Published: August 31, 2008 03:11 pm            

Great expectations

Coaches that land in “Can” know, want pressure

The Corsicana Tigers are 1 – 0. Isn’t that where they’re supposed to be? They are, after all, the Corsicana Tigers. Expectations run high in the Can, as well they should.

This is where everyone wants to be in terms of expectations. The University of Texas expects to win every season. Less than 10 is a failure of major proportions. Actually, anything short of undefeated will leave many alumni dissatisfied.

Baylor would love to have those same lofty expectations. Why do you think they fired Guy Morriss and hired the Tigers’ old nemesis, Art Briles? (The same Art Briles who in Stephenville couldn’t seem to beat the Tigers in a couple of regular season games, so he didn’t schedule them again.) The Aggies are several years removed from deserving such self-imposed goals, but it doesn’t stop them from having them.

I read Todd’s column on the pressure on Coach Henigan. I don’t know Coach from Adam, but I do know what motivates him. I don’t have to know him personally to know that. I have known many, many coaches over the past several decades. The good ones want that pressure.

What’s the alternative to being on that hot seat? If there is no pressure, then people in that community accept mediocrity which means the kids do too. How would you like being a 20-year coach in a town where you go 3-7 every year, and no one cares?

Corsicana’s expectations go back for longer than most of us can attest to. To find a school with a history of this many wins, you have to check out an Amarillo High, a Brownwood, a Celina or a Highland Park. I don’t know much about Amarillo High any more, but coach football in any of the others, and you know the pressure is there when you take the job.

I can promise you that Hal Wasson knew exactly what to expect in Southlake when he accepted that job. That’s why he wanted that job. Where people expect to win, they usually do. Hal went 11-2 last season. He expects more this season.

Why else would Billy Gillespie build a program in College Station only to leave it for Kentucky? Expectations don’t get any higher than those for basketball at UK. Getting to the NCAA’s at A&M is great. Getting there with Kentucky is just the start, not the end product.

When I got my first head basketball position in Quinlan, the expectations were huge in the gym. Unfortunately, being a Class AA school, serving as the basketball coach also meant being an assistant football coach. The Quinlan football team was in the midst of a 24-game losing streak.

When you go into that sort of situation, the kids expect to lose and that’s a hard thing to change. In a school where expectations are low, the numbers of kids who participate is low. Those kids have to play in front of sparse crowds, and no one seems interested.

When people expect winning, the whole atmosphere is different. There is a buzz around town. The band sounds better. The cheerleaders seem to cheer better, and twirlers even seem to throw the baton higher. They even seem to have better fake nachos at the concession stand.

Even though A&M was down during the Coach Fran era, the expectations were still high. The atmosphere was the same as always. The pressure was still there. However, take the post death penalty Mustangs of SMU. How long has it been since that type of atmosphere has existed in University Park? It will take a lot less to get the Aggies back up to speed than it will the Ponies.

Tom Wilson is right. The prospect of getting fired just goes with the job. Any job that doesn’t carry pressure isn’t one that a really good coach wants. All those nice trimmings that come with winning carry a price, and that price is pressure.

I know there are some mommas in Corsicana who aren’t too pleased with talk of a down year. If mommas aren’t happy, you know the kids aren’t. I’m betting that the players don’t care what anyone thinks, they have plans to win. And, I tend to think, that’s exactly what they’ll do.

        

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