Flying chairs also stimulate stronger performances. Sometimes, a little encouragement is needed.
If you encourage a XC team with 7 5:20 HS milers and I do not encourage a team with 7 4:05 HS milers, I feel comfortable that we will probably do okay.
Flying chairs also stimulate stronger performances. Sometimes, a little encouragement is needed.
If you encourage a XC team with 7 5:20 HS milers and I do not encourage a team with 7 4:05 HS milers, I feel comfortable that we will probably do okay.
Sometimes, it's actually the 4'05 guys that need the encouragement.
John was a Dbag. He treated athletes as numbers, not like people. He cheated with scholarships and with outside money coming in to his athletes.
Now was John the best college coach ever? Yes, it isn’t close. Arkansas was a hell hole back then, no one wanted to live there, and he won. He never lost an SEC XC title. Second place trophies were used as door stops and not displayed. Think about how good your program has to be to put NCAA trophies in a closet if they weren’t the National Championship.
Love him or hate him; he was better than you in every way.
Maybe he was a Dbag to you, if you read his book his athletes had a ton of respect for him. Was he tough? Hell yes! but if you trained and raced hard, he loved you.
If you encourage a XC team with 7 5:20 HS milers and I do not encourage a team with 7 4:05 HS milers, I feel comfortable that we will probably do okay.
Sometimes, it's actually the 4'05 guys that need the encouragement.
Duh! Of course everyone thrives with encouragement and it is a key part of coaching.
But no more a part of coaching than recruiting.
I am not trying to prioritize elements of coaching. I was trying to point out to the OP that was asking if John Mc was a great coach or a great recruiter. My contention is that recruiting is part of coaching and he was outstanding at both.
Sometimes, it's actually the 4'05 guys that need the encouragement.
Duh! Of course everyone thrives with encouragement and it is a key part of coaching.
But no more a part of coaching than recruiting.
I am not trying to prioritize elements of coaching. I was trying to point out to the OP that was asking if John Mc was a great coach or a great recruiter. My contention is that recruiting is part of coaching and he was outstanding at both.
I know. I'm bored at work, and just giving you $h1t. The "encouragement" I was referring to was something where John let loose on some guys at a team meeting.
Duh! Of course everyone thrives with encouragement and it is a key part of coaching.
But no more a part of coaching than recruiting.
I am not trying to prioritize elements of coaching. I was trying to point out to the OP that was asking if John Mc was a great coach or a great recruiter. My contention is that recruiting is part of coaching and he was outstanding at both.
I know. I'm bored at work, and just giving you $h1t. The "encouragement" I was referring to was something where John let loose on some guys at a team meeting.
The way you worded your initial reply, I thought there might be some side story that was flying over my head. My apology for being a little out of the loop.
It's getting late in the workday on a Friday. Throw out one good insult at my expense and it will likely bring the end of the day a little quicker.
I know. I'm bored at work, and just giving you $h1t. The "encouragement" I was referring to was something where John let loose on some guys at a team meeting.
The way you worded your initial reply, I thought there might be some side story that was flying over my head. My apology for being a little out of the loop.
It's getting late in the workday on a Friday. Throw out one good insult at my expense and it will likely bring the end of the day a little quicker.
Zero reason to apologise. I'm ready for the end of the day as well.
John truly was one of a kind, and quite a few of us are much better off because of him. As stated, it didn't matter your background or talent- if you worked hard and raced hard, you had him on your side. Of note, he never refused walk ons- never- no matter the talent. Many times, those walk ons turned into major tenets of the team.
John was an amazing man. But he taught his athletes to be great men. Not just fast runners.
He was a great recruiter. He was a great storyteller. He was a great listener. He was a great scientist (who stayed the course but could try new things). He was a great motivator. He was inspiring. He was disciplined.
What's crazy is how much the men ran for John as they did for themselves. Guys would triple at conference to put John and the team first. Not because they needed to, but because they wanted to be a part of that legacy.
I have worked for many Fortune 50 companies and created a couple startups as well...but Arkansas track and field was the highest performing team that I've ever been a part of.
My comment is concerning the OP's handle ".....or just a good recruiter"
Recruiting is a major, if not "THE" major part of coaching. Give the top coaches like McDonnell 5:15 men and 5:40 women and give me the sub 4:05/4:50 athletes and I will beat them soundly. However, give us equal talent and they will crush me.
"Just a good recruiter" is every bit as important as training plans, mental approach, etc., There are many good coaches that are lazy in one area and recruiting is one of those areas for many. The fact that it is a part of the job that many dislike does diminish it's importance to building a big-time program.
So, I would say McDonnell was an outstanding coach worthy of consideration of best ever and exceptional recruiting prowess helped his cause.
John told me he absolutely LOVED recruiting. when he stopped loving it, it was the sign he should retire.
What about Jumbo Elliott, Villanova, (August 8, 1915 – March 22, 1981) was an American track and field coach, often considered to be one of the greatest of all time. His achievements include producing five Olympic gold medal winners between 1956 and 1968 or Bill Bowerman in the running as the greatest. When I was a kid these are the coaches I'd hear about all the time.
John was an amazing man. But he taught his athletes to be great men. Not just fast runners.
He was a great recruiter. He was a great storyteller. He was a great listener. He was a great scientist (who stayed the course but could try new things). He was a great motivator. He was inspiring. He was disciplined.
What's crazy is how much the men ran for John as they did for themselves. Guys would triple at conference to put John and the team first. Not because they needed to, but because they wanted to be a part of that legacy.
I have worked for many Fortune 50 companies and created a couple startups as well...but Arkansas track and field was the highest performing team that I've ever been a part of.
I think this is the hardest part for most to comprehend because most were never a part of a culture with that mindset. It does all come down to leadership but a great leader knows how to develop other great leaders and then get out of their way. A great leader inspires others to OWN their experience, then uses wisdom to keep them from destroying themselves as they gain that wisdom through experience.
Ive been a Hog fan for over 40 years because I truly admire great leadership that develops a culture that sustains itself over time. As other coaches learn from the best, you start to see challengers come forward with sustainable programs. Often these leaders overlap in the timeline and a new regime takes over.
Other greats include Coach Woodin, UCLA and Coach Gable, Iowa as more visible to the public. There are others a various levels that built cultures in their places like Coach Vigil, Adams State and Coach Carius at North Central just to name a few. There are many more and countless HS coaches that have done the same.
They all have common threads. Number one, making believers out of nonbelievers. They all had to start somewhere. Giving ownership to their athletes once they were ready. Older athletes providing majority leadership and challenging the next class to write their own page in their history book. Underclass steps up and does. Rinse and repeat. It's called tradition and it doesnt matter if it's in LA, Fayetteville, Iowa City etc... Doesnt matter what sport either. It's all about leadership with ability to plant a vision in others.
Regarding Dan Lincoln. Just for the record although he technically was a walk on it’s not like coach turned a walk on talent into ncaa champion. Dan was offered a full ride in high school and turned it down because he was going to go to a better academic school. He thought that would better prepare him for med school. He changed his mind late in the process and went to Arkansas. However, by then there were no scholarships left so he walked on.
I marveled at the gathering for John’s funeral. Former athletes ranging from their late 20s to over 60 years old. There were jumpers, throwers, sprinters and distance guys. Multiple nationalities and races. A true melting pot. Those guys went on to be successful in life in most every discipline you can think of. That is John’s true legacy.
He was a great coach, but why are you giving him the credit for his athletes going on to be successful after college? Depending on each person, credit might be more appropriate for their parents, their professors, their academic advisors, or other influential people in their life.
I marveled at the gathering for John’s funeral. Former athletes ranging from their late 20s to over 60 years old. There were jumpers, throwers, sprinters and distance guys. Multiple nationalities and races. A true melting pot. Those guys went on to be successful in life in most every discipline you can think of. That is John’s true legacy.
He was a great coach, but why are you giving him the credit for his athletes going on to be successful after college? Depending on each person, credit might be more appropriate for their parents, their professors, their academic advisors, or other influential people in their life.
Because John was not just a coach. He was the most competitive man I ever met in my life. He was able to draw out the best in you if you allowed it to happen. I worked for some really demanding people over my 40 plus year career in real estate and private equity. John could run circles around them in business as well as coaching. Ask how he used his leverage with Phil Knight to get the Tyson indoor track built. Quite the story.
And none other than Nolan Richardson who won Arkansas only NCAA Championship in basketball said John could have won a national championship in any sport as he was that good at understanding the sport, his athletes and how best to prepare them.