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Analysis of an elite football coach.
Passion
Member Posts: 4,622
You want to read a story that will spark admiration and envy? Pick up a copy of this month's "GQ Magazine." There is a four-page story (or rather, a four-page analysis) that delves into the inspiring, disconcerting, and ultimately winning formula followed by alabama head football coach Nick Saban.
One of the traits that Don James possessed was his attention to detail. Even the slightest imperfection would result in a tirade and extra conditioning after practice. It's been discussed ad nauseum.
Here is one excerpt from this month's GQ story on Saban: "Saban's guiding vision is something he calls "the process," a philosophy that emphasizes preparation and hard work over consideration of outcomes or results. Barrett Jones, an offensive lineman on all three of Saban's national championship teams at alabama and now a rookie with the St. Louis Rams, explains the process this way: "It's not what you do, it's how you do it.
"Taken to an extreme - which is where Saban takes it - the process has evolved into an exhausting quest to improve, to attain the ideal of "right is never wrong." At alabama, Saban obsesses over every aspect of preparation, from how the players dress at practice - no hats, earrings, or tank tops are allowed in the football facility - to how they hold their upper bodies when they run sprints. "When you're running and you're exhausted you really want to bend over," Jones says, "They won't let you. 'You must resist the human need to bend over!'"
Read this story. Trust me. It will cause you to admire him, question his "humanness," (which the author, an alabama fan, does) and finally make you effing jealous that we don't have him.
One of the traits that Don James possessed was his attention to detail. Even the slightest imperfection would result in a tirade and extra conditioning after practice. It's been discussed ad nauseum.
Here is one excerpt from this month's GQ story on Saban: "Saban's guiding vision is something he calls "the process," a philosophy that emphasizes preparation and hard work over consideration of outcomes or results. Barrett Jones, an offensive lineman on all three of Saban's national championship teams at alabama and now a rookie with the St. Louis Rams, explains the process this way: "It's not what you do, it's how you do it.
"Taken to an extreme - which is where Saban takes it - the process has evolved into an exhausting quest to improve, to attain the ideal of "right is never wrong." At alabama, Saban obsesses over every aspect of preparation, from how the players dress at practice - no hats, earrings, or tank tops are allowed in the football facility - to how they hold their upper bodies when they run sprints. "When you're running and you're exhausted you really want to bend over," Jones says, "They won't let you. 'You must resist the human need to bend over!'"
Read this story. Trust me. It will cause you to admire him, question his "humanness," (which the author, an alabama fan, does) and finally make you effing jealous that we don't have him.
Comments
If you have an elite high school freshman, it doesn't necessarily mean that the guy ahead of him sucks. As time wore on, Napoleon Kaufman started ahead of Beno Bryant, but that doesn't mean that Beno Bryant sucked. It means that Napoleon Kaufman was elite. That is an example of when it's OK for a true freshman to start.
All to often at UW, including under Sark, a true freshman will get thrust into action not because he is elite. It's because the guy ahead of him is simply a bust, while the true freshman is better, but not necessarily good enough for pac-12 play. There is a difference.
I said: "...the guy ahead of him is simply a bust, while the true freshman is better, but not necessarily good enough for pac-12 play." In other words, a true freshman can still be better than the waste-of-space upperclassman, but not necessarily ready to compete at the pac-12 level.
Now I need a drink.