Philosopher Coaches

That is Lou Holtz in the photo to the left, a truly legendary coach. A man grouped into an era of "philosopher" coaches. I suppose I should clarify the above statement. This term was established by the author of "Philosopher Coaches", which implies that coaches of today stand with more managerial skills present and less fundamental life philosophy built into their very fabric. Coaches like Doc Counsilman, Jim Wooden, Vince Lumbardi, and Lou Holtz. These were men of Hope, Care, and Passion for success. They believed in building up the athlete, expressing care, and doing what was right. They had a moral value toward their athletes, communities, and despised anything less then giving their best. Just to list these ideals stimulates motivation.

Lou Holtz believed in three general rules to guarantee success as an athlete and person: 1. Do what is right. This statement speaks for its self. 2. Do the absolute best you can. This rule simply says it all, at the end of the day no one can question you if you have done your complete best. 3. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Well, we've all heard this before, the ideas set here are straight forward with little challenge of understanding, we can all relate to doing this, but only imagine what society would be like if on your drive to work tomorrow you didn't exclude the neighbor from the spot ahead of you as he/she backed out of their drive way.

Here are some additional ideas that Lou Holtz shared in his leadership at Notre Dame: "Change to Win". This is a valuable statement that expresses how important it is to take the steps toward progress even if you are criticized. As a coach, I've learned it is wisest to study the method and listen to the athlete. "Accept and realize that the real key to success is that you will face adversity, and what is most important is to remember that crisis will make you stronger and that your reaction (So act positively) toward these moments will make all the difference in the outcome." Here is Lou Holtz' Formula for success:

1. Answer the question. What do you want to do?

2. Set a plan.

3. Work for it.

4. Expect it to happen.

Here you see the importance of goals and writing them down drastically improves the achievement or outcome. The plan makes things more visible and seemingly achievable. The commitment to labor for what you desire is probably the step where most hesitate or even never get. Yep, the work is what makes all the difference in the world, so commit to this step first and you will be surprised how easily the expectation will be and how suddenly you will achieve what you desired.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Z