks for hanging with us and again , remember , be encouraged and keep climbing . We'll see you everybody , thank you .