ALABAMA/GEORGIA FOOTBALL AND THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCIPLINE

There was an excellent write up by Bruce Feldman at SI.com recently where he looked at the football teams at Alabama and Georgia and how those two programs defined discipline. Feldman writes about the importance of discipline and how it specifically has a direct bearing on an organization's culture.  You can read the entire article here.

A few takes aways were the definitions of discipline from members of the staff:

“The ongoing definition around here is to do what you’re supposed to do, when you’re supposed to do it, the way it’s supposed to be done—all of the time,” says Alabama’s head strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran, who has been with Saban for all six of his national titles, including his first while at LSU. “That is Coach Saban’s definition, and it is ingrained into my head.”

Crimson Tide offensive line coach Brent Key arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2016. His definition: “Doing the right thing all the time, and doing the right thing when you don’t want to do it.” Key, 39, says his definition of the word has changed from his younger days, “when discipline meant being punished or spanked. But to me now, discipline is internal.”

“Discipline is accountability,” says Alabama defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi, Saban’s ace recruiter since 2015 who was promoted when Tennessee hired away Jeremy Pruitt this winter. “You have to consistently operate to our standard on a daily basis, and that’s where players and coaches hold each other accountable and continue to prepare in the game manner, no matter who we’re playing.”

Feldman also talked about the importance of making sure that recruits knew of the importance of discipline and what they would be getting into:

“During the recruiting process we are very up-front with them, and those guys are smart enough to know what they are getting themselves into,” Burns said. “In my position specifically [Burns has since moved to an off-field role after 11 years as running backs coach], they know that we’re going to play a lot of guys, so I want them to understand that, and to come to work every day and not let that affect them. We have been really fortunate to have the right personalities to do that. We’ve always had one guy that sets the tempo in terms of what it takes to be a running back at the University of Alabama and not to be selfish. Play your role. Take it very seriously. Be ready for the moment. When I first got there, it was Glen Coffee, and he took care of Mark Ingram, and then Mark took care of Trent Richardson, and then Trent took care of Eddie, and Eddie Lacy took care of T.J. [Yeldon].”

The interesting aspect that Feldman shared from the Georgia staff was the attention to detail -- even thought every day meetings to make sure they were all on the same page:

“No detail is left un-talked-about,” Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney says. “We dot every I and cross every T. It sometimes might be a little uncomfortable to talk about, but it’s gonna be talked about. Kirby is diligent as heck about all that.”

Awkward as they may be at times, these conversations become the norm. “It’s had every day,” Georgia quarterbacks coach James Coley says. “I always felt like when you walked in staff meetings, you were there to get your players better. Everybody’s trying to get better, but now you’re saying to yourself, ‘How can I get better in this staff meeting?’ Because you really get better as a coach. Coach Smart has done a great job helping us all get better as coaches."

COACH SABAN'S ADVICE TO ASSISTANTS MOVING ON

As Coach Saban's coaching tree continues to grow, there was an article at AJC.com that delved into what if any advice Coach Saban gives to his assistants as they gain head coaching positions. Here are a few excerpts of the article form Andrew Ashtleford:

Nick Saban says the same thing to his former assistants when they move on. He said he told Kirby Smart upon taking the job at Georgia, "Be your own man. Be yourself. Do it the way you think it ought to be done. Don't try to be somebody else."

That’s quality advice from Saban. It would be tempting for any of the coach’s former assistants to try to pattern their coaching styles after Alabama’s successful leader.

However, the greatest success comes when someone is able to place their own fingerprints on a program in a unique way. Clearly, Smart has done that this season in leading Georgia to an SEC title and an appearance in the National Championship Game.

SOMETIMES YOU NEED HARD

Some great thoughts from Coach Nick Saban when asked after Alabama's hard fought 31-24 victory on the road at Mississippi State about the game being harder than he wanted it to be:

"Sometimes you need hard.  If we're going to beat really good teams, if we're going to be able to compete, we've got to learn how to compete in close games.  Where every player counts...where you've got to play every play for 60 minutes in the game...every third down is important.  There's lots of opportunities in critical situations in the game for players to make plays.  And we don't always have that when we win 49-0."

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TWO AND THREE WEEKS INTO PRACTICE TO KEEP YOUR TEAM INSPIRED

Many years ago at a clinic, I heard Kelvin Sampson say "Most coaches are excited about practice the first couple of weeks.  Then they get tired or bored.  The best coaches know how to stay locked in."

I think this is just as true for players as it is coaches -- though often the players may take the lead from the coaching staff in terms of their energy and enthusiasm.  It is not enough to write up a practice plan and than go about executing it.  You need to give thought to the placement of drills, the length of a workout and the strategic (yes, I said strategic) schedule of off days.

What are you doing to keep your team inspired and excited about practice?  John Wooden was a huge believer in make sure practice ended on a positive note.  "Give them a reason to want to come back tomorrow," he once told me.

Don Meyer once talked about a 30 win season in which he could sleep because he'd lay away all night trying to figure out how he was going to his team "an edge the next day in practice."

Sometimes we think inspiration is about getting teams emotionally ready to play a game.  But you better find away to get that same result out of your practices.

Nick Saban is a master at keeping his players locked in. Here is an older post where Coach Saban came up with a plan of putting responsibility on key players.

In a press conference this week, Saban said he "created some tension" among his team in practice which is something he likes to do.

Are bringing someone in occasionally to speak to them?  Letting them here a different voice and even a different perspective can be incredibly beneficial.

Once again, an older post on Coach Saban and how he used speakers with his team.

My point is getting your team ready shouldn't just apply to games -- but importantly, apply to practices.

THE ADVANTAGES OF A LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

If you ever heard Coach Don Meyer speak, he would at some point ask you, “who’s running your locker room?”  It is in incredibly important question.  While coaches have an opportunity to lead their team during practice sessions, team meetings and games, it is all the time away from the coaches where leadership is most valuable.  I learned this at LSU while coaching Temeka Johnson who did an amazing job of leading our team the 21 hours out of the day when we weren’t around them.  

The locker room, or anyplace away from the court and the coaches, can be a place to strengthen and secure your culture, or it can be a toxic area that create cancers within your team. They key is being able to find the right team members, educating them on leadership, and then giving them a venue to which they positively effect their teammates.

We are not talking about "captains" necessarily.  As Coach Meyer would also point out, "you can pick captains, but you can't pick leaders."

Coach Mike Krzyzewski says, “The single most important ingredient after you get the talent is internal leadership. It’s not the coaches’ as much as one single person or people on the team who set higher standards than that team would normally set itself.”

The key is getting the players to buy in to the culture and philosophy that you as a staff feel is essential for growth and success.  To do that, you need to create at atmosphere of ownership for the players.  As Tom Izzo says: “A player-coached team is always better than a coach-coached team.”

One of my staff responsibilities at Texas A&M is to head up our “Leadership Council.”  It is a group of our student-athletes that meet weekly to discuss the elements of leadership and how we can best apply them to improving our team.  Often we spend time working on basketball skills as coaches — shooting, passing, dribbling and rebounding — but not leadership.  I often hear coaches talk about how they lack leadership on their team and I always respond, “are you teaching it?”

I got the idea of having a Leadership Council watching and studying how Nick Saban, then the head football coach at LSU, created one and utilized in his program.  I'm a big believer that leadership is a best executed with a group of core leaders as opposed to a single person.

This biggest part of our Leadership Council is not me preaching but me listening a lot.  We have six members this year on our council and my number one goal is to create ownership of our culture with our team.  It’s their vehicle…they have the keys…now where and how are we going to drive it.  Their voice, thoughts and ideas are critical to developing successful leaders — not just for our basketball team but for later in life.

Our objectives with the council include:

#1 To develop and improve upon our leadership as individuals.

#2 To create a leadership culture that will positively impact our team.

“Leadership isn’t a difference maker, it’s THE difference maker.” -Urban Meyer

Last year’s council included Taylor Cooper, Alyssa Michalke, Curtyce Knox, Jasmine Lumpkin, Anriel Howard and Danni Williams.

And our council last year was been outstanding.  The previous year we had lost three starters — all who spent some time in the WNBA.  We lost the SEC 6th Person Player of the Year and our top post player off the bench.  Coaches and sportswriters alike pegged us to finish in the lower half of the SEC.  Terms like “rebuilding” were used often.  Yet there we were finishing in the top half of the SEC, winning two games in the SEC tournament, owner of 21 regular season victories and a dance ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

And a big reason had to be the job our council has done in communicating with our team and providing a great example.  The season can be a grind and the response of a team to the difficulty and adversity that is face is essential.  We talk about making sure that our leadership council wins the locker room.  The leadership is magnified significantly AWAY from practices and games.

We meet weekly in our conference room with the letters “Leadership Council” above us.  In the past, we have had individual photos of each member of the council.  This year, we exchanged that for a team photo with the quote “Life’s most urgent question is what are you doing for others,” by Dr. Martin Luther King.

Learning to lead is not an easy thing to do.  It takes time and understanding of what goes into it.  The reason most reject opportunities to lead is because of the great responsibility that comes with it.

We tell them to follow the words of Jim Rohn: “Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better.  Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills.  Don’t wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom.”

The first thing we do each year is create a Mission Statement.  This year our council came up with the following:

By serving selflessly as leaders, setting an example worth following, and establishing a positive culture, we will develop strong, confident leaders capable of overcoming adversity and challenges in pursuit of their goals.

One of the things we do each we is discuss passages from “The Daily Reader” by John Maxwell.  I am always blown away with each our student-athletes and what they bring away from the daily reading that they choose to share.

Last year we asked our council to then go into detail about how we can put our mission statement to work and, lead by Alyssa, they came up with the following:

Serving Selflessly as Leaders

◄Listen and understand the needs of our teammates

◄Provide mentorship and guidance to underclassmen and new-comers

◄Praise our teammates in public, while saving criticism for private conversations

◄Always put others first, no matter the situation

◄Setting an Example Worth Following

◄Have a positive attitude at all times

◄Body language, tone, execution during practice, etc.

Take coaching and criticism well

◄Use it as an opportunity to grow and develop into a better person and player, not a chance to talk back to a coach or teammate

◄Exhibit a strong desire to improve with every rep, every drill, every practice

◄Encourage and support our teammates who are facing adversity

◄Behave appropriately, respectfully, and maturely at all times, including road trips, study hall, team dinners, etc.

◄Be respectful and appreciative to those people serving us (managers, practice players, coaches, waiters, staff, etc.)

◄Be a quiet professional, but know when to speak up to make a point

Establishing a Positive Culture

◄Hold each other accountable to high standards, knowing that our example and our choices carry considerable weight

◄Call each other out when we’re not practicing well, when we miss a team function (weights, study hall)

◄Challenge and push each other to become better individuals first, better athletes second

◄Be firm, fair, and consistent, both when praising and holding our teammates accountable

◄Don’t encourage, tolerate, enable, or cause behavior that is detrimental to our team

Developing Strong, Confident Leaders

◄Challenge others to step outside their comfort zone in pursuit of personal development and improvement

◄Set an example of strength, confidence, and maturity when faced with challenges

◄Provide opportunities for others to showcase their strengths and abilities

◄Of course, as in the game of basketball itself, game plans are important but they are insignificant if not followed by execution.

What an amazing document!  I’m proud of them for their vision but more importantly for their effort they’ve put forth in executing that vision and then following through with their execution.

Thank you Leadership Council for a job well done — and more importantly, leaving a legacy for this year's group.

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

4TH AND GOAL EVERY DAY

I've enjoyed reading 4th And Goal Every Day by Phil Savage.  Savage isn't just a writer -- he is a former NFL assistant coach and general manager who has worked with some of the games best coaches.  Add to that his current position as radio color analyst for Alabama football and you have a very unique set of eyes on the Crimson Tide football program and the championship philosophy of Nick Saban.  Savage chose the title 4th And Goal Every Day because he felt it summed up the mindset in the Bama program -- a constant sense of urgency.

For me, I was especially drawn to the sections of the book that dealt with recruiting and player and team development.  Not surprisingly they go hand-in-hand:

Alabama does not care so much "what" a high school player is doing on the field.  It cares more about "how" a player is doing it.  There is a big difference.  What he is doing might look dominant against high school players, but how he is doing it -- athleticism, instinct, explosiveness -- might show his further potential.

Nick Saban would rather take a guy with "tools" in his body that have not yet bloomed over a high school player who is "an effort guy" making twenty-five tackles through willpower.  Saban thinks he can coach the player with tools so that his pure ability will allow him to far surpass the results of the overachiever with limited skills.

As for player development, it should surprise no one that a big key of Bama's success is the structure of their practice:

Recruiting is significant, but what they do best at Alabama is player development.  Talk to any NFL scout and he will tell you that the Alabama practice field resembles a pro camp more than any other college program in the country.  The drills and techniques being taught in Tuscaloosa are the same ones used during the week by NFL players who slip on the pads for the Sunday games.  The Crimson Tide soaks its players in film work, fundamentals, repetition, and patience.

If you love football, this is an outstanding book with Savage going into the details of teaching, coaching, evaluating and giving great stories to support those areas.  But it's also a great book for coaches who want an inside look at one of the best. 

BEING PART OF A TEAM

About 7 or 8 years ago, while coaching at LSU, I received a great opportunity to leave and join an organization outside of coaching that would allow me to work camps, speak at clinics and do individual training.  The offer was incredibly gracious -- enough for me to deeply consider it.  As it would happened, Coach Don Meyer was staying at my home a few days after I received the offer and as I did in those days, I asked him for his advice.  And I'll never forget what he said.

He told me I would enjoy many parts of the new job -- especially the teaching.  He told me he thought I'd be good at it.  But then he said, "Bob, just make sure you never forget, there's nothing like having a team...being part of a team...growing a team. When you don't have a team there will be a hole in your soul that you won't be able to fill."

I was thinking about the advice that Coach Meyer gave me when I read an article last week where someone asked Alabama football coach Nick Saban if he was at the point where he considered retirement.

He responded he had not and then said:

"I've said this before: I've been a part of a team since I was nine years old. It scares me to death to figure what it's going to be like when I'm not a part of a team.”

So for those of us that rise this morning as part of a team, let's be thankful.

THOUGHTS ON EXTENDING YOUR CAREER

Last night I was talking to a colleague about our profession.  At times it can certainly seem like a roller coaster.  He wanted to know what the key was for having an extended career in coaching.  I was reminded off a presentation I gave a few years back at the A Step Up Assistant Coaching Symposium.  The topic given to me by Felicia Hall Allen was "The Art of Extending Your Career."

I opened with this:

THE GOAL IS NOT THE GOAL

"While I am assigned to talk to you about extending your career, I'm going to go a different direction saying that extending your career should not be the goal.  The goal is to become the best assistant coach you can become on a daily basis and an extended career will follow."

I think the first thing we need to decide in coaching is what is our "Why."  We must have an overriding purpose for coaching -- it has to be the centerpiece of our culture and what we stand for.  For me, the growth of the student-athlete has to be #1 on the priority list.  

"It doesn't matter where you coach,

it matters why you coach."
-Don Meyer

I spoke about studying Nick Saban and the philosophy he has in regard to the process.  The process is keeping focused on the task at hand -- executing as well as you can with what directly lies in fornt you at that very moment.   Coach Saban does not want his players looking at the scoreboard.  His belief is that the time and score have absolutely nothing to with the intensity and concentration you need to utilize on the very next play. 

I believe the same is true with our careers.  If we are getting up in the morning thinking about extending our career or looking ahead at that next job than we are taking away energy that we need to utilizing on what is really important -- today!  The absolute best way to move of the ladder as well as extend are career is to own and master that which has been given to us at this very moment.

One of the areas that I spoke about was Professionalism.  I firmly believe that ethical choices are a full-time job.  It must be character over victory.  Don't let a short-term gain for a win be overshadowed by a poor choice you made to try and get an edge.  

THE TRUE IMPORTANCE OF WINNING

Of course, our biggest obstacle is winning.  We are expected to win immediately and constantly.  And don't get me wrong, winning is important as the following thought from Vince Lombardi points out:

"No leader, however great, can long continue 

unless he wins battles.  The battle decides all."

-Vince Lombardi

It's true.  If we want to continue to impact young people through coaching...if we want to have a positive contribution to our communities -- we have to win -- to keep our jobs.

I gave the example of a coach being hired at a BCS program and having a record of 38-47 after his first three years.  The last home game of his third season, he lost to his rival by 24 points.  He then went to his conference tournament and lost by 43!

I asked the coaches at the clinic "What do you think the athletic director did the next week?"

Of course, the all answered "Fire the coach."

They were stunned when I told them the AD gave the coach an extension.  I then told them the AD was Duke's Tom Butters and the coach was Mike Krzyzewski.

Those days are over.  The days when an administrator can see through the losses to see that a coach is doing the right things and building something.  I've heard Coach K speak at clinics and he even admits that if he were hired today and got off to the same start that he'd never see his fourth year.

Still, we can't let winning be a conflict of interested.  We can't be overly consumed or blinded so much in trying to win that we turn our head to discipline and our culture.  The best coaches are willing fight for the culture even if it might cost them a victory.

That's not to say winning isn't important.  Certainly we have to teach winning to our teams.  As a young student at Marshall University, the basketball coach at the time, the late Stu Aberdeen spoke about the importance of winning.  As he explained, when we are on the operating table fighting for our life, we better hope that the doctors and nurses have a strong desire to win.  Coach Aberdeen explained that should we ever be falsely accused in a court of law, that we better hope our attorney has driven to win.

As I mentioned earlier, ethical choices are a full time job -- and I do believe there is a right way to win and a wrong way to win.  If you are a principled person that means a great deal.  I posed the question to the coaches at the symposium -- "are you willing to lose your job?"  Do you believe so much in the principles of integrity that you would walk away from a job that did not share in your beliefs?

BE A CONTINUAL LEARNER

The second part of the process of staying in this business is becoming a continual learner.  There must be a fire within to constantly be searing knowledge to help you grow as a person and a teacher. 

My suggestion to the coaches in the audience was to become an expert at something in the game: post play, shooting, zone defense, etc.  Pick something and learn it at the highest level.  I think it is always important to be a good recruiter but don't be labeled as such because you don't excel in other areas.

Today there are so many ways to improve.  We had just came off of a Final Four season at LSU and one summer I went to Oklahoma to watch Sherri Coale and her Sooners practice for three days in preparation to go overseas.  The next year we again made it to the Final Four and I headed to Duke to watch Gail Goestenkors to again observe several practices before she took her team overseas.  

Today there are so many clinics to attend: Coaching U, Nike, PGC/Glazier.  There are tons of great blogs and Youtube loaded with information.  Have you attended an NBA or WNBA practice session? If not, you are missing out on some of the game's best teachers.

One other factor in being a continual learner today is the not just accept but to embrace technology.  Whether it's social media, apps for our phones and iPads or every improving methods of watching and breaking down video -- it's all there in front of us to help us improve.

FIND BALANCE

The next part of extending a career is to find balance.  I spend a great deal of time in my office -- always have and always will.  But I find a way to incorporate my wife with our program.  She has always been a big part of our culture.  Whether it's having the team over to decorate our Christmas tree, throwing a Mardi Gras parting in February or just having them over for an occasional home cooked meal, Sherie has always been active in helping us serve our student-athletes.

It's also important to plan family time.  Schedule time for your spouse and children though out the season -- an honor those commitments.  I learned most of this the hard way.  I once coached eight consecutive summers without a vacation.  I stayed up all night in the office two nights a week during the season watching video and getting scouting reports ready.  Then my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer!  It was an amazing paradigm shift for me and give me instant perspective.

Coach Don Meyer also talking about having "your time," where it is just you.  It can be a time of meditation or reflection.  For me, I like to do it early in the morning while everyone is still asleep.  I can catch up on some reading or spend some time writing in my journal.

Yet another example of helping you with balance is creating a circle of influence.  A handful of people that your believe in and trust.  Most importantly, these people need to be someone that love you enough to tell you the truth. Someone that can tell you your full of crap when you are.  Some can be coaches but it's always good to have some non-coaches in your circle.

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR FINANCES

Part 4 of an extended career is the handling of your finances.  I shared with the coaches, and especially tried to get through to the younger ones that my biggest regret in coaching wasn't a decision on the floor but it was not getting involved with a financial planner early in my career.  I have had one the past 20 years and the results (and security) are amazing!  Many young coaches don't think they make enough money to work with a planner -- that's actually all the more reason you do.  One of the first things that Kay Martin of Ameriprise was talk to me about short-term and long-term goals.  Part of that process was to create an emergency fund that would pay into gradually to where we would have three months worth of salary to live on should anything happen.  Well, we have far more than three months now and its a great feeling to have that type of security -- not just for me but for my family.

I also have a special tax accountant that understands my profession and helps to keep that organized and more importantly, helps me maximize all of the possible exemptions and write offs available to me.

"You must gain control of your money

or the lack of it will forever control you."

-Dave Ramsey

BE FLEXIBLE

Next on the list of theories for having a long career is your ability to be flexibility.  It is a game, no a world, that is constantly evolving and changing. As assistant coaches we have to adjust to changes on our staff...we tend to change jobs a couple of times we must adjust to head coaches...we must adjust to administration...we must adjust to the times.  The best way to adjust is to stay open minded -- be a good communicator (which means a lot of listening as an assistant coach).

We must also adjust to the players.  This does not mean give in and allow the players to dictate policy.  But I firmly believe every player has a story and it is our job as coaches to learn that story.  Our ability to know them at a deeper level is critical for us to help them.  At UCF, we utilized Bill Rogers (who worked with Pat Summitt's Lady Vols along with some professional teams) in order to learn about their personalities.  What was their leadership potential? What were the primary motivators for each individual?  How did they best learn -- were they audio, visual or physical learners?  And then we adjust how we teach to meet them in the middle, where they can best be taught.

BE A PROBLEM SOLVER

Whether at clinics, via email or phone conversations, I often get the question "what are the attributes for being a successful coach?"  There are several in my opinion, most of them are obvious.  But one that is critically important is that you must be a problem solver.  Coaching is about solving problems.  

Not enough resources? Solve it.
Not enough post players or shooters? Solve it.
Lacking in facilities? Solve it.
Team chemistry problems? Solve it.

I'm not sure that there is not at least one minor problem per day in coaching -- but you have to solve it.  Solving problems to me begins with attitude.  Working for Coach Dale Brown I learned that we were not to use the word "problem" but we were to use the word "opportunity."  Coach Brown would tell us not to come in his office with a problem unless we were ready to offer a solution.  When people ask me what made Coach Brown so successful, again there are several reasons.  But one was he was a solution-oriented person when it came to problems.  He would amaze me with his attitude -- almost excited that a problem has arose because he loves the challenge of defeating it.

HAVE A SYSTEM OF ORGANIZATION

The final area I touched on was to become organized and primarily I was talking about improving your ability to document everything.  All conversations I have I follow up with the person I was speaking to with a short email of bullet points.  I do this with my players as well.  If I meet with a player to go over video, we both take notes and I email them to her.  Of course discussions of behavior -- both positive and negative -- are followed up with an email.

I'm a big believer in writing handwritten notes -- even with all the technology today.  I love to write a handwritten note to a player and stick it in her locker.  I also screen shot text messages -- positive and negative with players for my files.  I want as complete a written file on dealings with players, coaches, administrators, media and anyone else on the professional level.

We live in a time where you need to have your bases covered.

The final suggestion for extending your career?  Enjoy the ride! Embrace the grind -- even the problem solving.  The best coaches I've been around get a rise our of solving a problem.  You must be passionate about what you do but you still need a plan -- the role of an assistant coach is never easy but it is important.  Accept that role and challenge yourself to be the very best your can be.

WHY ALABAMA RARELY FLUCTUATES

There is one thing noticeable in process-oriented coaches -- they remain the same regardless of the outcome of the game with their team.  The final score has little say in the evaluation of the team's performance.  And this makes an impact on the the players and their own evaluation.  They just aren't satisfied with winning.

This was brought out in a recent New York Times article on Nick Saban and the Alabama football team.  After defeating #20 Southern Cal 52-6, Saban said, “If you want to know the truth about it, I wasn’t pleased with the way we played.”

Running Back Damien Harris has obviously bought in the process-oriented culture when he said, “At the end of the day, if we’re not playing our best, then it’s not a good game.”

Coach Saban is interested in dominating your opponent individually and collectively one play at a time.  The result of that type of philosophy is a player like Calvin Ridley saying “We have to get better and keep working,” after a 34-6 victory over Kentucky.

Always looking for improvement.

As written by Marc Tracy:

“We have to get better and keep working,” wide receiver Calvin Ridley added after a 34-6 win over Kentucky on Oct. 1 during which Ridley, a sophomore, caught 11 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

Saban’s perpetual dourness is only somewhat surprising. The coach, among the best in college history, preaches “the process,” one that takes apart complex goals, such as winning a game or a national title, into their smallest possible units and perfects them. For the Tide, that means emphasizing the flaws in single plays over more salutary final results, such as the four national championships Saban’s Tide have won in the past seven seasons.

Although Saban’s personality is anything but Zen, his outlook can seem rather Eastern, reminiscent of the koan that states: Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water; after enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.

“What we try to do with our players is be very technical about the things that they did well and get them positive self-gratification with those things,” Saban said recently. But, he added, the team does not overlook mistakes “just because we won the game.”

Harris said the players imbibed this message.

“That’s how he is, that’s how he coaches us, and that’s how we are as a team,” he said. “We enjoy our victories, but at the end of the day, we watch film, we see the mistakes we made, and we’re not satisfied.”

And then there’s this from Greg McElroy, an ESPN commentator who played quarterback on Saban’s first national title team at Alabama, in 2009, who said it helped to know that nothing would alter Saban’s disposition — the same things would be demanded no matter a game’s result.

“He’s the same guy after a big win as a crushing loss,” McElroy said. “That’s why the team never really fluctuates.”

He added: “I’m not kidding when I say this: We could be playing Texas in the national championship game or Western Carolina, and it was the same guy.”

Or as an enlightened Saban might put it: Before beating Auburn, practice hard, study film; after beating Auburn, practice hard, study film.

SABAN ON COMPLACENCY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

The following were a few takeaways from an article written for USAToday by George Schroeder on Alabama's Nick Saban and his annual battle with complacency:

“People think success is a continuum. Success is momentary. And to be really successful you have to have consistency in performance, so you have to do it over the long term.”

“The challenge is always when you have success, people tend to forget what made them successful, And complacency creates a blatant disregard for doing the right things or continuing to do the things that you’ve always done to help you be successful. So consequently you’re not at the top of your game when that happens.”

“The human condition is to survive. It’s not to win the championship. It’s not to be the best you can be. It’s to survive. … So when you tell me I’ve got to sell this many cars this month and that’s my quota — well, when I sell that many cars I’m ready for a couple of days off and go sit in my chair and, you know, eat Tostitos and cheese. I’m not trying to set the world record.

“That’s the human condition. So it’s actually special to be the other way, to be somebody that wants to win a championship, to be somebody that wants to be the best they can be.”

THE PROCESS OF MOVING FORWARD PAST CHAMPIONSHIPS

We have spent plenty of time over the years blogging about coaching, playing & competing in the moment.  Coach Nick Saban refers to it as the process -- understanding that the only thing you can control is your effort on the very next possession. Coach Don Meyer refers to the concept as an "NBA Player" with NBA standing for Next Best Action.  Whether you've made a great play or mistake, you have no time or effort that you can expend thinking about it -- you must be on to the next action.

I once heard an interview with Coach Mike Krzyzewski in which he was asked about the challenge of "repeating" as a National Champion.  He simply said "repeating" wasn't part of the Duke equation.  He explained that repeating was impossible because each season is a different journey with a different team, different opponents, different adversities.

More on Coach K's views on "defending a championship" can be found in the book "Toughness" written by Jay Bilas:

Krzyzewski would have none of it. Nobody outside his team defined his players or his team, defined its mission or framed its journey. Only Krzyzewski and his team did that.  In the very first team meeting before the start of the season, Krzyzewski told the team he didn’t want to hear anyone use the term “defending” national champions. “We aren’t defending anything,” Krzyzewski said. “That trophy has already been won, and is displayed out in the lobby of Cameron. It doesn’t need to be defended.  “We are pursuing this championship. We are not defending. We are pursuing. That is the job at hand.” 

In fact, the best coaches rarely speak about destination goals or spend anytime talking about past seasons.  Bill Belichick says "To live in the past is to die in the present."

Belichick also has spoke of the balance of motivating teams coming off championship runs saying, "You'll tiptoe on the line between helping your players forget that they're the champions and helping them remember why they're champions."

Quite simply, the best know how to move it forward.  

I recently read a great example of this in "What Drives Winning" by Brett Ledbetter who shared a story he got from North Carolina's Anson Dorrance whose Tar Heels have won 21 National Championship.  Here is what Dorrance revealed to Ledbetter: 

Anson Dorrance gives his soccer players at the University of North Carolina roses after they win a national championship. He’s won over twenty of them as a head coach. I asked him why he did that. He told me, “I’m not really big on championship rings or trophies. I prefer flowers. The reason I give them a rose is because it’s ephemeral—the rose dies and it dies relatively quickly.”