Читать книгу A Legacy Unrivaled - Boz Bostrom - Страница 12

A good amount of John’s success on the gridiron happened because players believed in themselves, in each other, and in John’s system. On many occasions, such as the 1963 national championship game against Prairie View, the Johnnies were less physically talented than their opponents. However, the team trusted that if they followed John’s plan, they would win the game. The players knew that John would not put players in position to fail—he only asked them to do things he knew they were capable of. He put his players in position to win, and as a result, they trusted him and played with confidence. With this confidence, the team generally played together far better than its opponents.

I asked John if he was always confident that his team would execute well enough to win. “Well, not totally,” he replied. “I know we always have the ability to win, but so many things can happen that are out of your control. But I have to pretend to be confident so that the players will be confident.”

John Quinlivan was one of John’s best friends. When I met him at his home on a hot summer day, he cited many reasons for John’s success. “One reason he is successful is because he loves coaching so much. His hobby is watching film. It seems that whenever he is bored, he watches film. And I know first-hand how much he loves football. We e-mail and talk all the time during the offseason, but once the season starts, John asks me to hold off. We pick up our friendship after the season is over. One thing I have noticed is that he has the ability to talk to kids and to have them do exceptional things in tough circumstances. He knows how to motivate them and make them confident that they can do things well.”

Noel Meyer was a defensive lineman on the 2006–09 teams. Initially a reserve, he recalled that, during his junior year when the All-American in front of him was injured, John pulled him aside. “He told me he had watched film from the previous year, and that he had no doubt that I was ready to start. This affirmation gave me much more confidence in the weeks ahead, and his encouragement did not end with that point. Take a look at John sometime during pregame stretches. While most other head coaches are in the middle of the field talking with their own coaches, opposing coaches, or the referees, John is making his way up and down the sea of red or white jerseys, shaking every player’s hand. Although he isn’t one for a ton of words to get you ‘hyped up,’ when he looks you in the eye and shakes your hand, you know that it is time to play.”

John exudes confidence in front of his 1954 Chevy Bel Air. Courtesy of Gagliardi family.

Noel continued. “John isn’t big on motivational speeches or hooting and hollering. Instead, he usually ends his pregame speech with, ‘Let’s go out there and just do it. We’ve done it in practices and games all year, and now is your time to do it again.’”

Al Jirele played on John’s very first Saint John’s team in 1953. “Shortly after practice began that August, we were timed while running wind sprints. This skinny guy who looked like a student manager remarked, ‘Way to run, kid!’ I couldn’t believe it when I found out he was the head coach. A few days before the opening game of the season, we were running a punt return drill, pitting the varsity against us freshmen. No one touched me as I ran for my very life! When I headed back to the freshmen group at the other end of the field, I saw John running up to me at a good clip. As he patted me on the back, he asked, ‘Where did you learn to run like that?’

“John had affirmed something that I possessed, an attribute, a talent. My response was an immediate explosion of self-confidence, of being accepted, of wanting more than ever to succeed, of feeling convinced that I could do it. John recognized, praised, and uplifted his football players and in so doing proclaimed us to be worthy. He ignited both our physical and emotional strengths, those which he could see while we could not. How wonderful the whole world would be if all people would affirm the good things they see in others, whenever and wherever they see it. John did, and we should as well.”

Tom Gillham was the quarterback for the 1965 team, which outscored its opponents 265–27 en route to winning John’s second national championship. Tom remembers one time when he criticized a receiver who dropped one of his passes. “He’s not the type of guy you get down on,” John told him. “It will shatter his confidence.” Tom continued, “John never criticized me during films. It was only off to the side when we would have those discussions. He told me he would never publicly criticize the team’s leader. And he always told us to do our own assignment and have confidence that the guy next to us would do theirs.”

Cary Musech graduated in 1980 and has since founded a successful venture capital firm. “John was a master at inspiring his players. I was the center on our offensive line. We were a small line, but he told us to believe we were great and to envision doing great things. He made us feel like we were better prepared than our opponents, and thus we expected to win. I remember one game in particular. The opponent had a small, quick nose guard that other teams had troubling handling. During pregame stretches, when John would walk around shaking everyone’s hand, he told me, ‘They have a good nose guard, and this is a big game. If you contain him, you could make All-Conference.’ In hindsight, his strategy was to inspire me to play at the highest level. I thought I played pretty well that day, and we had a big win.”

I asked him if he made All-Conference.

“No,” Cary replied. “And while John referenced the award to motivate me, he didn’t stress individual accomplishments, so I never thought more of it.”

Key to Winning #2: John repeatedly told his team that because they were well prepared, they should play with confidence. He frequently praised specific actions or attributes of his players to help them become more confident.