Coach Doug Merrill

Mission
The Mission of the Power UP Foundation is to promote positive physical and mental health to communities across the United States. In 2009, Coach Merrill founded the Power UP Foundation to provide financial assistance to communities across the country that has programs that promote better physical fitness and mental health.  Coach Doug Merrill believes that better physical health equates to better mental health.

Where do you see the Power Up Foundation going?
Eventually I would like to see the foundation go international. I’m not sure I will be able to sustain the rigorous running schedule but I envision doing charitable work in countries outside the United States at some point.  Our message and mission at the Power UP Foundation is not limited to only those within the United States. The potential for the foundation is limitless and I look forward to spreading the positive message of goal setting, attitude, and hard work. It is my hope that our mission will bring light to where some find darkness.

How did you draw your mind/body conclusions?
This past fall I traveled to several cities and spoke at many events formental illness and suicide prevention. During that time, I heard many heartbreaking stories from families and friends of suicide victims. The question “why” continued to be asked. It was the “why” question that continued to bother me. I drew upon my own experience of physical fitness and the sense of accomplishment that followed, and then it hit me. I believe that when we feel better, we think more clearly and make better decisions. We feel a sense of accomplishment, purpose, and begin to make goals. When a person is heading in this direction, they are less apt to fall into a depressed state of mind.

Let’s talk about influence and the game of life.
Over the past seven years as the baseball coach at BGHS, we have been challenged with serious life issues. These are the same issues that have re-visited me over the course of my life. Throughout my 20 years of coaching I can promise you that the players have taught me much more about life than I have ever taught them. Most importantly, athletics is about much more than wins and losses. My journey to better health has taught me that better physical fitness equals better mental health. I refer back to the Under Armour motto of “click clack”.  That motto is an attitude.  It is the attitude that encourages one to achieve on the field. I simply take that attitude and apply it to life.  Whatever the game or activity is that makes you compete and work harder to achieve, simply apply it to your everyday life decisions.

What was your motivation for running and getting into shape?
At the time that I began running I was teaching at the high school and had several members of the three-time state championship girls cross country team in class. I was inspired not only by their accomplishments running but also with their overall attitude towards everything they did. I remember thinking to myself, if they can do it, I can do it.  Well I am not able to match their 5k times, but I was able to get into better shape by running.

How personal has POWER UP become to you?
It has become my life. I believe in fate. I believe the events in my life that deal with mental illness since the age of eleven has taken me to the cause and mission. I begin this journey not simply for the experience but for the people that I have not and will never meet. It’s for the kid that lives in nowhere Idaho that takes the stairs less traveled out of fear that he/she will be beaten up by the school bully. For the students that sit by themselves at lunch or outside because they do not have the courage or self confidence to make new friends. And I do it for the adult that has lost or is unable to find the thing that makes life worth living.  I will never meet these people, however it is my hope that the work we do now will somehow save or create a program that will provide people with a second perspective or chance. I never thought anyone or anything would ever come between me and baseball. It has been my passion and life for the past 20 years. This mission and foundation however has been powerful enough for that to happen. I have resigned my position as Head Baseball Coach at Bowling Green High School. I make this decision with a heavy heart. It has been an honor to have had the opportunity to coach at the high school and look back on it as time well spent.

The “Run to the Keys”
Coach Merrill is in the process of organizing a historic run that is scheduled to begin October 4th, 2009 in Boston, Massachusetts and to conclude March 2010 in Key West, Florida. The run is scheduled to last 6 months and will have Coach Merrill running six days per week – 13.1 miles a day. Along the east coast route, Coach Merrill plans to speak at Universities, Colleges, community organizations, and high schools to spread his message of achieving positive mental health through positive physical health. The goal of the “Run to the Keys” campaign is to raise 25 million dollars for much needed financial resources to assist communities across the United States that have programs that promote positive physical and positive mental health.

Coach Merrill uses Twitter to keep fans informed about his historic  Run to the Keys.  To receive recent updates, follow Coach Merrill on Twitter. twitter.com/powerupfdn/