9/28 @Rice Game

[qng001]

That's a deeply unfair assessment, and I think you know that.

I've personally met many of the members of this board (you may have too), and can vouch there is much more to each of their lives than Tech fandom. They are husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons made in the image of their Creator. They each have as many hopes dreams memories and experiences as you or I. To extrapolate a "considered opinion" on "every facet" of a human's life based on an athletics message board is an opinion very poorly considered. That you linked this considered opinion of yours to "maturity" is similarly poorly considered.

You may be wondering why the impassioned response. It's because you have, in my considered opinion, just "made it personal". Not only is an ad hominen argument a sorry excuse for a logical fallacy, but in doing so, you became the very thing you were criticizing.

We can talk about Tech sports without talking about one another. Be better.

Or ugly ass postmodern campus architecture that needs to be torn down. You don't see Champ967 getting all personal when we discuss getting rid of buildings erected during the FJ Taylor era.

[DallasDog]

Or ugly ass postmodern campus architecture that needs to be torn down. You don't see Champ967 getting all personal when we discuss getting rid of buildings erected during the FJ Taylor era.

No you don't, he tries his best to convince us otherwise as to their significance, then softly sobs to himself bathed in the blue light of the computer screen before the fam gets home!!

[Champ967]

Or ugly ass postmodern campus architecture that needs to be torn down. You don't see Champ967 getting all personal when we discuss getting rid of buildings erected during the FJ Taylor era.

Actually, those are Modernist, not post-modern.

[DallasDog]

Actually, those are Modernist, not post-modern.

See there he goes again, valiant effort my friend!!

[Champ967]

No you don't, he tries his best to convince us otherwise as to their significance, the softly sobs to himself bathed in the blue light of the computer screen before the fam gets home!!

I usually do dishes before the fam gets home.

I sob softly over wasted infrastructure investment and undervalued history only after everyone's gone to sleep.

[PawDawg]

I sob softly over wasted infrastructure investment.

TWSS

[DallasDog]

I usually do dishes before the fam gets home.

I sob softly over wasted infrastructure investment and undervalued history only after everyone's gone to sleep.

That's considerate, no reason to add stress to anyone day.

[sharky]

I know this, when I coached, any sport, I ALWAYS focused on the negatives, and then those things we needed to improve. Absolutely last was a few "good jobs." It was my job as head coach to move the team forward, to improve, and in most years to compete for a championship. For instance, I was coaching a soccer team and we, and by "we" I mean that program, was beating a team 2-0 late in the match. Our all-time record vs. that team was 0-14. That's right, had lost 14 straight to 'em over the course of about 5 years. I was getting shouts from the stands from our fans, "Congrats Coach, finally beating them guys!" What I saw was my team playing "well" but still making a bunch of mistakes. I was coaching and yes, fussing at my players. In Monday's practice I wiped the smiles off my players' faces by focusing strictly on what we did wrong and what still needed improving. It wasn't until 3 weeks later that I brought up that game and allowed a little congratulatory talk. That was right after we qualified for the state playoffs for the first time in program history.

I had to NOT allow ending that losing streak to become our "Super Bowl" that year. I wanted to focus on the bigger picture...the state playoffs. Is that being "negative?" Was I "mean" to not swoon over my players for winning that game? I don't think so. Not if you saw the HUGE SMILES when we actually made the playoffs!

Sharky says our "negativity" is a reflection of who we are in our lives. Yes, I wear it as a badge of honor! I will not settle... Get it?

OK. So did the fans in the stands scream about what a lousy coach you were game after game, were they criticizing your game plan in a manner that was audible to you and the players game after game, were they condemning the players from start to finish game after game? This behavior is what this board is mostly about. Your post proved my point I think. You are one of the very negative posters (if I recall correctly you wanted to fire Holtz two games into his inaugural season). Apparently your negativity was the basic philosophy of your coaching. It seems that a player had to walk on water to get an attaboy from you, but the awsh*ts were bandied about freely. It must have taken 100 attaboys to erase 1 awsh*t. If I may ask, what age group were you dealing with?

[sharky]

That's a deeply unfair assessment, and I think you know that.

I've personally met many of the members of this board (you may have too), and can vouch there is much more to each of their lives than Tech fandom. They are husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons made in the image of their Creator. They each have as many hopes dreams memories and experiences as you or I. To extrapolate a "considered opinion" on "every facet" of a human's life based on an athletics message board is an opinion very poorly considered. That you linked this considered opinion of yours to "maturity" is similarly poorly considered.

You may be wondering why the impassioned response. It's because you have, in my considered opinion, just "made it personal". Not only is an ad hominen argument a sorry excuse for a logical fallacy, but in doing so, you became the very thing you were criticizing.

We can talk about Tech sports without talking about one another. Be better.

Well, I suppose that I just spoiled any possibility that I will ever be accepted into the doom and gloom mutual admiration society operating on this board.

[Champ967]

Well, I suppose that I just spoiled any possibility that I will ever be accepted into the doom and gloom mutual admiration society operating on this board.

There's always the Paw-litics section.

[techman05]

I know this, when I coached, any sport, I ALWAYS focused on the negatives, and then those things we needed to improve. Absolutely last was a few "good jobs." It was my job as head coach to move the team forward, to improve, and in most years to compete for a championship. For instance, I was coaching a soccer team and we, and by "we" I mean that program, was beating a team 2-0 late in the match. Our all-time record vs. that team was 0-14. That's right, had lost 14 straight to 'em over the course of about 5 years. I was getting shouts from the stands from our fans, "Congrats Coach, finally beating them guys!" What I saw was my team playing "well" but still making a bunch of mistakes. I was coaching and yes, fussing at my players. In Monday's practice I wiped the smiles off my players' faces by focusing strictly on what we did wrong and what still needed improving. It wasn't until 3 weeks later that I brought up that game and allowed a little congratulatory talk. That was right after we qualified for the state playoffs for the first time in program history.

I had to NOT allow ending that losing streak to become our "Super Bowl" that year. I wanted to focus on the bigger picture...the state playoffs. Is that being "negative?" Was I "mean" to not swoon over my players for winning that game? I don't think so. Not if you saw the HUGE SMILES when we actually made the playoffs!

Sharky says our "negativity" is a reflection of who we are in our lives. Yes, I wear it as a badge of honor! I will not settle... Get it?

When in high school, my teammates and I tended to respond to a coach who noticed us doing things the right way when we were doing it wrong if at all before. The things you already do well and consistently do right don’t need any congratulatory remarks. I did cognitive training for 6 years. We almost never focused on skills a child had already mastered. The idea was to use those skills to learn more complex skills. We had somewhere around a 98% success rate in children attaining at least 1 letter grade higher in each school subject(provided they weren’t already making all A’s). Seems like a pretty good model.

[glm47]

Well, I suppose that I just spoiled any possibility that I will ever be accepted into the doom and gloom mutual admiration society operating on this board.

Dude, you can always pay a fee and join the sunshine pumpers on Bleed Tech Blue. You’ll get all kind of inside information if you do that.

[dawg80]

OK. So did the fans in the stands scream about what a lousy coach you were game after game, were they criticizing your game plan in a manner that was audible to you and the players game after game, were they condemning the players from start to finish game after game? This behavior is what this board is mostly about. Your post proved my point I think. You are one of the very negative posters (if I recall correctly you wanted to fire Holtz two games into his inaugural season). Apparently your negativity was the basic philosophy of your coaching. It seems that a player had to walk on water to get an attaboy from you, but the awsh*ts were bandied about freely. It must have taken 100 attaboys to erase 1 awsh*t. If I may ask, what age group were you dealing with?

I coached across a variety of age groups, but this reference is to high school, thus the "state playoffs." As to your other questions, if the fans were upset with me they kept that to themselves. Believe it or not, and you won't, my players loved me. But then given what appears to be your embracing losing and thinking mediocrity is a goal worth striving for I can see why my coaching philosophy is foreign to you. Thankfully my "kids" (as I call my players) also embraced winning and to this day, when I bump into one of 'em, they speak with fondness recalling "you made me better as a player, and us better as a team than I would have ever thought possible." Then to a person, those who have 'em, will tell me, "I would love for you to be my son's coach." And that means more to me than anything else. You see Sharky, it is you that is misguided.

I wanted to fire Holtz after his first two games? I don't recall that. I do remember the USF fans flocking to this board warning us Holtz will destroy our program and I posting, thanks, but I think we'll give him a chance first. I have been fair with Holtz. I have given him his deserved credit, and I have asked, and continue to ask, "Is there nothing more?"

[dawg80]

Sharky, have you seen what Mike Leach said about his players? OMG!

[sharky]

Sharky, have you seen what Mike Leach said about his players? OMG!

Yep, I saw what he said. He is 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the Pac-12. I wonder what he would have said if he was 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference.