Pat Summitt

[jazzpt55]

One of my favorites from Pat....

"Here's how I'm going to beat you. I'm going to outwork you. That's it." - Pat Summitt

https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrayForPat?src=hash

 

[colhenrylives]

She has passed away, according to the AP.

 

[ClayK]

I was at a camp for an East Bay varsity today, with 23 girls. Two of them had heard of Pat Summitt before we talked about her. None had heard of Title IX.

 

[Paytc]

Salute ! To Pat Summitt for a job well done.

 

[bones40]

Met her years ago after a game at stanford her passion and intensity was amazing to watch.From
that day forward i was convinced she was a wowan who could have coached men at any level.
She brought the women's game to a whole new level and did it with so much class. This is a big loss the sport we all love.RIP COACH SUMMIT best to ever do it.

 

[OnBall8]

wow clay.. that is equally surprising and disappointing.. all young ladies in the sport (and other sports for that matter) should at least have an idea of the people and policies that have paved the way for them to enjoy it. "History lesson" should be the next part of camp! lol

very sad to hear the news this morning. she would be one of the faces on the mount rushmore of college coaches for all sports. her intensity was the outward portrayal of her passion for the sport and the girls she strove to mold into self-sufficient women. we lost a legend today.

 

[ClayK]

Pat Summitt's teams proved that thousands of people would pay to watch women play sports -- and opened the eyes of everyone from athletic directors to sportswriters to casual fans that women's basketball could be quality basketball.

 

[colhenrylives]

An icon no doubt. As for historical knowledge on the part of young females, no surprise there. Most 15-year-old boys have no idea who Pete Newell was. It's just the nature of the times.

 

[Paytc]

An icon no doubt. As for historical knowledge on the part of young females, no surprise there. Most 15-year-old boys have no idea who Pete Newell was. It's just the nature of the times.

To add to Clay and colhenrylives post....

I agree it is the nature of the times. It is the same way in the NBA, music, and the entire Entertainment industry. Young folks just dont seem to have the same motivation to study the pioneers who paved the way in their respective industries. And they have little to no respect for the great ones who came before them. As if history and the game started 15 years ago. It's like all they know is a bunch of questionable to false history that they've been feed and no desire and thirst to find truths and facts on their own. That is what separated the Jordan's, Dr. J's, Kareem's, Magic's, and most recently the Kobe's from today's super star players. And the Michael Jackson's and Prince's from today's artist. The knowledge, appreciation, and respect appears to no longer be there. The selfish ego has reached a point where it's blinding the objectivity. It's about me and the now as if the past is no longer relevant. That's why "great" has been reduced to the level of the "so call" great players that the NBA supports and forces on the youth of today.

 

[colhenrylives]

What's really concerning is the lack of perspective involving U.S. and world history. Sports and other entertainment options are really just interesting distractions from reality. Ask a high school senior to discuss the role of Prussia in the unification of what is today's Germany (a fateful development with far-reaching consequences) or to dissect the American presidential election of 1860 (arguably the most contentious, fateful and complex in our history) and blank stares will be the result. History is barely taught at the secondary level today. As for sports history, few kids would know that, in 1975-76, the Warriors were defending NBA champs with the best record in the NBA (59 wins); they were heavy favorites to repeat as titlists. Sounds very familiar. What happened? Yep, they couldn't pull it off, losing to the Suns in the Western Finals. History is important. Less so now than it once was, sadly.

 

[ClayK]

As a history major, I could go on and on about this topic. We're still replaying Aristotle's "On Politics" 2,500 years later, and this year's election looks a lot like the one in 1836. Historical evidence is also hugely on the side that the freer trade is, the better it is for everyone (one person may lose a $50,000 job, but 100,000 people will pay $1 less for a product).

But who listens to Santayana when you can watch Serena?

 

[jazzpt55]

 

[jazzpt55]

Headcoach at a major university when she was 22 years old.....
how amazing was that...

 

[colhenrylives]

A very different era. That would not happen today in the SEC. No way.

 

[Paytc]

A very different era. That would not happen today in the SEC. No way.

colhenrylives,

I agree with you on that !

Not only do you have to be a good coaching prospect (which I don't doubt Pat Summitt was) but you have to know the right folks and be in with the right decision makers, and be lucky. Most successful coaches have a great supporting cast around them to include quality players and assistants.

To me coaching is no where near as complicated as it is made out to be. For the most part you just need good players with the right size, speed, talent, and discipline to be successful. Once you have that you need to know what system or style to used (based on the selected group of players you have) and what lanes to put each player in. And know when to adjust things based on the team you are playing and circumstance at hand. Then set your coaching ego aside and let the best and most capable players play. Since I have never seen a game where they allow a coach to play, I feel like the coach should empower (the players) the ones who are allowed to play and trust them and get out of the way. Are there times to call a time out, make a substitution, or an adjustment in the offensive or defensive scheme, work the referees, and manage a game? Yes. Those are things a coach should be focused on more so than micro managing and bullying players. The latter two being what typically separates a great coach from a poor or good coach IMO. And most of the coaches on the lower level of coaching(middle and high school age kids) would rather yell at and bully players ( which are buttons that work for some players not all) than positively encourage young players, develop them, and shoulder the bulk of the blame and criticism themselves. You coach young kids differently than you coach more experienced or professionals. For the most part you coach boys differently than you coach girls based on many factors that must be considered. It all boils down to accountability, and building confident players who want to go to battle for you and themselves. Coaches have help with player selection, player development, skills training,dealing with parental influences, and other support, the higher they go up in the coaching ranks. The more support coaches have at the higher levels actually makes coaching easier, outside from the pressure and expectations to get the job done once money enters the equation.