When I was in college, I was a landscaper. Other than that, coaching has been my life and my job. A lot of people like coaching college, but I would never do it again. There are too many NCAA bylaws, rules and politics.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Becoming a coach has to be in your blood. There are hundreds and thousands of former athletes out there, but there are maybe only 10 people who want to dedicate their lives by taking on a job as a coach. Not only a master, a coach should also be a brother or sister to his apprentices.
Had I been a great athlete, I'm not sure I would have even gone into coaching. I may have turned out feeling that my life ended when my athletic career ended, as happens so many times with various athletes.
I have been coaching recently. I coached high school basketball in Arizona, and I hope that more opportunities become available.
In the end, it's about the teaching, and what I always loved about coaching was the practices. Not the games, not the tournaments, not the alumni stuff. But teaching the players during practice was what coaching was all about to me.
When I left the University of Notre Dame, I honestly felt I would never coach again.
One of the biggest reasons I like coaching college ball is the kids. I feel I can impact players' lives. I like the fact that they're student-athletes. I like to see those kids graduate.
I can tell you, I grew up with great coaching, and it had nothing to do with sports. I had great parents. I really got some great input from there. They were entrepreneurial, middle-class business people.
I'm sure that had I not been a coach, I would have been some form of a teacher.
All I did from day-to-day is coach. That's what my job was, that's what my passion was, and the fact that now it's something I'm being considered for is just mind-blowing to me, that I would ever be in that kind of company.
Coaching is the great passion of my life, and the job to me has always been an opportunity to work with our student athletes and help them discover what they want.