University of Georgia Athletics
Yoculan Blog: Coaches of "Other Sports" and Discipline
November 24, 2009 | General
Many fans don't know that the University of Georgia Athletic Association has ranked in the top 5 three times (2nd once) in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics' Learfield Cup (formerly the Sears Cup). The cup goes to the most successful athletic programs in college and is based on the order of finish in all NCAA sports. To compete for this award, a school must rank high in some sports we tend to refer to as "other sports" or "Olympic Sports." Georgia has won 37 national championships in all sports and these "other sports" account for much of our high ranking.
Part of my new job with Georgia is conducting video interviews with our coaches, so I decided to interview our new men's basketball coach, Mark Fox, and four of our long-standing coaches of "other sports," who, collectively, have won 17 of those 37 national championships. The one trait that all the coaches mentioned as a key to success in athletics is discipline. I'd like to share with you their individual comments on discipline.
I was eager to talk with Mark Fox because I had only met him socially. I don't know a lot about basketball, so I was somewhat uneasy. But his warm and friendly demeanor made me comfortable, and he talked mostly about his family, his background, and how he plans to build a basketball team at Georgia that would contend for championships. The one point that he emphasized over and over was discipline. Mark told me that his current team is learning how to work hard. They didn't have the discipline to perform, and he's changing that.
Andy Landers was the first paid coach for a women's team at Georgia, and he's still going strong as the women's basketball coach. You can't keep discipline out of his conversations, whether direct or subtle. He related the story of the mother giraffe kicking and prodding her offspring to learn to run, because if they can't run, they'll fall prey to a predator. The analogy to his coaching his team was obvious. They have to be "fighters" to survive in the competitive SEC. By the time his athletes are juniors and seniors they are disciplined warriors who can fight under pressure.
The men's and women's tennis coaches, Manny Diaz (men) and Jeff Wallace (women), are a dynamic duo. They've been associated with Georgia athletics since they were players here in the 1970s and 1980s respectively. And what did they emphasize in discussing the keys to their success? Discipline. Manny talked about his players' respect for each other, on and off the court, and how they always "had each others backs."
Jeff and I laughed as we shared stories of our early coaching days, when we tolerated undisciplined behavior. We both learned through experience that behavior is contagious. Jeff said he would never put up with some things today he accepted in the past.
Jack Bauerle, who not only wins national championships in swimming and diving but also has coached the U.S. Women's Olympic team, cautioned about allowing athletes to become too dependent on coaches. He says true discipline is self-discipline, allowing his athletes to "figure it out" for themselves and grow up to be accountable. He thinks some coaches make it too easy to fail by providing a huge safety net.
So I found it comforting and reassuring to learn that my fellow coaches share at least one belief that I hold indispensable after 25 years of college coaching. They all believe in effective discipline.
Part of my new job with Georgia is conducting video interviews with our coaches, so I decided to interview our new men's basketball coach, Mark Fox, and four of our long-standing coaches of "other sports," who, collectively, have won 17 of those 37 national championships. The one trait that all the coaches mentioned as a key to success in athletics is discipline. I'd like to share with you their individual comments on discipline.
I was eager to talk with Mark Fox because I had only met him socially. I don't know a lot about basketball, so I was somewhat uneasy. But his warm and friendly demeanor made me comfortable, and he talked mostly about his family, his background, and how he plans to build a basketball team at Georgia that would contend for championships. The one point that he emphasized over and over was discipline. Mark told me that his current team is learning how to work hard. They didn't have the discipline to perform, and he's changing that.
Andy Landers was the first paid coach for a women's team at Georgia, and he's still going strong as the women's basketball coach. You can't keep discipline out of his conversations, whether direct or subtle. He related the story of the mother giraffe kicking and prodding her offspring to learn to run, because if they can't run, they'll fall prey to a predator. The analogy to his coaching his team was obvious. They have to be "fighters" to survive in the competitive SEC. By the time his athletes are juniors and seniors they are disciplined warriors who can fight under pressure.
The men's and women's tennis coaches, Manny Diaz (men) and Jeff Wallace (women), are a dynamic duo. They've been associated with Georgia athletics since they were players here in the 1970s and 1980s respectively. And what did they emphasize in discussing the keys to their success? Discipline. Manny talked about his players' respect for each other, on and off the court, and how they always "had each others backs."
Jeff and I laughed as we shared stories of our early coaching days, when we tolerated undisciplined behavior. We both learned through experience that behavior is contagious. Jeff said he would never put up with some things today he accepted in the past.
Jack Bauerle, who not only wins national championships in swimming and diving but also has coached the U.S. Women's Olympic team, cautioned about allowing athletes to become too dependent on coaches. He says true discipline is self-discipline, allowing his athletes to "figure it out" for themselves and grow up to be accountable. He thinks some coaches make it too easy to fail by providing a huge safety net.
So I found it comforting and reassuring to learn that my fellow coaches share at least one belief that I hold indispensable after 25 years of college coaching. They all believe in effective discipline.
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