The football coach who rebuilt the Marshall University football program after the devastating plane crash in 1970 preached the importance of setting goals and developing a list of core values during a speech to local coaches Thursday.

Jack Lengyel, who was portrayed by Matthew McConaughey in the movie, "We are Marshall," was the keynote speaker at Saint Francis Medical Center's coaches clinic.

"He really got you when he started talking about his time at Marshall," Oak Ridge High School boys basketball coach Adam Stoneking said. "I'm sure it's really emotional for him to have lived that. He kind of puts things in perspective, like when you sit back and think about, 'Oh, I hope we win some games and I hope we don't do this or don't do that.'

"You look at him and he came into a situation where he had five players and he was trying to run a college program. He built that and he talked about he built something that culminated in the mid '90s when they won a national championship and were the winningest team in the '90s. ... I think it really hit home how you can start something now and maybe not see the culmination until 10 or 15 years. You might not even be there anymore."

Lengyel spoke for about 45 minutes then fielded questions from the audience of local coaches of various sports, from football and basketball to softball and volleyball.

"You have to define where you want to go," Lengyel said. "Then you have to write [your goals] as an affirmation. An affirmation is nothing more than your goal stated in a positive manner. I am the coach of the year. I am a successful assistant coach at the College of X. Write it as if it already has happened."

That's a message that resonated with Meadow Heights High School boys basketball coach Tom Brown.

"You've got to have a plan for it and then you've got to follow through on the plan," Brown said. "You've got to stick to whatever your plan is. I tell our kids that you have the ability to do this. If we work hard and prepare for it, we can do this. That's what our goal is."

Lengyel only spent four seasons as the football coach at Marshall, but it was a difficult four years. He took over after a plane crash Nov. 14, 1970 killed all 75 people on board, which included 37 football players and eight coaches. He spent the next four years trying to rebuild the program after the tragedy.

"The core values that I had when I went to Marshall University were faith, hope and perseverance and a little sense of humor," he said.

Lengyel wrapped up his talk by admitting student-athletes have changed from the time when he took over the Marshall program, but stressed that the importance of good coaches hasn't changed.

"Coaches are desperately needed today," he said. "You've got a tremendously tough job, but you've got a damn important job."