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Grant: Coaching Really Over Rated
Many
head coaches in the NFL and major college football are in first year
assignments. They have had years of experience as assistants but now
they have to lead their teams. Hall of Fame coach
Bud Grant was asked to recall important experiences or lessons from
his first season as boss of the Vikings in 1967. His responses may
surprise you.
Grant
said many people think so much of coaching is X’s and O’s. “That’s not
it at all,” he explained. “Coaching is evaluations and observations.
(It’s) getting the right players in the right places and the right
positions and providing the right defenses and offenses for those people
to be productive.
“You
can’t start with the system and then get the players for the system. You
start with the players and get the system for the players. I think one
of the most important things young coaches forget is that it is not what
you provide but it’s what the players provide. I will guarantee you
that if you don’t have the better players you are not going to win. I
don’t care how good of a coach you are.
“Coaching is really over rated. Maybe a better term is that you
are a manager. You manage the people you have. You don’t try to coach
something that is not there.”
Grant’s son Mike has coached powerhouse teams at Eden Prairie
High School for years and has won four state championships. As a
youngster he watched his father coach including in training camp. “What
I learned from him was more how to deal with people and handle people,”
Mike said.
The
younger Grant said players want to be individuals and it’s a “battle”
making them into a team. He said his father had a way of “defusing
problems.” |
"I think one of the most important things
young coaches forget is that it is not what you provide but it’s what
the players provide."
Bud Grant
Bud Grant |
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Cuddyer Answers the
Call
Michael Cuddyer has emerged this season as a
hitter who provides some of the power and
run production the Twins have been missing for years. His development
as a home run hitter and RBI man batting in the clean up position has
been a nice fit with Joe Mauer hitting in front of him and
Justin Morneau behind.
While
Mauer makes a run at the American League batting title and Morneau draws
some nods as a league MVP candidate for his home run and RBI production,
Cuddyer has made his own contributions. Sandwiched between the two left
handed hitters, the right handed hitting Cuddyer has joined the 20 home
run and 100 RBI club this season. It’s a group few Twins have gained
membership to in recent seasons.
In
the last 10 seasons the Twins have been without a hitter with more than
30 home runs, and three times the club leader didn’t even hit 20.
During the past 10 seasons the team RBI leader reached 100 or more only
three times, and three times the leader had less than 80 RBI.
Earlier this week Cuddyer had 22 home runs and 100 RBI, Morneau 33
homers and 123 RBI, and Torii Hunter 26 home runs and 84 RBI. The last
time the Twins had two hitters with 100 RBI or more in the same season
was 1977 when Larry Hisle and Rod Carew did it.
Cuddyer, 27, came into 2006 wondering what awaited him. In the previous
two seasons he had hit .263 and had 12 home runs each year with RBI
totals of 45 and 42. In 2005 he had 93 starts at third base, 18 in the
outfield, six at second base and three at first base.
This
season Cuddyer has become the team’s right fielder and take’s “pride” in
being the cleanup hitter. In the minor leagues he had been a middle of
the batting order run producer and the Twins had been hoping for similar
production. “This year everything has kind of come together and I have
produced the way I know I was capable of producing,” Cuddyer said.
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“This year everything has kind of come
together and I have produced the way I know I was capable of producing."
Michael Cuddyer
Photo
courtesy of the Minnesota Twins
Michael Cuddyer |
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Circle It Game for Gophers
Two
defensively challenged football teams meet in West Lafayette, Indiana on
Saturday when the Gophers and Purdue play in the Big Ten Conference
opening game for both schools. Minnesota’s defense has been imploding
in conference games for years and continued its reputation earlier in
the month with a 42-17 non-conference loss to California. Purdue’s
defense ranked near the bottom among major college teams last season and
its three mediocre non-conference opponents this year have averaged 31.3
points per game against the Boilermakers.
Here’s the point: the Gophers may have the better defense. Minnesota
has shutouts in two of its first three games, defeating Kent State 44-0
and Temple 62-0. Purdue has defeated I-AA Indiana State, 60-35, Miami
of Ohio, 38-31, and Ball State, 38-28. The Boilermakers went into
overtime at home to defeat Miami, a team that previously lost to
Northwestern, 21-3, and last Saturday was beaten by Kent State, 16-14
(on Miami’s home field). Northwestern, by the way, lost to I-AA New
Hampshire at home the week after beating Miami.
This
is a circle it opportunity game for Minnesota. Other conference road
games will be at Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State. All are
currently more highly regarded opponents than Purdue, a team with
inexperienced players on defense including two freshmen starters in the
secondary.
Minnesota’s chances may be determined by limiting the number of big
plays by the Purdue offense and by how many minutes the Gopher offense
can keep the ball away from the Boilermakers and score points.
Against California the Gophers blew defensive coverages and generated
a mild pass rush. Tackling was a flop.
Sophomore quarterback Curtis Painter threw three touchdown passes
and passed for over 400 yards against Ball State last Saturday and
figures to improve as the season continues. He has explosive helpers in
sophomore wide receiver (much hyped) Selwyn Lymon, junior wide
receiver Dorien Bryant and junior running back Kory Sheets.
Purdue has long been known as a passing school, Minnesota as a running
program. Unless the Gophers fall way behind in the game early, look for
Minnesota to prefer the run over the pass. Quarterback
Bryan Cupito, a senior, needs to give Minnesota
an edge at quarterback, with fewer mistakes, sound leadership and timely
passes.
Circle the Gophers and their fans happy after this game? |
Purdue’s defense ranked near the bottom
among major college teams last season and its three mediocre
non-conference opponents this year have averaged 31.3 points per game
against the Boilermakers.
Bryan Cupito
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Extra Innings
Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson, who has made
his off-season home in Tallahassee, Florida, plans to live in Athens,
Georgia after the 2006 season. Brother-in-law Mark Richt, the
Georgia football coach, is in Athens. After his playing career ends,
Johnson said he may coach high school basketball or tutor players prior
to the NFL draft.
Through his foundation Vikings fullback Tony Richardson is
donating approximately 6,000 dictionaries to the third grade students in
the Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools.
The
Vikings have the second best home record in the NFC dating back to
1996. The Packers have 61 wins, 20 losses while the Vikings are 58-23.
Pioneer Press columnist Charley Walters,
59, said he loves his work and plans to write for another 15 years. His
many contacts include Vikings’ center Matt Birk. “He used to
caddy for me, and now I have to wait in line to talk to him,” Walters
joked.
The
Wild have renewed 95% of their season tickets and capped season tickets
at 16,500. Bill Roberston of the Wild front office reports there
are 5,500 season ticket accounts. Most are individual accounts, not
corporate, and account holders are evenly divided between Minneapolis
and St. Paul. The Wild have sold out every game in franchise history
including pre-season.
The
Timberwolves will host a free scrimmage open to the public at 7 p.m. on
Saturday, October 7 at Bresnan Arena in Mankato. A ticket is required
for admission and tickets are available now at the Taylor Center on the
Minnesota State Campus and US Bank locations in Mankato.
Former Gopher football player Norries Wilson has Columbia
University off to a 1-0 start in his first season as coach, defeating
Fordham last Saturday 37-7. Wilson spent three summers with NFL clubs
in the 1990s as part of the NFL Fellowship Program. The program
provides minority coaches with coaching experience at training camps.
About 1,000 coaches have participated since the program’s inception in
1981.
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Brad Johnson
The Vikings have the second best home
record in the NFC dating back to 1996.
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