The GameI was sitting at a table in a meeting room with four other work colleagues and we were tearing our hair out trying to solve a problem.  It was not a job related issue though and we were not working as a team.  Instead, we were individually trying to think of how to define ourselves in just eight letters and/or numbers.  The name of the game was “license plate”, an icebreaker exercise to learn more about our colleagues by writing down what our vanity license plate would have had emblazoned on it.  It was a really fun concept, but also challenging. At least it was for me!  How was I going to define myself in just eight characters or less?  I wanted to my colleagues to know that I had a family with two great kids, worked hard, had a passion for wellness, had a good sense of humor, etc.  Then I remembered what my wife had been calling me lately: “caveman.”Mentors MatterAs far back as I can remember I was always interested in wellness and fitness.  My dad had an old Joe Weider Olympic barbell, bench, and weights set in the garage.  The weights were concrete forms encased in plastic.  I recall being intrigued by the weights and even throwing them around a bit beginning in 4th grade or so.  Dad always exercised regularly by lifting weights and going on runs.  My mom always cooked healthy homemade food from scratch.  We rarely would eat out at restaurants.  Both of my parents would encourage me and my younger sister to eat healthy, go outside and exercise, play sports, ride our bikes, play games with friends, and have a positive attitude.Most importantly, our parents practiced what they preached.  They did not command us to eat our veggies but leave them off of their own plate.  They did not push us to exercise, engage in sports, and play outside and meanwhile sit on the couch.  Maybe I would have been interested in wellness and fitness without such good role models, but it certainly did not hurt.  According to ScienceDaily.com a Duke Medicine study showed that kids whose moms encourage them to exercise and eat well, and model those healthy behaviors themselves, are more likely to be active and healthy eaters.I also had really good coaches for strength and conditioning throughout high school and this had a major impact on me.   Most notable was the summer football conditioning program before my freshman year of high school in Niceville, Florida in 1993.  We learned proper technique on olympic power lifting moves, how to push ourselves while also lifting safely, and how to take care of our teammates with careful spotting.  I also remember one coach who called me “Sandy” (short for Sandburg) would remind me almost every workout that my friends were still in bed or eating chips on the couch while I was building serious beach muscles.  This was regardless of the fact that I was six feet nothing and weighted one-hundred and nothing.  Good sports coaches always have the best ways to reach kids with their special turn of phrase.My point is that good mentors matter.  Mentors shaped my love for wellness, fitness, and coaching.  What does all this have to do an icebreaker game and a “caveman”?  It all started when I lost my most important mentor, my dad.How Could This Happen?!In the summer of 2005 dad and I were cruising down the highway in a mint green Toyota Prius en route to California from Kansas.  I had just graduated from KU and was moving out to San Diego where my future bride and I had jobs waiting for us.