Email Us! Feedback is always welcome.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Great Read on Saban

Ivan Maisel put together a very interesting read on Nick Saban, his decision to come to Alabama, and his coaching philosophy. Including a description of Saban's hard driving style, which has created unquestionable success at the college level. I thought this section from the article was particularly conversation worthy.

"Senior defensive lineman Wallace Gilberry felt pretty good about a stop he made in practice one day. That is, for the time it took Saban to climb all over him.

Gilberry learned by wasting a step that he turned a one-yard loss into a three-yard gain. He also learned to listen to the message, not the manner in which Saban delivered it.

"Let me try to be as blunt and common as possible," said Gilberry, who will graduate in December after 3½ years with a degree in communications. "Coach Saban's delivery, you can compare it to a missile, coming at you at 800 knots. Is that clear enough for you? There's no ducking. I can assure you. If you were in a hole, you'd still feel it. The best thing to do is stand there with your arms open and take it head on. There's no running from it."
That's exactly the response that Saban wants. With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, he wants his players focused on the moment, not on the emotions surrounding it.


That's exactly the response that Saban wants. With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, he wants his players focused on the moment, not on the emotions surrounding it."

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/feature/featureVideo?page=saban

No comments: