Broken Down Wannabe Athlete
I’m unapologetic to those who see me as a “weirdo” or “not acting her age.”
I regularly shoot basketball. I’ve earned a free throw championship trophy. 🏀
I believe I was the first girl in my high school to compete in the NFL Punt Pass and Kick competition. 🏈 (After 56 years, the program terminated in 2017.)
I sneak onto football fields and kick balls through uprights, missing most, but not quitting. In this 2021 season, however, my record may be greater than a lot of collegiate and NFL kickers. Just sayin’.
I’m known to show up on tennis courts with my vintage Bjorn Borg headband slicing balls and hitting forehand winners.
My garage is where you’ll find me viciously whipping a hula hoop around my midriff waiting for it to drop around my ankle so I can joyfully skip over it as it spins near the concrete, only to get spun up around my knees.
Anymore, I spend hours, sometimes days, recovering from these activities.
I don’t care.
Each brings me great joy and definitely feeds my intense competitiveness.
I admit I’m not outstanding at any one particular sport. It’s not for a lack of trying. I give each my all. My all, that is, I can squeeze out of an ever-shrinking frame that on my best days was five feet tall.
Put Me in Coach or Give Me Your Book
I’ve always been athletic and followed sports, at every level.
If given a career do-over, I’d work my way into a sports league office and lend my talents to growing the brand.
Over time I’ve absorbed all I can from coaches who’ve recorded and published their beliefs, practices and principles in books.
In my opinion, the greatest coaches are not always the most widely known coaches.
To me, the best coaches excel not only in the technical aspects of a particular sport or game but also in developing good citizens.
The Start
In February 2021 I released a post on coaches I’d like to interview and why. 10 Coaches I’d Love to Interview & Why – Linda Leier Thomason
To date it’s one of the most read posts in my website’s history.
Here are five additional coaches I’ve studied and admired, and if they’d ever agree to sit down to a chat with me, I’d be there.
Phil Jackson
He has been called the greatest NBA coach of all time, and with a league-record 11 championships (13 if you count his time as a player), it’s hard to dispute that claim.
Introducing fellow North Dakotan and Virgo, Phil Jackson.
Coach Jackson is a thinker and philosophizer. Some refer to him as “Zen Master.”
Early Years
He was born on September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana but grew up with his fundamentalist evangelical preacher parents, who had sworn an oath of poverty, in Williston, ND. There he was a standout basketball player and led his team to two state titles.
He played collegiately for the University of North Dakota (UND) studying philosophy and religion. Phil also took courses in accounting, business and law. He was known for his left-handed hook shot that helped him average 27.4 points per game in his senior year.
New York Knicks
Phil graduated in 1967. He was the second-round draft choice for the New York Knicks and was instrumental in leading that team to an NBA championship in 1973.
He officially retired as a basketball player in 1980.
Three summers he returned to UND for graduate school earning 26 credit hours in psychology.
Holistic Approach
During those summers, Coach Phil started to build the foundation of his holistic coaching philosophy blending meditation, Eastern philosophy and native American spiritual practices – an approach that created one of the most successful professional basketball coaches of all time.
Details
Every year of his 20-year coaching career (nine years with the Chicago Bulls and 11 years with the LA Lakers), his teams made the NBA playoffs, winning 11 championship titles.
Coach Phil still holds the highest win percentage of any Hall of Fame coach. (He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.)
He popularized a system of play originated by Coach Tex Winter Coach Tex Winter: Triangle Basketball | Ann Parr called the triangle offense.
He’s coached some legendary players like Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Along with his NBA-record 11 championships, he is the only coach to win at least 10 championships in any of North America’s major professional sports.
Phil retired from coaching in 2011 and joined the New York Knicks as an executive in March 2014, where he was president until 2017.
Rough Rider Award & Author
He has authored 9 books about his teams and his basketball strategies. The most recent, “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success,” was published in 2014.
Phil was presented the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, bestowed upon prominent North Dakotans, in 1992. His portrait and plaque hang in the state Capitol in Bismarck with other past Rough Rider Award winners, such as one-time baseball home run king Roger Maris, bandleader Lawrence Welk, singer Peggy Lee and UND’s eighth president Tom Clifford.
He makes North Dakotans proud, including me.
Question: Do tell. 😉 Did you play a role in the Boston Celtics team’s planes being grounded at LAX after game 5 during the 2008 championship series? The Lakers arrived in Boston well before the Celtics after two alleged plane malfunctions. FYI: Boston won the series 4-2 in Boston.
Dan Gable
I was raised in the wrestling community of Napoleon, North Dakota. My brothers wrestled.
Our high school, NHS, won 13 state Class B wrestling championships between 1975 and 2007.
Wrestling seems to follow me. I even married someone obsessed with wrestling, but the pro-wrestling kind, like WWE. Our son is equally infatuated. Time will tell if our now 3-month-old grandson will follow in their footsteps.
Legendary Iowa Native
I attended Iowa State University-where one of the greatest wrestlers of all times, Dan Gable, a Waterloo, Iowa native, had an astonishing career as a folkstyle wrestler (1967-1970). What Is Folkstyle Wrestling? Definition & Meaning On SportsLingo
He only lost one match in his entire collegiate career, his last, to Larry Owings of the University of Washington.
Gable competed internationally in freestyle wrestling Freestyle Wrestling | Sports | Rules of Sport from 1971 to 1973.
He also won gold at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, not giving up a point. In fact, it’s widely known that the Soviets came to those games with one intention-to beat Dan Gable. It never happened.
Gable joined the in-state rivals, Iowa Hawkeyes, coaching staff in 1972, assisting head coach and Hall of Famer Gary Kurdelmeier until taking over the program in 1976 until 1997, 21 years.
The University of Iowa all-time winningest coach had an untouchable career, winning 15 NCAA team titles from 1976-1997, compiling a career record of 355-21-5.
He also was the head coach for three Olympic teams (1980, 1984, 2000) and six world teams.
Awards
Gable has been named to several Halls of Fame including but not limited to the USA Wrestling Hall of Fame, the US Olympic Hall of Fame, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Stillwater, OK and is the name sake of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, IA. National Wrestling Hall of Fame – Visit (nwhof.org)
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on December 8, 2020 by President Donald Trump.
Today Coach Gable is a sought-after speaker living in Iowa City, Iowa.
One of my favorite Gable quotes is: “Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.”
Questions: What is your honest opinion on girls now competing in wrestling? What did it take within yourself to recover from the backlash of coaching at Iowa after being recognized as one of Iowa State’s most outstanding athletes?
Amy Williams
I took notice of Coach Amy Williams while our son was a student at the University of South Dakota (USD). She is a Spearfish, SD native and was the women’s head basketball coach in Vermillion. Her understated midwestern toughness and grit was a delight to watch.
Williams spent four successful seasons at NCAA Division I USD (2013-2016) and led the Coyote women to four straight postseason appearances while compiling a 96-44 record with the Coyotes.
In 2016, Williams guided USD to a 32-6 record, winning the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Championship on April 2, 2016. The Coyotes had won the Summit League title outright with a 15-1 record, losing only to in-state rival South Dakota Jackrabbits 61-55 in the Summit League Championship game.
She was named the Summit League Coach of the Year for two consecutive seasons: 2015 and 2016.
USD to UNL
I wasn’t the only one watching Coach Williams.
The University of Nebraska Lincoln, her alma mater also was. She was named the Huskers women’s basketball head coach on April 11, 2016.
Again, her program building skills are being noticed and rewarded.
She was named Big Ten Coach-of-the-Year in 2018 after leading the nation’s biggest turnaround. Her team earned a bid into the 2018 NCAA Tournament and finished with a 21-11 record-a national-leading 14-game turnaround in the win column over 2016-17.
Her Beginning
Williams was an academic All-Big 12 honoree while at UNL (Amy Gusso), earning a bachelor’s degree in biology and mathematics in 1998. She earned a master’s degree in sports administration in 2002 from Nebraska-Kearney, where she began her coaching career as a graduate assistant from 1998-2000.
She and her husband Lloyd, a former collegiate coach and player, have two daughters.
Nebraska’s Williams named ESPN Coach of the Week | Sports | kmaland.com I’m not the only one taking note of Coach Williams.
Questions: Who were your career role models as a young athlete? You’d originally wanted to be a medical doctor. Did you have any athletes as role models? You and Lloyd have two daughters. What is the biggest difference you see in their athletic lives from yours?
Mike Tomlin
I’m not saying I’m a Pittsburgh Steelers’ fan, though I can rattle off legions of past players who’ve been on their roster, but I am a huge Coach Mike Tomlin fan.
Michael (Mike) Pettaway Tomlin began his coaching career as a defensive back coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001 before becoming the Steelers head coach in 2007.
He led the team to nine playoff runs, seven division titles, three American Football Conference championship games, two Super Bowl appearances, and one title in Super Bowl XLIII. The Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals.
He is the youngest head coach, to date, to win the Super Bowl at age 36.
Role Model & Coach
I’ve never been in their locker room. However, I suspect his players respect him. He seems to have their backs. He’s a player’s coach. One who advocates for players while they excel for him. Neither quits on the other.
I’ve watched him over and over again treat men like men. Playing football is a job. He’s the boss! I suspect he’s also a tremendous role model, setting good examples for players.
Tomlin married fellow William and Mary athlete (gymnast) Kiya Winston in 1996 two weeks after graduation. She is the founder and customer designer in her own fashion company: Kiya Tomlin. Comfortable & Stylish Womens Clothing | Kiya Tomlin Fashion They are the proud parents of two sons and a daughter.
Steeler fan or not these 10 Not-So-Well Known Steelers Facts and Trivia are fun to read. Enjoy! 10 Not-So-Well-Known Steelers Facts and Trivia – Popular Pittsburgh
Questions: You have two young sons. If they ask you if they should pursue a career in football, what is the most honest answer you’d give them without defaulting to “whatever makes you happy and fulfilled son” answer. If you hadn’t pursued a career in football, what job would you likely be doing today?
Russ Rose
Statistician
Coach Rose caught my attention when we were relocated to Omaha, Nebraska. Many nights we tune into Nebraska Public TV to watch women’s volleyball matches. None are usually more competitive than when Coach Rose brings his Penn State Nittany Lions to play the Nebraska Huskers-a team to beat in the world of women’s college volleyball.
Coach Rose’s sideline behavior was, let’s say, classic. Here sat a quietly confident white-haired older gentleman with an upright clipboard. He was constantly jotting notes. Soon I discovered he was the head coach keeping match statistics. Later I learned of his impeccable credentials. I was so impressed. I remain so.
Penn State Story
The following was taken from the Penn State Women’s Volleyball Page. It was so well researched and written, I included it.
It’s been over four decades since Russ Rose, age 68, arrived on campus in Happy Valley. His name has become synonymous with the pride and tradition of the storied Penn State women’s volleyball program. He’s in his 43rd season as head coach of arguably the nation’s most elite women’s volleyball program. His record-setting seven NCAA national titles and 17 Big Ten championships speak directly to the confidence and character he’s passed along throughout his career.
Few have come close to matching Rose’s impressive win total, as he’s collected victories at a staggering pace. Never having posted less than 22 wins in a fully-completed season, his 1,309 career wins heading into the 2021 season rank first all-time among NCAA DI head coaches.
Accomplishments
Along with 17 Big Ten titles, his program is the only women’s volleyball school to compete in all 40 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball National Championship events. He’s produced multiple Olympians, four AVCA National Players of the Year, 14 Big Ten Players of the Year and at least one AVCA All-American in 41 of 42 complete seasons.
Those who know Rose, know about the tremendous impact he has made in the volleyball community, not only in Pennsylvania, but across the country.
Rose led Penn State to its first national championship in 1999, before returning to capture the title in four consecutive seasons from 2007-2010. Along the way, Rose picked up three AVCA National Coach of the Year honors and five Big Ten Coach of the Year awards, while also earning a spot in the AVCA Hall of Fame at the end of the 2007 season.
Following the 2013 championship and the program’s 16th Big Ten title, Rose earned his fifth career AVCA National Coach of the Year Honor. From 2007-2010, Rose guided the Nittany Lions on their unprecedented and historic run of 109 victories, which included back-to-back 38-0 seasons in 2008 and 2009.
Teacher of Coaches
Throughout his career, Rose has been called on to share his expertise with coaches and players who represent the United States in International competition. He’s also an active clinician, traveling around both the United States and other parts of the world to share his vast knowledge of the game.
A 1975 graduate of George Williams College, Rose was a member of the school’s 1974 NAIA national championship team and captain of the 1975 squad. Upon graduation, he remained at George Williams as a part-time coach, helping the women’s team to a pair of state titles and a sixth-place finish at the national level.
Thesis on Statistics. Sideline Behavior Makes Sense
In 1978, he earned his master’s degree from the University of Nebraska, while also serving as a defensive coach for the women’s team. While writing his thesis on volleyball statistics, he led the second team to a two-year varsity mark of 52-5.
A 2013 Penn State Honorary Alumni honoree, Rose married Lori Barberich, a former three-time All-American at Penn State in 1986. The two are the parents of four sons, Jonathan, Michael, Christopher and Nicholas.
Questions: Tell me something about Nebraska Women’s Volleyball coach, John Cook, that no one else knows. Perhaps something from a Big 10 Conference coach meeting, or the like. What activities or events will fill up your first year of retirement?
The 40-year secret to Penn State volleyball coach Russ Rose’s success (espn.com)
Source: Russ Rose – Women’s Volleyball Coach – Penn State University Athletics (gopsusports.com)
Student. Never a Stalker.
I suspect I may have a part three to this post. On my desk I have a list of other coaches I’m going to continue to study. Coaches like Fred Hoiberg, Bob McKillop, Rick Pitino, Chris Beard, John Cook, Mick Cronin, Ed Orgeron, Doc Rivers, Todd Golden, Tony Bennett, Matt Campbell, Kyle Kempt, and Tony Dungy.
Share, Like & Comment
Is there a coach you’d like to know more about? Or, one I should know?
Jot the name in the comment section below. And, watch for future posts on coaches I admire.
©November 2021. Linda Leier Thomason
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