[NU Sports] Football experiment

Fri Dec 3 10:13:05 CST 2004

Roy,

As a coach, you know that parents talk with other parents.  This is an 
age of involved parents.  I'm one too.  We want to know who the best 
teachers are.  We want to know who the best coaches are.  For better or 
worse (sometimes it is worse), we want to influence the environment our 
kids experience.

1. The opinions I've heard (both good and bad) come from parents who 
have spoken with other parents.  This isn't stuff picked up on random 
boards.  The sorts of things that I have heard (both good and bad) 
reflect specific experiences that specific players have had.  Those are 
shared parent-to-parent not to cause kids to look at other schools, but 
to make sure that families have an accurate picture of what to expect.  
For some kids (obviously) it is a good fit.  For other kids it isn't.  I 
suspect that is the case in EVERY program regardless of how active their 
Internet fan base is.

2. I am not the only person who has had this experience.  Many of you 
who are recognized in your community as NU alums probably end up having 
someone ask you from time to time about Northwestern.  Because I've 
coached so many of the kids in our small town when they were younger, I 
have the pleasure of having a relationship with both kids and parents.  
So I get to hear a little more than maybe some others.  For example, 
there is a kid who was on the NU radar screen this year who ended up 
going someplace else.  He and his family decided that it wasn't going to 
be a good fit for him, but he also got a very attractive offer from an 
Ivy league school.  I know that some of the other things that are posted 
on this board (both good and bad) come from very similar sources as 
mine.  So they shouldn't be discounted just because they may happen to 
paint a somewhat different picture of the NU football experience than 
you may want to hear.

3. It is no secret that I don't think RW is a good fit for NU.  I 
believe that the root of our competitive problems is the inability to 
attract the best of the available kids.  I believe one of the causes is 
a basic disconnect between the old-school (discipline, dominance, and 
intimidation) RW approach to football and the type of smart football kid 
that is going to find a four year scholarship to NU appealing.  On the 
other hand, the kids accepting NU offers certainly know what they are 
signing up for AND RW has delivered on his promise to get more kids into 
the NFL.

In any case, it is all moot for the moment.  RW is going to get at least 
another year to prove that his approach is one that will result in 
winning football at NU.  And we have the luxury of seeing how other 
comparable institutions deal with changing coaches.  So we can see how 
it all will sort out.

Jeff

Roy S. Lamberton wrote:

>We'd have to get into a discussion of whether the attitudes about RW that the
>parents have developed came from their kids reactions to the boards, or if the
>negative attitudes on the boards actually reflect the actual attitudes of those
>parents.
>
>When I was in broadcasting, we had to do something called ascertainment - it was
>a requirement to go out and talk to "community leaders" whatever they were and
>find out what they were concerned about.
>
>I eventually determined that in a small town, those leaders usually were
>concerned about whatever the local newspaper and radio station had on their
>news! It was a self fulfilling prophecy.
>
>My point is that when you have a few guys anonymously pounding the coaches on
>the internet boards, people get a one sided impression of how a coach operates,
>etc. and that impression carries over into the face to face meetings. 
>
>If you're a prospect and all you hear, besides the nice letters you get from NU,
>is that Randy lies to prospects, is a dunderhead, dolt, idiot, and his coaches
>are incompetent fools, why would you even consider playing in Evanston
>regardless of the education.
>
>The problem is that too many of our "fans" are taking one event in one game, and
>drawing a conclusion that fits their personal agenda.
>
>I've actually started watching NU games a lot more closely this year, and I can
>see what the coaches are trying to do on both offense and defense, without
>getting an e-mail before the game explaining the game plan. Its hard to see all
>of what's happening - TV zooms into the ball to quickly, but you can get a sense
>of what's happening.
>
>All season when we lost, we were usually beaten by the athleticism of the other
>team. No game plan can 100% account for that.
>
>Maybe I'll have to start charting the games next year and show what actually
>happens.
>
>Anyway, NU is both blessed and cursed by the most literate football and
>basketball fans around. We are also cursed and blessed by an emerging fanaticism
>that is finally demanding excellence from both our academics and athletics. But
>there's already some guy on another board pushing for the firing of Bill Carmody
>RIGHT NOW! Come on folks, get real.
>
>The problem, as I see it, is that we've taken a few firings of coaches who
>failed at other colleges, and tried to make a case for the removal of our
>coaches mid contract, in hopes of luring one of these coaches to Northwestern.
>
>I don't want somebody else's loser, and I don't want some up and comer, who
>intends to leave in 2 or 3 [or 4] years. After Alex Agase left to Gary Barnett
>hiring, we had a period of the "new age" of coaches and it didn't work! Some
>folks may not like the present coaching staff, nobody ever has 100% support, but
>NU is coming off a season where we broke new ground, built on the future, and is
>already attracting a decent recruiting class.
>
>Personally, in my opinion, that's not grounds for removal.
>
>Go Cats
>
>rsl
>
>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>Roy S. Lamberton - Senior Associate
>Computer Applications & Support Associates
>and Publisher of Purple Reign, 
>The Scout.com Northwestern University Site
>(http://www.purplewildcats.com)
>AIM Handle: CoachRoy74
>
>=========================================
>No Society has ever Taxed or Litigated
>itself to prosperity...Think about it.
>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
>
>  
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com 
>>[mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com] On Behalf Of Jeff Beamsley
>>Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 9:29 AM
>>To: nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
>>Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Football experiment
>>
>>
>>Roy,
>>
>>You can't be serious.
>>
>>I'm starting to believe that perhaps the cold weather may 
>>have brought 
>>on a bout of conservative intolerance.
>>
>>We can't express our opinions anymore because it's somehow going to 
>>damage recruiting?
>>
>>A lot of the feedback that I've received privately about Randy Walker 
>>has come FROM the parents of kids that he was recruiting.  
>>The opinions 
>>they have formed have come FROM the parents of some of kids that ARE 
>>PLAYING for Randy Walker.  If you are really concerned about somehow 
>>sugar coating the Randy Walker experience, there is a much 
>>bigger leak 
>>in the dam than our piddly little list (no offense intended Mike). 
>>
>>Personally I find it hard to believe that there can ever be too much 
>>information (at least when kids are trying to make a college choice).
>>
>>If they are really interested, they should find out all that 
>>they can, 
>>sift the fact from the fantasy, and make a decision weighing the pros 
>>and cons.  From what little exposure that I've had to parents of 
>>potential recruits, this is exactly what they are doing.  The worst 
>>situation for both the kid and NU, IMHO, is a kid who hasn't 
>>done their 
>>homework and finds that RW's sort of program isn't a good fit 
>>for them.
>>
>>Jeff
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Roy S. Lamberton wrote:
>>
>>    
>>
>>>I wonder what all the virulence on the various boards that 
>>>      
>>>
>>are read by 
>>    
>>
>>>the recruits is doing to dissuade some of the top players from 
>>>considering NU this year?
>>>
>>>You know that some of the top players in Illinois who were not being 
>>>recruited nationally, were carefully weighing NU vs. IL and leaning 
>>>towards NU because we were a given. The same thing with Indiana's 
>>>recruits.
>>>
>>>But to read some of the message boards, you'd think that 
>>>      
>>>
>>Randy Walker 
>>    
>>
>>>was an absolute ogre, totally incompetent, a fool, a loser, 
>>>      
>>>
>>stupid, and 
>>    
>>
>>>a whole bunch of names that I care not to repeat.
>>>
>>>I don't know what Coach Walker ever did to some of these [or 
>>>      
>>>
>>you] guys, 
>>    
>>
>>>but the only other place I've seen this much hate has been 
>>>      
>>>
>>in the last 
>>    
>>
>>>two presidential elections.
>>>
>>>C'mon people, get a life!
>>>
>>>Go Cats
>>>
>>>rsl
>>>
>>>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>>>Roy S. Lamberton - Senior Associate
>>>Computer Applications & Support Associates
>>>and Publisher of Purple Reign,
>>>The Scout.com Northwestern University Site
>>>(http://www.purplewildcats.com)
>>>AIM Handle: CoachRoy74
>>>
>>>=========================================
>>>No Society has ever Taxed or Litigated
>>>itself to prosperity...Think about it.
>>>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
>>> 
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>nwu-sports site list
>>nwu-sports at tssi.com 
>>http://romaine.tssi.com/mailman/listinfo/nwu-sports
>>
>>    
>>
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