[NU Sports] Great article about Randy Walker

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

Wow - sure seems like the Christmas spirit is alive
and well on the list!:)

And again, the main topic appears to be folks
grumbling about Walker instead of enjoying the 7-4
season with wins over rivals Illinois, Wisconsin and
Iowa ... and upcoming bowl appearance. Talk about not
appreciating the blessings of a year during this
season of reflection!

> Regarding leadership: There are many theories on
> leadership, and the "tough
> love" school is widely accepted as a valid one in

Exactly - I dunno where this argument came from!
Especially the cheap shot about being "liberal" when
it's usually the more conservative elements who
espouse tough love, not artificially building up
feelings and having to make the "tough decisions" no
matter what the opinion polls or staff members may
say. (Note that I did not espouse a political
belief/side in that ... just puzzlement that the
liberal tag doesn't seem to match the description ...
not whether the tag was good or bad).

But seriously -- there are many types of coaches.
Players coaches, coaches who love the spotlight,
coaches who are great recruiters and can't coach,
coaches who are great coordinators but can't coach,
etc. The article doesn't make Walker out to be a bully
at all - just someone who's rather blunt about whether
his team is accomplishing their goals or not and
playing up to their potential. And I'd like to see a
coach who's honest with his players instead of blowing
sunshine up their you-know-what or constantly
belittling them. Walker seems to thrive on the "us
against the world" mentality and I think that may
carry over to PR work ... but within the team, he
seems to have a tight-knit group who play for each
other AND their coaches.

> 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

Exactly -- and that's something a small, but vocal,
group on this list really seem to be missing the last
few years as they keep trying to play Scrooge while we
look forward to our bowl gift under the Christmas
tree!:)

> limitations.  However, I find the criticisms of
> Walker as personified by
> Schooler & DeGroat to be increasingly difficult to
> take seriously.
> 
True - and they're getting increasingly personal and
bitter, which is a shame (and the only reason I felt
the need to respond to it). 

Open discussion and fan fervor are one thing ...
baiting and flaming are another ... but to post a
Christmas eve message with a lot of cheap shots, jabs
and rants at list members and coaches is just sad. A
lump of coal in our NU list stocking.

May the holidays be blessed, joyous and bright for all
NU sports fans - celebrating a successful year on the
football field, visions of bowl victories dancing in
our heads and peace and joy (hopefully!:) ) on the
sports list in the coming year!

Merry Christmas and GO CATS!!!
-SjT

* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!


	
		
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