This past spring, Ottawa University (KS) Men’s Basketball Coach Andy Carrier announced his retirement. During his 25-year career, Coach Carrier led the Braves to five National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division II national tournament appearances, one NAIA District 10 championship, three Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) championships and three KCAC Tournament championships (Peterson, 2015). In addition he was inducted into the Ottawa University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011 and received numerous coach of the year awards throughout his career (Sell, 2015).

Having spent three seasons with Coach Carrier as his assistant coach, I was struck by the social media posts surrounding his retirement announcement. In a moment of reflection former student-athletes took to Twitter, sharing recollections of playing for Coach Carrier. In scrolling through the tweets familiar phrases Coach Carrier often used during his interactions with student-athletes appeared.

“That and 50 cents will get you a cup of coffee.”
“Help someone get what they want and you will get what you want.”
“It’s better to beat a Blue Jay, than to be a Blue Jay.”

When reflecting on a 38 year career in coaching, the late Hall of Fame basketball coach, Don Meyer stated, “…I love to see how a team can improve and kids improve…And that is why I coach.  I mean, there’s nothing better than that.  It just eats you up inside how lucky you can be to coach” (Olney, 2010, p. 141). Although Meyer was respected nationally for his knowledge of the game and willingness to share amongst his colleagues, the influence he had on the lives of his players is worth noting.  Steve Smiley, a player for Meyer at Northern State University in South Dakota, commented on the impact Coach Meyer had on his life off the court (Smiley, 2005).

 

…I knew that my experience as a basketball player at Northern would serve me in every area of my life, simply because I was blessed to be around Coach Meyer and learn his life lessons for five years.  He taught me how to completely engross myself in the team concept and worry about other people, instead of putting the emphasis on myself.  I will forever be indebted to Coach Meyer… (p.190-191).

Arguably, there has been no greater role model for coaches in any sport than legendary coach John Wooden (Gilbert, 2010). Often considered the greatest coach of all time (Nater & Gallimore, 2010), Wooden has been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame both as a player and a coach (Davis, 2014). He won ten NCAA basketball championships from 1964 to 1975 as the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at UCLA (Jenkins, 2014).

 

In 1999, a panel of ESPN experts named him the greatest collegiate coach of the 20th Century (Ermeling, 2012), and in 2003 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the United States Government (Gilbert, 2010). In his retirement, Wooden became a best-selling author and was a sought after keynote speaker well into his late 90’s.

Last month we featured three presenters from the recent Dr. Bob Frederick Sport Leadership Lecture Series. This month, we continue with audio links to the presentations of four additional sport leaders. These include Washington State University Director of Athletics, Bill Moos; Lewis-Clark State College (ID) Athletic Director, Gary Picone; University of Idaho Professor, Sharon Stoll; and Washington State University Professor, Cathryn Claussen.

Dr. Bob Frederick

WSU Director of Athletics, Bill Moos shared his vast experience and expertise in athletic administration in a presentation entitled: Leadership in Collegiate Athletics-Keys to Success. Throughout his presentation he discussed the importance of building your brand and building a blueprint for success. “Get your building blocks and foundation in place and then make sure you hire the right people. At Washington State we hired people that believe they can win at Washington State and want to be at Washington State,” stated Moos.

This past October (2013), the Dr. Bob Frederick Sport Leadership Lecture Series took place on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College (ID). Featured presenters included sport leaders from intercollegiate athletic administration, sport governance, sport business, education, coaching, and recreation. Sponsored by the Lewis-Clark State College Sport Administration Program, the purpose of the lecture series was to provide students, faculty, staff, and community members an opportunity to learn about careers and leadership in sport from established professionals.

Dr. Bob Frederick

Over the next three months, pelinks4u will feature a series of selected presentations. This month’s three presenters include Lewis-Clark State College (ID) Cross Country coach, Mike Collins; Washington State University Swimming coach, Tom Jager; and University of North Carolina Director of Basketball Operations, Brad Frederick.