Читать книгу A Legacy Unrivaled. The Story of John Gagliardi онлайн

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When I was a junior in high school, floundering in the lower half of my class, my coach told my parents I should go to college and be a coach. I had worked to save my money to buy a 1949 Chevrolet. My parents said I would use that money to go to college. I said no, my parents said yes, and so we compromised and I went to college. It was the wisest decision I ever made. Coaching can be a demanding profession, but it’s also one of the most rewarding.

Early in my career, I studied why certain coaches were so successful in not only winning but also in influencing young people to be successful. Some coaches I studied were Bear Bryant (Alabama), Darrell Royal (Texas), Frank Broyles (Arkansas), Rip Engle (Penn State), Forest Evashevski (Iowa), John McKay (Southern Cal), and Ara Parseghian (Notre Dame). But the one name that kept coming up in conversations on great coaches was John Gagliardi from Saint John’s, a little school in Minnesota.

When I studied his record, I was amazed at the success he achieved year after year. It was difficult to learn a great deal about him because he wasn’t in the national news on a daily basis. What I have found since I entered coaching is that it is just as difficult to achieve success at Saint John’s as it is at Alabama, Notre Dame, or any other major school. And this is why Coach John Gagliardi’s success caught my imagination.