The Mentor and his Pupil – Coach Emory Bellard and Dr. Octavious Bishop
TLSN oral history is sponsored by MBFC contact John Carsey at jcarsey@mbfc.com
Octavius Bishops Longhorn’s oral history podcast is first up. Click on the link below.
The many faces of Octavious Bishop.
The Mentor and his Pupil
There would probably not be a Dr. Octavious Bishop without Coach/mentor Emory Bellard. Coach Bellard is a two-time Texas high school state champion and a two-time National Champion coach. The creator of the Wishbone offense. After he accepted the job as head coach of Texas A & M, he turned a losing program into a winner. Still, the Aggies released him and Mississippi State hired him. After a short period, he chose to leave college football coaching and return to his roots-coaching high school football. That is where Octavious was introduced to the legend Emory Bellard.
Michael Jordan says, “Other than my parents; no one had a bigger influence on my life than Coach Smith…He was more than a coach — he was my mentor, my teacher, my second father”.
UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said, “A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.”
Emory Bellard changed a life.
Emory – 1958 Breckenridge state champions followed by the 1966 state championship of the San Angelo, Central Bobcats.
Mentors counsel, encourage, accept, and confirm. Under Coach Bellard’s tutelage, Octavious’s GPA increased, goals were defined, social skills improved, confidence soared, and self-esteem blossomed.
Young athletes do not realize it until later in life, but Coaches open paths to the Holy Grail. Bellard did that for high school student Octavious Bishop. Bellard instilled spirit in the heart of Octavious with the instruction that life is best traveled with a teammates insight, a work ethic in tow, and self-reliance as the goal. Octavious has lived by these tenets every since.
Mentoring is not successful in a vacuum. For Octavious, it took Bellard’s guidance, high school team sports, and Octavious’s self-discipline to change a young high school student with a 4th-grade education to the man we now celebrate as Dr. Octavious Bishop.
To listen to Octavious discuss Coach Bellard’s profound influence on his life, click on the link below and go to the 1:32 mark. https://youtu.be/lw5hfycvnrU
Read about the fascinating life of Emory Bellard at https://www.texaslsn.org/emory-bellardwishbone
In 1998 Ocatvious was a starter in the offensive line for the Horns and 20 years later received his Doctorate from Walden University with a dissertation titled “Quantifying the Spectrum of Depression.”
As a Longhorn football player you can partly thank offensive lineman Octavious for Ricky Williams Heisman. After playing four years at Texas (1995-1998) where he was a part of two conference championship teams (1995 Southwest Conference, 1996 Big 12),
Leg Injury leads to Octavious “calling”
Bishop spent time in professional football before a leg injury during the only season in the XFL (2001) ended his career. (see https://youtu.be/K90BcL4Zlig for the details of the injury)
After retiring from professional football, Bishop returned to Texas to complete his bachelor’s degree in 2001 and his master’s degree in Social Work in 2008. Bishop finished his educational process after earning a Ph.D. in neuropsychology.
Octavius’s passion is helping others. He spends his days as a counselor, professor, and inspirational leader. He has chosen several venues to mentor and guide those who are struggling.
Enter Another Coach who believed in Octavious Bishop
The video below defines Dr. Bishop’s role in working for Coach Strong.
Coach Strong thought so highly of Octavious he hired him as Director of Student Leadership/Personal Development .
Texas announced Friday former Longhorn Octavious Bishop was hired as the new for the Longhorns. According to a news release for the university, Bishop’s role “will work with Strong and the football staff to provide strategies and implement programs to support student-athlete development. Among the program’s goals and objectives will be personal growth, character enhancement, leadership assessment and development, life skills, and career preparation.”
“I had an unbelievable conversation with Octavious about what we were looking for in this position and knew right away that he was the man for the job,” Strong said. “He’s an engaging and energetic person who has a ton of experience working with personal development and has gained so much knowledge in handling all aspects of student-athletes lives. I just really loved his passion and all of the ideas he was bringing to the table. On top of that, he’s a Longhorn letterman who overcame a lot of obstacles in his own life. I’m so excited to have him joining our staff.” HC Charlie Strong said, “I just really loved his passion and all of the ideas he was bringing to the table. On top of that, he’s a Longhorn letterman who overcame a lot of obstacles in his own life. I’m so excited to have him joining our staff.”
Moving Forward with discipline and a work ethic in tow
Over the last decade, Octavious has touched the lives of others by teaching at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, at ACC as an Associate Adjunct Psychology professor, and as an inspirational leader and public speaker.
Octavius Bishop gave the keynote address at an ENCORE (Engaging our Community for College Readiness) Family Conference hosted by the Austin Independent School District on November 23, 2013.
Bishop has served as a male involvement program coordinator at five Austin area high schools, where he worked with at-risk populations for Communities in Schools, a nonprofit organization focused on dropout prevention.
Testimonials from two parents about Octavious
Donna Ciccarelli says of Octavious, “What once was a teen who loathed school and more so loathed himself, Octavius’s wise counsel helped my son break down barriers to his socialization and identity struggles. My son is now thriving and studying Engineering at A&M., Where my hope was small; it is now grown to the point I can envision my son graduating from college. My family is forever grateful for Dr. Bishop’s wisdom, openness, deep concern, and love for his clients.”
Michael Cress says, “Octavious is one of the most dedicated and passionate people that I know. I have had the pleasure of working closely with him over the past few years on many business and philanthropic endeavors. His unique ability to think through and manage complex ideas into high–level results is impressive, but Octavious’s humble, honest and positive approach to everything that he does is what makes him a true superstar. I strongly recommend my great friend and colleague to anyone and everyone in my network.”
Octavious Bishop is a Longhorn Brand Builder
