[NU Sports] Great article about Randy Walker

[Arthur Miller]

Oh, please.  Any credibility once afforded Schooler is greatly diminished
with this analysis.

Regarding leadership: There are many theories on leadership, and the "tough
love" school is widely accepted as a valid one in some circumstances.  A
demanding coaching style is not synonymous with negative reinforcement.
Honestly, Bob, I have to wonder if you've ever played team sports in your
life.  The statement "being a leader meant telling people what they needed
to hear, even if that was uncomfortable" is one that 99% of college head
football & mens basketball coaches would agree with.


>My take on this quote ["I'm not trying to be popular"] is that Walker is 
>whining because no one else on his staff (since Glowik, Wilson and Kromer 
>were run off) is willing to be the "bad guy" (ie. bully and intimidate 
>players) while [blah blah]

This is just total speculation.  Now you're assuming that RW has alienated
his staff, too?  You're really reaching here.  If you're going to throw
these accusations out there, at least offer some rationale.  Oh yeah, and
since when was Kevin Wilson "run off"?  The guy got a great opportunity with
a historic program.


>I feel this statement [about NU playing the Rose Bowl and then going 0-8 in

>B10 play in 1998] is a poor reflection on Walker's character. It shows 
>jealousy and insecurity. Why even bring up Barnett's history at 
>Northwestern?

If you'd consider the context, Bob, you'd understand why he made this point:
That the team is now close to reaching a level of consistency it did not
have previously, even after the stellar 95/96 seasons.  As most of us will
acknowledge, the return of the Wildcats to the Big 10 cellar in 1998 took a
lot of joy out of the 1995/96 peak.


Disclaimer: I'm not a pie-in-the-sky Walker fan.  I know he has his
limitations.  However, I find the criticisms of Walker as personified by
Schooler & DeGroat to be increasingly difficult to take seriously.

Merry Christmas.



-----Original Message-----
From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com] On
Behalf Of John A. DeGroat
Sent: Saturday, December 24, 2005 11:52 AM
To: BSchooler at aol.com
Cc: nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Great article about Randy Walker

Schooler hit the nail on the head!

John DeGroat

BSchooler at aol.com wrote:

>In a message dated 12/24/2005 12:25:30 AM Central Standard Time, 
>thehaze at earthlink.net writes:
>
>  
>
>>A glowing piece on our coach was in Friday's Sun-Times.  I think we have 
>>an outstanding person as our coach.  I'm glad Mark Murphy feels the same 
>>way. -- Jim B.
>>
>>http://www.suntimes.com/output/campus/cst-spt-nu23.html
>>
>>    
>>
>
>I read the article and came away with the opposite conclusion - that maybe 
>Randy Walker isn't such an "outstanding person". I base this conclusion on
the 
>following statements:
>
>Walker - "He told his players that being a leader didn't mean being 
>somebody's friend. He told them that being a leader meant telling people
what they 
>needed to hear, even if that was uncomfortable."
>
>I disagree with this definition of leadership. Positive reinforcement has 
>just as an important role in successful leadership as does negative 
>reinforcement. Besides, the most successful leaders lead by example; not
intimidation. My 
>guess is that this Northwestern team fights for each other; not the
coaches. 
>It's the same mentality that motivates a military basic training company; 
>they've have only each other to rely upon after enduring a horrible
experience 
>together. I wish Walker had more motivational arrows in his quiver besides
fear and 
>intimidation.
>
>Walker - "'I'm always the bad guy',Walker said this week as the Wildcats 
>prepared to face UCLA in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 30 in El Paso, Texas. 'I tell
the 
>staff and the leaders of the team, 'It'd be nice if some of you would take
a 
>little of that on.' I feel like the Wicked Witch of the West all the time,
but 
>I'm not afraid of being unpopular. I worry about trying to do the right 
>thing'.''    
>
>My take on this quote is that Walker is whining because no one else on his 
>staff (since Glowik, Wilson and Kromer were run off) is willing to be the
"bad 
>guy" (ie. bully and intimidate players) while, at the same time, justifying

>this approach by rationalizing that he's just worried "about trying to do
the 
>right thing". Of course, this completely ignores the possibility that other

>coaches on the staff, as well as players, may prefer to motivate through
means 
>other than fear and intimidation. Like "being somebody's friend"?
Interestingly 
>enough, we've had some folks on this List, including Jim Bendat, who have 
>recently excoriated the late Woody Hayes for being a "bad guy" but don't
seem to 
>object to Randy Walker assuming this role. And by the way, it's no
coincidence 
>that Randy Walker has held up Woody Hayes as one of his coaching role
models.
>
>Walker - "Walker said he comes from a time when the priority was doing what

>was in the best interest of the student-athlete and the group. It wasn't
about 
>just making people feel good. That tough love is hard for his players to 
>accept sometimes, but it is getting results on the field."
>
>Walker has erected a straw man. At Northwestern, and most other schools,
I'm 
>sure, there never was a time when the priority hasn't been "doing what was
in 
>the best interest of the student-athlete and the group". Walker then
destroys 
>the straw man by saying, "It wasn't about just making people feel good." 
>Which, of course, is Walker's justification for his "tough love" approach.
If you 
>are stupid enough to buy this sophistry, then I suppose you can come to the

>conclusion that "tough love" and "making people feel good" are mutually
exclusive 
>motivational approaches.
>
>Walker - "'Everyone talks about the Rose Bowl, and that was one of the 
>greatest achievements in this school's history,' Walker said of the 1995
team 
>coached by Gary Barnett. 'But three years later, they didn't win a Big Ten
game.'"
>
>I feel this statement is a poor reflection on Walker's character. It shows 
>jealousy and insecurity. Why even bring up Barnett's history at
Northwestern? 
>But if you're going to do so, why denigrate it by pointing out the failure
to 
>win a Big Ten game in 1998? (While failing to mention Northwestern's shared
Big 
>Ten title in 1996). Wouldn't it have been much more gracious for Walker to 
>have said something like, "Coach Barnett laid the foundation for our
success with 
>a great break through season in 1995 that led to a Rose Bowl appearance. We

>feel we're building the consistency at Northwestern which will lead to
another 
>Rose Bowl appearance in the not too distant future."
>
>Walker - "'I've made clear my commitment to Northwestern,' Walker said.
'I'm 
>not a 1-800 guy, calling everybody. Does everybody have a price? Sure. But 
>there's a value in the kind of kids I get to coach, the institution I
represent, 
>where I live. I don't know if there's a better job.'''   
>
>Walker must be a liberal. He thinks we're so dumb we won't remember that he

>said something just the opposite a few years ago. Remember? When things
were 
>going poorly during the 2002 season, Walker was quoted in one of the
Chicago 
>papers boasting about how he gets calls about other jobs. I'm not so sure
these 
>job inquiries Walker says he received weren't fabrications; but
nevertheless, 
>the purpose of going public about calls about other jobs back in 2002 (an 
>incredibly unprofessional move) was to threaten Northwestern with how he
could 
>leave anytime he wanted if he felt Northwestern didn't appreciate his
services.
>
>And now for my disclaimer made necessary by the assistant Pop Warner coach
in 
>Delaware who refers to himself in the third person as "Coach". This doesn't

>mean I'm a person from Texas who "hates" Coach Walker. I feel he's done
some 
>very good things at Northwestern. He has built some consistency. He has 
>developed teams that never quit. He has produced an outstanding record of
graduating 
>his players. But yesterday's article in the Sun Times is worthy of
discussion. 
>Some people think it shows that Coach Walker is "an outstanding person"
while 
>others, like myself, don't.
>
>Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah!
>
>Bob Schooler
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>nwu-sports site list
>nwu-sports at tssi.com
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>
>  
>
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