Coach Lawson III: Case Study

Dr. Camden Wood Selig is the athletic director for Old Dominion University. Dr. Selig was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina but grew up right here in Norfolk, Virginia. He’s in his sixth year as ODU’s athletic director and his impact has already been felt. At first glance, his nonchalant attitude doesn’t strike me as a college athletic director. I expected an upbeat, go-getter persona, after all he is in one of the highest professions in college sports. But I don’t think he necessarily doesn’t have that side to him. His “Championship Effort” motto that he has introduced to his athletic program can be shown through his accomplishments, ultimately he is a “doctor”.

John Robert Thompson Jr. (born September 2, 1941) was an American college basketball coach for the Georgetown Hoyas. His wife was Gwendolyn Thompson until she died in 1999. He has three children: John Thompson III, Ronny Thompson, and Tiffany Thompson. John is now a radio and TV sports commentator. In 1984, he became the first African-American head coach to win a major college basketball championship. He coached the team that win the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. Georgetown, led by Patrick Ewing, defeated the University of Houston. The final score was 84-79. Thompson was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and is a practicing Catholic. As a child, his mother insisted on sending him to Catholic schools for the educational opportunities

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will, and a lack to change”-Vince Lombardi. Central Dewitt’s football program usually has a tradition of great success and excellent morals. Unfortunately, in the 2014 and 2015 football season they have a combined record of 5-13, which does not live up to the standards of the DeWitt community. There are many problems circulating the football program, but most involve the lack of experience in coaching. Central Dewitt ‘s losing football record for the past two seasons can be solved by coaches properly developing their athletes, incorporating new offensive and defensive strategies, and increasing player participation.

years in a row the AFCA Regional Coach of the Year awards. At one point, Devaney joked around and told the press, “I don’t expect to win enough games to be put on NCAA probation. I want to win enough to warrant an investigation” (“Bob Devaney Quotes”). In 1970 and 1971 his team won back to back national championships and he took his team to nine bowl games. He won three Orange Bowl games in a row, Bob Devaney definitely took the Nebraska Cornhuskers to new heights on the football field, so there was some apprehension when Devaney retired and his assistant coach Tom Osborne took over, but Osborne created his own positive changes and legacy. Osborne's type of coaching was a bit of a change from Devaney's.

He is a terrific Defensive Line coach where he pushes kids to the best of their abilities. When I got hurt last year, Coach Payne was the first to visit. He also then assisted me in my pursuit of a coaching career. He taught me everything I needed to know in order to embark on my journey. He also has assisted me and so many others in loving the game of football. One way he gets players to love the game is simply by having a voice for the players. He will always tell you how he truly feels about your situation and how to exceed the limitations you have. His attitude and voice will always push you to the maximum of your abilities. One such moment was against Iowa Central, He comes in and says the prayer before the game. Normal stuff until he says a few key words after we break. He said, “Are you ready to earn a bowl game. Are you ready to win this rivalry?” At this time the team in unison, “Yes sir!”

It all started with an email seeking freshman male in his coaching and administration program. The 2012 graduate of UConn’s Sport Administration and coaching program, William Aloia, says this future success as the Associate Athletic Director for The College of St. Rose started out by almost” falling into his lap”. The New Jersey native began his undergraduate experience with two Division-I parents, and like an abundance of people he knew that working in sport was something he wanted to do. Previously a part of the Kinesiology department under the late Joe Marrone, Will jumped on the opportunity posted through an email and started his freshman year as a basketball manager for the very successful UConn’s basketball program. He explains how this experience “opened his door up”. Will states; “once I started at UConn working with the women’s basketball program and being around collegiate athletics at such a high level it’s really something in itself, and unbelievable experience. I knew it was for me, I didn’t know which part for sure, but I knew this was something I wanted to do.” What Will realized very quickly realized about working in sport is that often times it is a thankless job. However, that did not stop him from finishing his undergraduate career as a four-year manager for the basketball team. The motivation for Will early in his career has been a two-dimensional illustration of success.

He admits that he expects a time where he’ll probably get the itch to coach again and joked he’s been bored the last two days since he hasn’t had to run a practice. There hasn’t been more than a month in the last 15 years where he hasn’t coached.

Bobby’s coaching career began in 1954 as an assistant coach at Howard College. After working as an assistant coach at Howard for two years he was offered a head coaching position at South Georgia Junior College. Bobby stayed with South Georgia for two years pulling double duty as head coach of the football team and athletic director. Bobby

Without Coach Josh, my teammates and I would have not had the motivation to keep going and to not give up on our goal.

Coach & Athletic Director “As more eyes open to the athlete’s challenges and struggles, more

While Maryland struggled in its first year in the Big Ten, Rutgers seemed to have a little smoother transition in its first year in the conference. On offense, the team showed a lot of discipline to squeeze out a total of 390 YPG of total offense on the way to scoring 26.7 PPG. By limiting mental mistakes, the Scarlett Knights were able to score enough to keep them in games that led to victories and a place in the post-season.

In conclusion, I learned that Coach Sparks is a warm hearted good person who wants nothing but the best for his young men who are playing for him. He wants to see them succeed in life and be proud of themselves. He says, “ Being humble goes a long way and once you become humble and remain humble then good things come your way.” When I asked him, “Who is your role model either personally or as a coach?” he responded, “ John Thompson Sr. at Georgetown from many many years ago, that was who I idolized so much.” That caught me by surprise because I actually like him as a coach as well. I mean I don’t idolize him ,but he is great coach and I’ve learned many great things from him by watching his documentary on television. He is on my top ten list

East Hall High School is where I conducted my coaching interview. I was granted the opportunity to interview one of the most prestige High School coaches in the state of Georgia; Joe Dix. Dix is the head coach for the boys’ Varsity basketball team at East Hall. Dix and his staff were conducting try outs during our coaching interview, which is was pumped about. Coach Dix talked about the pressure on him and his team to bring home a State Title this year since it’s been a decade since his last one. Joe Dix is in his 21st season as a basketball coach and his 11th as the head coach at East Hall. As the head coach at East Hall Dix has won 2 State Titles, with 5 Final Four appearances, and 7 Region Championships.

The father of the “one and done” player, the student-athletes that commit to a sports program for one year then move on to the professional leagues. This particular team of Calapari’s was extremely talented with athletic, but young players. At times during the season, the team started five freshman which is not seen too often in any sport, and definitely not somewhere like Kentucky where basketball championships are expected. Being a coach at any level is somewhat like being a manager in the work place. In collegiate Division I sports, the pressure to win is extreme and the revenue for the universities can be millions of dollars. Calapari is the head coach of the basketball program and he oversees the basketball staff (assistant coaches) and the student-athletes. His duties range from creating practice plans, to scouting and recruiting players, to public relations for the university and the team, to coaching the players during practice and games. Coach Calipari wears many hats to coach at the University of Kentucky. Any good manager knows that to make a company or team work smoothly it has to be a well-oiled machine, making sure everyone is on the same page through coordination and communication so that goals can be achieved. Calapari knows how to assess his team and make decisions that improve the potential for success. He is constantly analyzing his teams’ strengths and weaknesses prior

The coach is visionary and lives life by adhering to core values. He should have very real strength of character and commitment to personal integrity and honesty.