(I would love to hear from others.)
Reader J.S. writes:
- “Cook seems to me, with his pedigree and the reports about him, to be almost like Hugh’s “little brother.” Remains to be seen if it’s PR or the real deal. My gut tells me that it’s real.
- Either way, Hugh’s new job is to teach Gopher coaches to coach like he did: I’m sure Keegan will expect to have Hugh looking over his shoulder.
- I’ve been told by those who’ve worked for Hugh that he’s all about quiet respect. But, if you disappoint him, he has this “look” that motivates people to get it right next time –apparently without a word being exchanged. the recipient feels an immediate and pressing need to get it done and done right. That, coupled with Hugh’s CV constitutes an “irresistible force.” I wouldn’t bet against Hugh when Fleck an “immovable object” (in a dinghy) needs an attitude adjustment.
- Your hilarious characterization of Kelly Sheffield, rodent looking – albeit a great coach, had me ejecting my morning drink out my nose. I will never again be able to look at him without thinking of rodents. Thank you, I guess.”
JOHN: I had not previously heard the term “quiet respect,” but I like it. Sheffield has won 4 consecutive Big 10 Titles, so we have to concede his brilliance. And I guess it isn’t nice to make fun of people’s appearance. But I wouldn’t let him my garden.
Reader C.B writes: “Many things begging for comment in the latest edition of GVR.
- In a previous edition, the link to the article about the Big X (my math training does not allow me to refer to them as the Big 10), I noticed that all of the BTN/BTN+ revenue goes to Football and Basketball, even though Volleyball and a few other sports draw significant viewers – FB and BB think it’s their money.
- A couple of days ago, the Strib had an article about Fleck’s contract revision with the $1 M per year raise (plus the raises of the rest of the coaches in another article). The justification for the raise being the long-term contracts at even higher salaries for the new WIS and NEB Fball coaches. The article said we have to “get used to it.” Something is wrong with these University Presidents when things are waaay out of whack and they have no idea what to do about it. (Then, again, a MLB pitcher with 8 to 10 wins a year & at least as many losses gets $10 M a year!)
- In my mind, a good coach is somebody that can develop someone or a group of someones with latent talent into stars. Not many of those around. With the volleyball over, my wife is also worried about me – with no team that really interests me anymore, I am headed down and out.”
JOHN: My greatest enjoyment in writing GopherVBallRocks is connecting with a surprising number of people who like C.B. (who I happened to know has never played competitive volleyball in his life, nor have his kids), have come around to thinking of Gopher Volleyball as their favorite team in their favorite sport.
Reader R.A. writes: “Re your thoughts re Lindsay’s struggles, I once had a conversation with Twins GM Bob Gebhardt as we watched Tony O take batting practice. Gebhardt’s observation was that natural hitters like Tony make poor coaches because they can’t explain what comes natural to them. BTW: Thanks for another year of sage observations on GopherVBallRocks.”
JOHN: Although I played (and hope to again if my knee ever recovers) and coached volleyball, I was clearly more successful as a water polo player and coach – despite almost always being the slowest guy in the pool. I was big (but not especially strong), and had good hands, but my secret skill was “natural vision.” There are 14 players in the pool at a time, and once I learned the game, I sort of always knew where the other 13 were. As a coach, I never yelled at my players during a game, but afterwards I might ask, “Why did you take that shot when X was wide open on the back-side?” And be amazed at the answer, “I didn’t see him.” It took me a while to realize that my “pool vision” did not come naturally to everyone.