Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Let's get right to it.
00:02Incredible run coach you had at the University of Iowa.
00:05We can get into the players and all that stuff in a minute, but
00:08personally, how are you feeling right now as a coach that's done this for a long time?
00:13Do you still feel like you have a lot left in the tank?
00:18No question.
00:20I love coaching. I love interaction with young people.
00:26You think about it, James, and we met many years ago,
00:31being able to go to work on a college campus,
00:36mentor and work with young people,
00:40I feel like my life hasn't changed in 40 years.
00:44Whether it was at Lehigh, UNCG, Siena, or Iowa,
00:50we're doing the same things.
00:52We're building relationships with families, recruiting student-athletes to our school,
00:57and helping them reach their potential.
01:00But just the overall opportunity,
01:04I remember the very first time I was able to be a coach,
01:09and I said to myself, I'm actually getting paid for this.
01:13This is what I love. I love the game.
01:16I love being in the gym.
01:18I love working with my guys.
01:21And watching them succeed.
01:24And then, as you all know, James,
01:27those relationships endure over a lifetime.
01:33So I'll be talking to my guys that I've coached many years ago,
01:38and we stay in touch, they follow my teams,
01:41I'll get text messages, emails,
01:44they'll show up at games,
01:46and we always end up the conversation with,
01:49I love you.
01:51And those bonds,
01:55I don't know if anybody truly understands it.
01:57After the last game each year,
02:00you're in the locker room, it's emotional,
02:03because typically only one team cuts the nets down,
02:05so at some point you're going to lose a game.
02:08And you reflect on the journey.
02:10And it's the one thing that has been of the utmost importance to me
02:15in my profession and how I view it.
02:19I want every player that ever plays for me
02:22to say, if I could do this all over, I'd do it all over again.
02:26It's all about the journey and the experiences
02:29and the things that we get to do that we are fortunate to do
02:32that nobody else gets to do.
02:34And I mean that sincerely,
02:36whether it be play on national television,
02:38or take a foreign tour,
02:41or go on the road and play a really difficult road game,
02:44and come out victorious, and celebrate together,
02:47and then overcome adversity.
02:49If somebody's injured, somebody's in foul trouble,
02:51you lose two or three in a row, how do you get it back?
02:54How do you approach practice the next day?
02:57How do we approach load management moving forward in today's world?
03:01Because we almost practice year-round.
03:04If it's not strength and conditioning, we're in the gym,
03:08and we're doing skill development, or we're actually practicing.
03:10We start practice in June.
03:12People don't realize that.
03:14But that's because that's where we want to be.
03:16That's what we love to do.
03:18So I am blessed, I am staying in the fight,
03:21and I'm going to be coaching somewhere next year.