Pat
Supporter
This is motorsports, cars or politics but I just wanted to write something about it. Yesterday we lost one of the truly greats. Her name was Pat Summitt. She was a university basketball coach and a good one. She served as the head coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Vols (women's) basketball team from 1974 to 2012, winning eight NCAA championships (an NCAA women's record when she retired), and surpassed only by the 10 titles won by UCLA coach John Wooden and the 11 titles won by UConn coach Geno Auriemma. She was the first NCAA coach, and one of four college coaches overall, to achieve at least 1,000 wins (she achieved 1,098), the most wins in NCAA basketball history of any coach, male or female. Summitt also won an Olympic Gold Medal as head coach of the 1984 U.S. women's basketball team, and was named the Naismith Basketball Coach of the Century in April 2000. In 2009, the Sporting News placed her at number 11 on its list of the 50 Greatest Coaches of All Time in all sports; she was the only woman on the list. In 38 years as a coach, she never had a losing season. In 2012, Pat Summitt was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. But all that is not the only measure of her as a person.
She was also a tremendous human being. She loved her players, was widely reckoned as one of the toughest coaches in college basketball history, men's or women's. Her only standard was excellence, her creed was dedicated hard work and commitment to a goal. She had her players write them down at the beginning of the season and commit to each other their accomplishment. She taught young women that with preparation and commitment they can achieve anything. One of those young women was my daughter (now a high school teacher)who wrote of her passing, "I stole your style, and quote you daily. You've allowed me to express what I would not have been able and demonstrated the true meaning of tough love. Your impact reaches beyond basketball and I'm so grateful to have been a part of Vol Nation. Rest in Peace, Coach".
Pat Summmitt was best known for giving her players an icy stare in response to poor play. (She claimed that she mellowed considerably later in her career.) Her standards taught her players values that position them for their lives ahead. She used to say,“discipline helps you finish a job, and finishing is what separates excellent work from average work.”
At least 25 of Summitt's former players and assistant coaches, pursued careers in coaching and basketball management.
Her passing is marked with courage. "Competition got me off the farm and trained me to seek out challenges and to endure setbacks; and in combination with my faith, it sustains me now in my fight with Alzheimer’s disease." — Summitt in a news release announcing her 2013 memoir. She will certainly be missed by not forgotten.
You can read about her philosophy here
Lessons from Sports - Pat Summitt - SUCCESS magazine
She was also a tremendous human being. She loved her players, was widely reckoned as one of the toughest coaches in college basketball history, men's or women's. Her only standard was excellence, her creed was dedicated hard work and commitment to a goal. She had her players write them down at the beginning of the season and commit to each other their accomplishment. She taught young women that with preparation and commitment they can achieve anything. One of those young women was my daughter (now a high school teacher)who wrote of her passing, "I stole your style, and quote you daily. You've allowed me to express what I would not have been able and demonstrated the true meaning of tough love. Your impact reaches beyond basketball and I'm so grateful to have been a part of Vol Nation. Rest in Peace, Coach".
Pat Summmitt was best known for giving her players an icy stare in response to poor play. (She claimed that she mellowed considerably later in her career.) Her standards taught her players values that position them for their lives ahead. She used to say,“discipline helps you finish a job, and finishing is what separates excellent work from average work.”
At least 25 of Summitt's former players and assistant coaches, pursued careers in coaching and basketball management.
Her passing is marked with courage. "Competition got me off the farm and trained me to seek out challenges and to endure setbacks; and in combination with my faith, it sustains me now in my fight with Alzheimer’s disease." — Summitt in a news release announcing her 2013 memoir. She will certainly be missed by not forgotten.
You can read about her philosophy here
Lessons from Sports - Pat Summitt - SUCCESS magazine
