oach Notre Dame Football) Bear Bryant was the best at taking the heat for any loss. You don't blame coaches. You don't blame any players. You give credit to the opposition because they played better than you that day. They won. That was our philosophy, and I watched Bear Bryant do exactly the same thing. He took the rap right down the line onit. Then you watch your players and you watch your coaches work the following week. We never lost two games in a row in 11 years at Notre Dame... Loyalty is a major part or your team strength.Chapter 4 - Anson Dorrance (North Carolina Women's Soccer Coach)I think that one of the great mistakes that all the young coaches make as they are entering the profession is the feeling that they have to be liked. And what ends up happening is they end up trying to win a popularity contest, and they end up sacrificing the respect of the team. It's much more critical to be respected.We feel you should take responsibilty for any loss, and so we try to do that. Any time your team loses, as a coaching staff, we take full responsibility. And what ends up happening, we feel over time, is that all of us collectively take responsibility for our failures. And I think as soon as anyone does that, they're basically making a statement that they're going to change and improve.You have to react to the leaders on your team, making them feel that they're a critical part of leadership as the coach is. I think that causes you to win their affection and respect.I've learned that some players hate setting goals. And for those players, we don't. I think what we have to accept is that everyone is uniquely different, and everyone is motivated by different things. And I remeber this one player hated setting goals. And so, in a way, we kind of set a subtle goal for her. She just said she didn't want to set any goals, she just wanted to come to practice and have a good time. So, I said, well, lets just make that your...
