By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
A.W. Hamilton stepped to the mic on the Baptist Health Arena floor. It was noon September 30, on the EKU campus, and the men’s basketball coach had a message to deliver to his basketball supporters, his community and state, and perhaps most importantly, hundreds of elementary-aged students sitting before him.
He would present a book, called Dream Big with Coach A.W. Hamilton, and he wanted to talk about its official release upcoming on October 15.
“October 2025, my mom unexpectedly passed away and I’m dedicating this book to her and it’s really special to me,” he said. “Her birthday is actually on October 15, so the birth of my book is actually on the birth of my mother.”
A.W.’s goal, he noted, is simple.
“I want to get this book in the hands of as many elementary and middle school kids in the state of Kentucky as possible . . . and then across the world through incredible partnerships.”
He soon followed by telling the crowd with two local Madison County groups of students in attendance that:
• Every K-6 Madison County student will receive a copy.
• Every K-6 student in Knott and Perry Counties will receive the same.
• Every fifth and sixth grade student in Clark County will receive one.
• A.W. and his wife, Chelsea, will donate a book to every elementary school library in Kentucky.
And with those introductory points made and a seemingly uncountable number of obviously heartfelt personal expressions of gratitude given to people far and wide, A.W. abruptly departed from the speaker lectern and headed directly toward a rambunctious group of excited kids, his voice rising to a near scream.
“ARE YOU GUYS READY TO HAVE SOME FUN?”
And they were. Just like other young people in hundreds of sessions of A.W.’s “Dream Big Basketball Camps,” they have always responded.
For over the next 30 minutes, A.W., with enthusiastic help of some of his players and staff—along with audience volunteers–led in a high-spirited, prize-winning interactive expression of joy. He had told them of a book for THEM. Now he was going to tell ‘em what was IN the book–five goals to live life for success.
A.W. said the first was to “dream big,” just like his grandfather “Papa Rudy” told him to do as an eighth grader. That meant that young A.W. needed to write down five goals for high school and put them on his mirror to see every morning while brushing his teeth. Amazing results came from the action, as A.W. enjoyed a celebrated career at Scott County High.
Then Coach asked his own three children to walk out before the crowd, each carrying large cardboard cut-outs of one-million-dollar checks. He explained that his goal is to write real checks to each of his children when they reach age 18. “In the back of the book,” he explained, “I have this page for you to write your goals on. So every single day when you brush your teeth, you see YOUR goals.”
And then counting to three, he led the fired-up kids with “Number one is ‘DREAM BIG’.”
Then A.W. shifted to the second goal presented in the book, to NEVER QUIT. He told the kids a story of a little boy at a birthday party named Derrick, who tried to break open a candy-filled pinata but was exasperated when it wouldn’t break. He wanted to quit. Prodded by his best friend to try one more time, BOOM! He had success. A.W. encouraged his audience to do likewise and offered examples of times in their lives they might be tempted to quit but shouldn’t.
A.W. moved on to the third goal, USE YOUR WORDS FOR GOOD. “Always say things to people that will make them smile, make them happy, and make them feel real good about themselves,” he explained. He picked an exuberant young third-grader from Model, Logan, from the crowd and had her spin a wheel that landed on “pick your favorite teacher.” She picked a teacher to shoot a free throw to win the school free popsicles. After the teacher’s missing a couple, Logan picked an EKU player, Cade Murphy, to shoot for the treats, and he made the second to the cheers of many. Next, he chose Mason from White Hall, and more fun happened.
It was all a happy back and forth gathering, with A.W. gracefully leading like a conductor directing a symphony. It was muscle memory from hundreds of A.W. Hamilton summer basketball camps over the years.
Then the fourth goal was highlighted, BE A GREAT LISTENER. “Your superpower is your ability to listen,” he told them. And this goal was a golden opportunity for him to present his seemingly personally copyrighted “Up, Down” game, one he enjoys using in gatherings to test individuals in a group’s listening and reflexive ability. On this one, young boy named Bo from Model beat out the adults and won for his school a pinata, pizza and Gatorade.
By the time A.W. was finished with activities relating to the fifth goal, PUNCH YOUR OPPORTUNITY CLOCK, he was ready to meet shortly with the press and then sign students’ copies of Dream Big.
He had promised the kids fun, and he delivered. For their future, he’s confident that achieving the five goals will bring life success. Don’t bet against it, as A.W. Hamilton has crafted a remarkable career following what he teaches kids.
I had a chance to talk to the book’s illustrator, Emilee Stites, who, like A.W., lives in Richmond. She enjoyed the experience. “I had mostly worked on magazines, but never anything like this,” she said. After an initial meeting, the two emailed images back and forth and consulted for about year, with Emilee taking extra pains as an artist to make some of her illustrations look closely like A.W.’s family members, happily very noticeable in the book. “Without getting to meet them, I feel like I know some of his family members,” she said, grinning. And though older than the book’s target audience, Emilee’s own children have taken up the book’s encouragement to write down their own personal goals.
Overall, Emilee’s career work provides “design and marketing solutions to small and medium-sized businesses” and has won six design awards. Contact her at aesopdesignstudio.com.
According to the publisher spokesperson, Carol Butler, Dream Big with Coach A.W. Hamilton is now available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and butlerbooks.com. It will also be available at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington during and after the Kentucky Book Festival on November 7. For more information, visit dreambigwithcoach.com.
Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of seven books: a biography of Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and six in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. Steve’s “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #5,” was released in 2019. Steve is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, a weekly NKyTribune columnist, and a former member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Contact him at sflairty2001@yahoo.com or visit his Facebook page, “Kentucky in Common: Word Sketches in Tribute.”