Creativity Necessary For CU Coaches

My last column attempted to rally the Columbia community for athletics expansion into the hitherto untouched realm of Ivy League bull riding. To my dismay, which apparently I am alone in, the campaign was ahead of its time. As of 7:33 p.m. on Sept. 18, there was a grand total of one signature on the online petition, “Columbia Students for More Bull Crap,” and that signature read “Michael Thomas More Shannon, II.” I am prepared to admit defeat when my cause has but one signatory—my own. But I am not prepared to take the blame for the failure: it’s your fault.

There’s no shame in it. I am not disappointed in you, personally. There’s a tradition here at Columbia of keeping the status quo, holding the standard, silencing the shaking hens. Sure, there have been fleeting moments when Columbia kids got their acts together and tried something new—when Columbia students get pissed off, they tend to start revolutions. But these are quiet times at the gates of 116th and Broadway, and the offices of Dodge Fitness Center.

It’s a sad fact that athletic coaches at this school are rarely innovative in their strategies. Mediocrity is the safest horse to bet on. I won’t pick on coaches that are currently paid by my tuition, because frankly, this is a young column and I am a less-than-established writer and I do not want to do anything to jeopardize my chances at interviews. There it is—I’m a coward.

There is, however, the recently-departed volleyball coach Monica Holmes (“departed” as in quit the day before her fifth season as head coach began). Sixteen wins, 81 losses. That’s a hell of a record to stand by when you have four years with which to work. Four years is a long time in sports, especially given the revolving door roster of college games. Four years is enough time to figure out what is expected of you and your team in competition. Four years is enough time to figure out the right team dynamic. Four years is enough time to experiment and seek out creative ways to use your squad’s unique strengths. But four years is also enough time to hold a steady course running in circles and then come to realize you haven’t gone anywhere, so you’re better off jumping ship.

The assumption that a losing team is necessarily made up of losing players is humbug. Moreover, the belief that Columbia doesn’t have some extremely talented student-athletes is wrong. Just look at the credentials of some of the kids coming out of high school and you’ll see that we aren’t just picking up kids from rec leagues and country clubs.

So why do so many of our teams seem forever destined to flail about in pointless and pathetic struggle? I sincerely believe the greatest problem is that coaches are either unwilling or don’t know how to try something new.

Then there’s Norries Wilson, head coach of Columbia football. His tenure has been short, and admittedly it is too early to judge results one way or another, but his approach to his Lions team is refreshing. He states frankly where the weaknesses are on the team, and there are plenty of them. But Wilson, more importantly, knows what Columbia football has going for it and how to exploit those advantages. The most remarkable thing about the man, though, is that he truly seems to respect his team. He demands a great deal, but he treats the Columbia Lions like they are the Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, or Indianapolis Colts—all franchises of which he has been a part. 

But a coach does not need to work in the pros to give his athletes the respect they’ve earned.
That’s what it comes down to—respect. A coach who believes his players really do have untold talent that needs to be harnessed, is willing to experiment, and trusts in his squad to adapt to an unusual game plan or an atypical play. A coach who thinks that only grim catastrophe and the loss of his livelihood can follow innovation will invariably run his players by the book, or by the Wikipedia article, as it seems in some cases.

So here’s a prayer for all Columbia coaches in their new seasons: May the road rise up to meet you; may the wind be always at your back. But let’s see something new this time, shall we?