Derek Dooley's Paradox Of Sports: "And when you see somebody down, you finish them off."

by Joel Hollingsworth on Jul 28, 2010 7:09 AM EDT in Tennessee Volunteer Football

Derek Dooley:

But there's a big void out there that we're missing. And it starts with really understanding the paradox of sports.

There's a great paradox because we train these guys, and we get them . . . early age. . . . I'm watching . . . my two boys just started pee wee football out there today. That was a big challenge today figuring out how to get them started. But every coach is out there teaching these men to be warriors. And you don't show weakness. And you don't back down from any fight when you get challenged. And when you see somebody down, you finish them off. All those things that make great competitors. And we develop them over the years and we train them on these values.

And when we don't have that balance when they get off the football field and they go out in the street and they take those same qualities that they've been learning and growing and honing in every day, it's destructive. It's destructive. And that's the paradox.

And that's the responsibility that we have . . .

That's a partial transcription of the video below, embedding courtesy of Inside Tennessee. I have no idea why the video transitions to a different topic here in the middle of that thought, but you can guess that "the responsibility that we have" is to teach the players the difference and how to turn that instinct on and off and use it only where it's appropriate.

Thoughts?

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Given

Scenario’s like Bryce Brown, our arrests over the years one could probably look at just Tennessee and say “Hrmm. This is possible.”

Skip the college guys. College kids are bound to screw up. You expect better out of the adults, right?

If you take it a step further and look at the pro athlete’s. The Mike Vicks, Tank Johnsons, Matt Jones, and Chris Terry’s of the sport.

You don’t hear of anywhere near the number of players in say…NASCAR? PRCA? Tennis? Heck, even Hockey has less of a criminal reputation than football.

I’m not a expert, but I think there may be something to what he is saying. Feng shui for the soul so to speak

"Gentlemen, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football." John Heisman

by Joseph Stanley on Jul 28, 2010 9:12 AM EDT reply actions

Agreed

Makes perfect sense to me. He doesn’t touch on the sense of entitlement that many young athletes have. As entertaining as it is the recruiting circus with the new conferences just feeds the egos of some of these kids. And it reflects in their self serving thoughtless decisions. And to make matters worse the good kids for the most part never get mentioned in mainstream media or the 4 letter network.

Go Vols!

by coopnjaxdad on Jul 28, 2010 9:17 AM EDT reply actions

It's the exact same problem the military is dealing with.

Albeit on a different scale, but the underlying principle is the same.

by danmarcel on Jul 28, 2010 10:02 AM EDT reply actions

One of the best things

that ever happened to me was going to therapy for a year. I’m not sure what the answer is for spoiled (and that’s really what we’re dealing with here) kids. Most of this comes from selfish behavior and I’m not sure a lot of these kids have someone to show them why being a jerk is wrong. I know it can really lead to serious problems down the line after they get out of school.
That said, some of them do grow up though.

"A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation." - Mark Twain

by Stu from Tuscaloosa on Jul 28, 2010 7:05 PM EDT reply actions

The snark in me

wants to compare the Tuscaloosa in your name with the year in therapy, but I can’t do that in good conscience.

I am genuinely glad therapy worked for you. And, I’d agree that these kids really need a shift in perspective to realize that they are not entitled to every blessing that comes their way.

The COEXIST bumper sticker is ridiculous. How are people supposed to get along when one side is flying planes into tall buildings or wearing sweater vests full of C4 and nails? The faiths are MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.

by memphispete on Jul 29, 2010 8:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Didn't you just backhandedly do it anyway?

lol

"A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation." - Mark Twain

by Stu from Tuscaloosa on Jul 29, 2010 11:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Derek Dooley is an educated, intelligent, articulate man . . .

. . . and I don’t just say that because his father is the winningest head coach in the history of my alma mater’s football program, or because the younger Coach Dooley attended the same law school I did.

Coach Dooley’s remarks reminded me of something that was said about (perhaps by) Lawrence Taylor: it was unrealistic to expect L.T. to be a force of nature creating chaos and carnage on the football field while believing that he could simply turn it off when he left the field.

Good for Coach Dooley for recognizing that risk, and for having the courage to comment about it on camera. Admitting that there’s a problem is the first step to finding a solution, and this is a problem in all sports at every level.

Go 'Dawgs!

by T Kyle King on Jul 28, 2010 8:48 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah

I wonder if he knew the camera was there, actually. It’s a bit controversial for him, and I don’t think he was using that line of thought at SEC Media Days. It was at a similar function that Kiffin accused Meyer of cheating, so it’s quite possible he was feeling just a little bit looser, not knowing he was being recorded.

One of the most fascinating things about the video is watching that dude eat and periodically pick his ear. That’s got to be an odd seat to sit in for a meal.

Seriously, though, he’s got a point, although some might not want to hear it, and you’re right, to acknowledge it is the first step. Doing something about it is the hard part, but I feel pretty comfortable that he’s trying.

Rocky Top Talk

by Joel Hollingsworth on Jul 28, 2010 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions

it was unrealistic to expect L.T. to be a force of nature creating chaos and carnage on the football field while believing that he could simply turn it off when he left the field.

i would bet Eric Berry can simply turn it off.

/still holding on to mancrush/

thanks to denial, i'm immortal

by thetennesseethumper on Jul 28, 2010 10:06 PM EDT reply actions