Posted on 08/04/2003 3:20:31 PM PDT by TomB
SOUTH BEND -- An ESPN documentary revealed some of the challenges Notre Dame football coach Tyrone Willingham encountered growing up in North Carolina.
The piece also hinted at how Willingham had to wait his turn for athletic success in high school before heading north as a walk-on quarterback and baseball player at Michigan State.
But through all of his challenges, Willingham told a captivated audience of 925 during Thursday's Hall of Fame Gridiron Legends luncheon at Century Center that he has never had a bad day. As long as he possessed the power to change his circumstance, Willingham does not allow a situation to linger that long.
Willingham said that even his players are surprised when he tells them that he never has bad days.
"They look at me with astonishment," Willingham said in a brief speech that was followed by a question and answer period from local youngsters. "Then I proceed to break it down so that they can understand why you should never have a bad day."
It all goes back to having the ability and willingness to change whatever just went wrong.
Such an outlook can be applied to everyday life, but it is certainly essential in athletics, where one bad play can easily snowball into four or five if an athlete or coach allows the memory of a breakdown to linger.
The Irish were obviously quickstudies last season, jumping out to an 8-0 start before finishing 10-3 in Willingham's first season at the helm.
"What I tell our guys is that as a competitor and a champion, you have an opportunity with each step that you take to change the circumstances that just occurred," said Willingham, who then injected some humor into his speech. "So when I tell them that I have never had a bad day, I quickly inform them that I have had a bad three hours and occasionally those occur on Saturday afternoons.
"But I tell them, unless my math is incorrect, those three hours are never greater than the remaining portion of the day."
Willingham also challenged the audience to ask themselves each day, "What have you done to help someone else be better today?"
"My hope is that every day that you wake up, that you will start your day with that question," he said. "And hopefully you will do something to fulfill that question by the days end."
Here were some highlights from the question and answer period with the local youngsters. WSBT's Charlie Adams read the prepared questions from notecards.
How do you deal with the expectations of this upcoming season?
"You learn that you don't get too excited or too depressed about what you expect the expectations to be. So, therefore, I put myself on a very even keel as I approach every season."
Can you talk about what you expect from Carlyle Holiday?
"It's not just Carlyle. We put so much emphasis on the quarterback and some of it is rightfully so. It is very difficult for a quarterback to snap, protect, drop back, throw it and catch it. So we have to have some other young men to execute their jobs. My concern is always the guys up front."
What does "Play like a champion today" mean to you?
"For me, it has an application for life that you're blessed to have this opportunity. We have to really enjoy this life that we have, and not in a reckless manner. I tell our players that all of the time."
ND ranked 18th in poll
The Irish were ranked No.18 in the preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Top 25 Poll released on Thursday.
Four of their opponents are ranked higher in the preseason poll, with Michigan at No.7, USC ranked eighth, Pittsburgh at No. 11 and Florida State ranked No. 12. Purdue is the only other opponent in the preseason poll at No. 22.
Notre Dame, which finished 10-3 last season, was ranked No.17 in the final ESPN/USA Today poll for the 2002 campaign.
On or off let me know.
GO IRISH!
Nittany Lion snore......
Boise St. I believe. It's my favorite field because migrating birds mistake it for a lake and kill themselves trying to land on it.
he he.
Too bad. I always thought of daffy duck and his broken teeth falling out of his bill whenever I thought of that field.
The only reason for me to like BSU, shot to hell.
(Still determining whether we'll be attending the USC or Florida State game this year.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.