Nick Saban explains the difference between a mistake that deserves getting chewed out and one that deserves encouragement
“I always sort of had a lot of respect for the fact that any player that’s a competitor wants to do well. And I think when you start with that, you have a better perspective because you look at things from their perspective, not your perspective. And I think that’s very helpful.”
“Sometimes when guys are not doing intangible things, whether it’s giving effort or focusing or making mental errors or things that they can actually control, that is something that you can’t tolerate. And you really want to maybe sometimes get after a guy a little bit for it.”
“But when guys are doing those things and just not having success, I think that’s when you want to pat them on the back and get them to believe in themselves and have an understanding if they continue to do things the right way, they will eventually have success.”
“And every player’s different. Sometimes you got guys that are obsessive-compulsive type personalities that are really hard on themselves, and I don’t think you need to get on those guys because they’re already getting on themselves.”
“Then you have other guys that may not be self-starters, and you got to push them a little bit more to get them to be what they’re capable of being. I think all those things were factors in how you kind of approach a player and try to get him to be the best he can be.”
“I always tried to focus on the individual and not look at it like one size fits all, and try to take the best approach with that particular guy to help him have success.”
A note on what coaches actually evaluate in a 17-year-old.
They are not just watching the swing. They are watching how he handles the dugout in the bottom of the seventh when his team is down four. They are watching whether he runs out the routine grounder. They are watching how he talks to the umpire after a borderline call.
The five tools get him on the list. The sixth tool — character — keeps him there.
There are more than five tools. Always have been.
Yesterday I wrapped up my college baseball career as well as my playing career. I was reflecting on some things that I wish I knew coming into college or somethings that I would tell younger players interested in playing college baseball. So here they are in no particular order⬇️
Luke Falk shared a Mike Leach story that stopped me cold:
Two kids. One rich. One poor.
Every training camp, Coach Leach told his team about these 2 kids.
The rich kid has two choices.
Get soft. Get entitled. Expect everything handed to him because he was handed more.
Or take the resources, the coaching, the opportunities, and compound them into something greater.
The poor kid has two choices too.
Say nobody gave him anything. Blame the world. Make his circumstances the reason he never became what he could have been.
Or outwork everyone in the room.
Luke said the locker room had both. Kids from wealth. Kids from nothing. Kids with every advantage. Kids who scraped for every inch.
Same choice for all of them.
Ownership or victimhood.
Fuel or excuse.
The rich kid can waste the head start or build on it.
The poor kid can drown in the deficit or weaponize it.
Greatness doesn't come from where you start.
It comes from which kid you choose to feed.
Credit to @coachlukefalk for continuing to share golden nuggets about Coach’s legacy
🚨 What if the secret to success isn’t talent or luck… but one simple daily choice?
Nick Saban drops truth: Every single day, you face the same 2 questions:
1. Something you KNOW you should do… but don’t FEEL like doing?
Can you make yourself do it anyway?
2. Something you know you shouldn’t do… but really WANT to?
Can you stop yourself?
Getting out of bed when the alarm hits
Hitting the gym when you’d rather scroll
Studying or grinding when Netflix calls
Choosing the hard right over the easy wrong
This is the invisible bridge between where you are… and who you want to become
Put your choices ahead of your feelings
Because if you only do what you feel like doing, you’ll never reach your goals
This one mindset shift changes everything for champions — and it can change everything for YOU too.
🚨 BOOM! This dog is an absolute LEGEND 😂
Black Lab “Champ” patiently waits in the dugout, locked in and focused… then the second the bat drops, he bolts onto the field like it’s his job.
He snatches the bat, trots around, and the whole crowd loses it!
Good boy!
This is genuinely one of the most insane things I’ve ever seen in baseball. Robbing a homerun is hard and rare enough. Robbing two in a game is the record. But three?? One in a million chance. Take a bow, Jo Addell. #RepTheHalo
Didn’t understand why my wrestling coach was so hard on me years ago.
Then when I became a coach I completely understood why.
He changed my life and I hope I did the same for my kids I coached.
Rob Rohn was down 14-2 with 15 seconds left. The announcers had already crowned Lambrecht champion.
He hit a gator roll and pinned him. One of the greatest comebacks in NCAA history. Never count anyone out.
Pretty cool note I got from a tech CEO/founder who watched NCAAs about hiring wrestlers:
“I'll say this: without question my favorite hiring profile is a D3 All-American wrestler. You competed in the darkness. No lights, no crowd, sometimes literally no one watching. You showed up anyway and you figured it out. Give me 10 of those guys and they're worth 50 fancy Ivy League degrees. Every time. The mat doesn't lie.”
Thoughts?
After the win over Iowa State, a video circulated of Tennessee participating in the Lord’s Prayer.
How has Rick Barnes’ beliefs rubbed off on the team?
“I know specifically that one of the reasons I came to Tennessee was because of Rick Barnes and his faith” -Nate Ament