Getting The Job

Pete Carroll talks about advice he received from former North Carolina State basketball coach Jim Valvano about the interview process.

Coach Valvano told me that my goal should be to walk out of the interview with 'no negatives.'  Every comment, phrase, or story must be positive, and I had to be prepared to talk only about things that put me in the best light.  No matter what the topic, it was my job to turn every answer into a response that highlighted my strong points.  Like his point, who controlled the court, or my middle linebacker, who controlled our defense, I had to control the interview.  He taught me that if they asked a question that I couldn't answer, then I shouldn't answer it but instead find a way to turn the question to something I could talk about comfortably, positively, and honestly.  He explained the importance of being disciplined in that setting and avoiding any and all negative thoughts.  If I spoke with positivity and confidence, it would be evident that I believed in myself, and that belief was what the interviewer would be looking for.  Coach Valvano's advice, like so much else in life, came down to practice: The bottom line was that if I was to control the interview, I would have to be prepared on so many levels that I could speak about a variety of subjects with conviction and strength no matter which way the conversation went.

As Mike asked me questions, I didn't always respond in a way that answered the question directly, but I responded in a way that conveyed every ounce of my vision and philosophy.  

When it came time for me to present my vision and plan, I stated my intentions in the clearest and boldest way that I could think of.

"Mike, our goal is simple: to do things better than they have ever been done before."

After He Got The Job:
Because I was personally so clear about the direction of USC football and really feeling confident in the style and philosophy I intended to bring to the program, I actually couldn't wait for the press conference to begin, even though I knew the stakes were incredibly high.  I just laid out my philosophy for the program for all the world to hear.  I told the assembled press, "Talk is cheap right now - we have to get to work.  My teams are going to play hard, they're going to play with enthusiasm, they're going to play with great intensity." 

http://www.amazon.com/Win-Forever-Live-Work-Champion/dp/1591844169
Carroll, Pete.  (2011).  Win Forever.  New York: The Penguin Group.

Practice Is Everything

The following post is taken from Pete Carroll's book, Win Forever.  Coach Carroll was asked by the NFL to critique a young program that they were conducting, and I observed two different youth football practices one afternoon.  He said that the first practice was well organized and disciplined with appropriate drills setup.  He excepted to see the same at the next practice, but got a little surprise.  The following paragraphs are what he observed at the second practice.

We parked out of view of the field where the second practice was taking place, but from the moment I got out of the car, I could hear it: whistles, kids, and coaches, all sounding somewhat unlike the practice I'd come from.  Here there was something very different - it was the energy.  As i hurried around the corner and saw the levels of activity and emotion unfolding, I was able to see the energy and enthusiasm that I live for as a coach.  Despite the fact that both teams clearly had the same gear, the same facilities, and players of comparable ability, this practice and the one i had just come from were two utterly different experiences.  From the moment I got out of the car, I sensed this was going to be a better practice.

As I got closer, I could hear coaches speaking in Spanish and English, but the language didn't matter. The players could interpret the passion, energy, and excitement.  It was so clear to me that these coaches were the source of the difference, and it was just blew me away.  You could have put any group on the field with that staff and the results would have been the same.  Obvious passion and competitive desire to play football dominated the scene.

There I was, an NFL coach with many years of experience, and it was a youth program that made me realize how crucial the energy of the coaches was to create a great practice atmosphere.  It was so obvious that coaches were the factor that dictated and controlled the energy of practice.  It was there in the Bronx that I realized that coaches are ultimately responsible for maintaining a high level intensity for every practice session.   Once I realized it was our responsibility to establish the tone and energy of practice, I had a new found vision about how important it would be to motivate my next staff on a daily basis.  I learned that if you want to have great practice sessions, you have to prepare your staff to have great days.  The passion and the excitement that coaches bring to the field will transfer directly to the players and will allow you to create competitive practice environment, not to mention a fun one.  I declared forevermore that in my coaching career, we would practice with more energy and more excitement than anyone else in football.

http://www.amazon.com/Win-Forever-Live-Work-Champion/dp/1591844169

Carroll, Pete.  (2011).  Win Forever.  New York: The Penguin Group.

Always Search For That Competitive Edge

Always Compete - Win Forever - by Pete Carroll

Among all of the great competitors that I have had the good fortune of working with or admiring from afar, Jerry Rice is the greatest individual competitor I have come in close contact with.  Jerry would give everything he had to beat you.  When I say Jerry competed at everything, I mean it.

As a great competitor, Jerry understood that by staying in the mind-set of always competing, he could develop the awareness to capture the 'opportunities within opportunities' that other people might miss.  In other words, he was constantly seeking a competitive edge.  It helps to always be searching for that tiny edge in whatever you're doing - even if it's small, silly stuff - because that's how you are going to catch things that someone else might not when it really matters.  It's an extremely power tool.

Just as important as that competitive intensity was the fat that you cold see without a doubt that Jerry was really competing with himself.  He never allowed his success or failure to be defined by anyone else.  Jerry Rice's ability to maintain his competitive focus made him into one of the great figures in the history of sports.  I think his example is an unusually valuable one.

http://www.amazon.com/Win-Forever-Live-Work-Champion/dp/1591844169

Carroll, Pete.  (2011).  Win Forever.  New York: The Penguin Group.

The Difference Between Winning and Success

John Wooden

John Wooden created his own definition of success way back in 1934 as a high school English teacher.  We complain about the entitlement that students and their parents have now like it is a new phenomenon, but Coach Wooden was dealing with it back in the 1930’s and ‘40’s.  He said that his parents just expected their students get an A or a B, and when a student didn’t receive and A or B, the parents placed blame on the teacher instead of the student.

He said that he believes that the Lord did not create everybody equal, and that includes size, athleticism, and intelligence, and that he believed that not everybody could earn an A or B and that he didn’t like that way of judging.  

"Success is a piece of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you’re capable."

"My father tried to teach me and my brothers that you should never try to be better than someone else.  Always learn from others and never cease trying to be the best that you can be.  That’s under your control, and if you get to engrossed and involved and concerned with things in which you have no control, it will adversely reflect the things over which you have control."

"At God’s footstool, to confess,
a poor soul knelt and bowed his head.
“I failed,” he cried.” The master said,
“Thou didst thy best. That is success.”

“No printed word, nor spoken plea can teach young minds what they should be. Not all the books on all the shelves – but what the teachers are themselves.” – Rudyard Kipling

"In whatever you’re doing, you must be patient.  You have to have patience.  We talk about our youth being impatient a lot, and they are.  They want to change everything.  They think all change is progress, until we get a little older and we tend to let things go and we forget that there is no progress without change.  So you must have patience."

"I believe that we must have faith.  I believe that we must truly believe; not just give a word service but believe that things will work out as they should providing we do what we should.  I think our tendency is to hope that things turn out the way that we want them too much of the time, but we don’t do the things that are necessary to make those things a reality."

"Don’t wine, don’t complain, don’t make excuses.  If you get out there and whatever you’re doing, do it to the best of your ability.  Nobody can do better than that."

"If you always do the best you can, the byproduct, the results, will generally be what they should be.  It won’t always be what you want, but it will be what should be."

"The journey is better than the end. 
Sometimes when you get there, there’s almost a let down, but its getting there that’s the fun."

The Road Ahead or The Road Behind

The Road Ahead or The Road Behind

by George Joseph Moriarty

Sometimes I think the Fates must

Grin as we denounce and insist

The only reason we can’t win

Is the Fates themselves that miss

Yet there lives on an ancient claim

We win or lose within ourselves

The shining trophies on our shelves

Can never win tomorrow’s game

You and I know deeper down

There’s always a chance to win the crown

But when we fail to give our best

We simply haven’t met the test

Of giving all, and saving none

Until the game is really won

Of showing what is meant by grit

Of fighting on when others quit

Of playing through, not letting up

It’s bearing down that wins the cup

Of taking it and taking more

Until we gain the winning score

Of dreaming there’s a goal ahead

Of hoping when our dreams are dead

Of praying when our hopes have fled

Yet losing, not afraid to fall

If bravely, we have given all

For who can ask more of a man

Than giving all within his span

Giving all, it seems to me

Is not so far from victory

And so the Fates are seldom wrong

No matter how they twist and wind

It is you and I who make our fates

We open up or close the gates

On the road ahead or the road behind.

via, pleasefeedtheanimals.com and John Wooden.

John Wooden - You Must Have Faith

I believe that we must have faith.  I believe that we must truly believe; not just give a word service but believe that things will work out as they should providing we do what we should.  I think our tendency is to hope that things turn out the way that we want them too much of the time, but we don’t do the things that are necessary to make those things a reality.

- John Wooden -