"Lopher" T-shirt can't let this one go

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The first time you get a leader who makes you accountable, it is really traumatic, but the good news it is a great lesson for life. There is a very high probability the people who got to wear the T-shirts are folks who have been able to skate through on ability their whole life.
Whatever process that is safe and gets the message through to the kid as fast as possible is the most humane technique to use.
You are not doing a kid a favor to let him think he is fooling people when everybody knows he is screwing off. As things go that happen to people in their life when they screw off, this is a mosquit bite. It is a lot better than getting fired, letting your family down, not getting a promotion you want but have not really worked hard enough to get, or making other mistakes because you did not do your part of the work.
If he can straighten that out by giving a kid a bad week, the kid should be grateful forever.
 

Someone afraid of a kid being humiliated in practice? Let him miss an easy open field tackle in front of 50,000 people and see what humiliation is. Go for it coach Kill!
 

needmorecowbell said:
I have no problem with the T Shirt. I have a better idea though - I had a coach in High School hockey that would not make the guy loafing skate sprints - he made every other player skate sprints!! The loafing stopped in a hurry. Ski u mah!!
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We did our off-season workouts in college at 6am. The first thing we did every morning was a killer ab workout. If someone showed up late, we all had to start over. The guy(s) who were late had to stand in the middle of everyone as we did the ab workout from the beginning. It happened once or twice early on, but stopped very quickly.
 

Studwell55 said:
Damn, and I thought I was a hard a$$.

Does this cross the line? I think it does not, but it may come close. It requires the deft touch of a very good coach.

I do not believe in ever cursing a player. I do, however, believe in making him feel like dog meat.

Here's the key thing: the person who's shamed must clearly understand what's happened and how to improve. This must be absolutely clear from the very start.
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I am surprised that you are still a football fan if you don't believe in a coach cursing at a player. I heard some of the most creative swearing in my life come from the mouths of my college football coaches.

Do you not see the irony in what you said? You care more about the words than the meaning they convey? That really doesn't seem strange to you?
 

I award gopherdudepart2 a "lohper poster" tag for the abundance of spelling and grammatical errors.

I just want you to put forth your best effort
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I agree 100%. I really do hope this was not gopherdudepart2's best effort.
 


needmorecowbell said:
I have no problem with the T Shirt. I have a better idea though - I had a coach in High School hockey that would not make the guy loafing skate sprints - he made every other player skate sprints!! The loafing stopped in a hurry. Ski u mah!!
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Ditto to basic training; blanket parties are a wonderful thing!
 

I love the idea!!!! I had a basketball coach in high school and he got into a pissing match with one of the seniors. This senior was just being a big baby, and the coach tossed him a towel and said to him, "Here is your crying towel!" The kid got so pissed off, he worked harder the next day and that coach earned his respect!!!

If you can't run in the tall grass you can't run with the big dogs!!!!
 

I'd have to think that some of these guys were prima donna's in high school. Some worked hard to get here. The beautiful thing about weight training and conditioning is that it is democratic. Everyone has to do it. It builds team unity. It builds pride. It should translate to exceptional performance. Wearing the shirt is a motivator. As another poster said, it gets your attention. It lets you know that the coaches are watching you. It establishes the bottom line. It tells others that they are doing good work and motivates them even more. I suspect that when they start measuring improvement, the players are going to feel very good about themselves.
 

Addendum: What part of "no more penalties" do you not understand. The conditioning program will cut down on mistakes.
 



If it makes them work harder I'm all for it. The more I learn about Kill the less I like Brewster.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
College is not junior high these are nearly grown a$$ men, and that T-shirt thing is Sophomoric at best. That "Lopher" T-shirt is lame some guy's may even wear it as a badge or have pride in it and proudly wear it to mock your authority. There will be a lot of cheerleaders and rah rah types that say "Yeah" go get em coach way to show them who's boss but I gotta say in this day and age "calling a guy out like that wins you no favors with players." Who is going to want to sell out for the coach on game day when he is already attaching labels and calling people out like a "grade school teacher." There are better way's to motivate a guy, especially other than the silly dunce cap like T-shirt. Seems really juvenile by the coaches to make a guy wear that in front of there teammates when what you are trying to build is a "team attitude" and winning attitude. This reverse attitude crap can backfire. This is the Big 10 conference you should not need a weenie at best T-shirt to make a point. This is not busting them down to build them up it is immature psychology.

There are better way's to motivate then making an ass out of someone, especially people you are trying to sell on working harder for you. This is the first thing I have heard of, from coach Kill and his staff that I really dis-like. College is above High School prank's and hazing. "Lopher" T-shirt is a crap idea and I would tell the coach that to his face if I had the chance.
Maybe as a one time thing, but continuing to use it, pretty WEENIE. That is something Maturi the old HS ball coach would use, no wonder they get along so well.
Brewster got a lot of crap for streamers and the rah rah stuff, but that is not all bad when you want them to work harder.
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I often commend the posters on this board for the high quality writing in syntax, cogency, even punctuation. This message, however, is so poorly written I can barely understand it. It is as if the OP has had no training whatsoever in the written word.
 

Dr.Don said:
gopherdudepart2: You have heretofore replaced dboy, millions2spare,missedlayup, et.al. in the following award: Congratulations on your epic as-heretofore-unreached levels of dumbassery.

dpodoll68 12/10/10 (compliments of the continuation signature from blizzard)
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I'm still recovering for my dumbassery.


12,973 drill sergeant
12,974 drill sergeant
12,975 drill sergeant
12,976 drill sergeant
 

I stand by my original premise

That you can achieve the same "message" without resorting to a visual aide like a T-shirt to motivate people or make a point. Everyone has there own leadership style, personally I think criticism is best handled and leveled one on one from a coach to a player or manager to employees not in front of everybody, and so forth. One way dialogue can lead to unintended consequences and not achieve the results you are always looking for. You walk a fine line of discipline when you use tactics like a "T-shirt" that calls someone a lopher that can cause that person to form there own negative attitude, a downward spin or even gain a stigma from everyone else. You can break someone from a bad habbit or attitude without making them wear a dunce cap. Some need negative reinforcement at times but not all. No, I am not a players parent.

I could care less about hurting any one person's feeling's or even the name calling that has been leveled at me here. Count or counter point I can respect a disagreement or differing opinion without resorting to the name calling, even if after reading some of my original statement's, even I can agree are a little asshattery or shouting. These are nearly adults people, young adults, not young children or kids that need continuous correcting all of the time, some times you have to fail to achieve.

Coach Kill would not be here if there was not a problem but the Gopher program is not entirely broken and there is talent here, untapped talent.

This is coach Kill and his staff's team. He can lead it however he damn well chooses to. Obviously he has had success with his leadership style and coaching as he has achieved at every location or program he has been at and elevated his own status. Coach Kill and staff would not be here if there were not lingering problems with the last coaching staff and the direction of the program.

On this one I can agree the Gopher program needs some fixing, on the T-shirt discipline I can disagree and dislike this idea. J
 



gopherdudepart2 said:
That you can achieve the same "message" without resorting to a visual aide like a T-shirt to motivate people or make a point. Everyone has there own leadership style, personally I think criticism is best handled and leveled one on one from a coach to a player or manager to employees not in front of everybody, and so forth. One way dialogue can lead to unintended consequences and not achieve the results you are always looking for. You walk a fine line of discipline when you use tactics like a "T-shirt" that calls someone a lopher that can cause that person to form there own negative attitude, a downward spin or even gain a stigma from everyone else. You can break someone from a bad habbit or attitude without making them wear a dunce cap. Some need negative reinforcement at times but not all. No, I am not a players parent.

I could care less about hurting any one person's feeling's or even the name calling that has been leveled at me here. Count or counter point I can respect a disagreement or differing opinion without resorting to the name calling, even if after reading some of my original statement's, even I can agree are a little asshattery or shouting. These are nearly adults people, young adults, not young children or kids that need continuous correcting all of the time, some times you have to fail to achieve.

Coach Kill would not be here if there was not a problem but the Gopher program is not entirely broken and there is talent here, untapped talent.

This is coach Kill and his staff's team. He can lead it however he damn well chooses to. Obviously he has had success with his leadership style and coaching as he has achieved at every location or program he has been at and elevated his own status. Coach Kill and staff would not be here if there were not lingering problems with the last coaching staff and the direction of the program.

On this one I can agree the Gopher program needs some fixing, on the T-shirt discipline I can disagree and dislike this idea. J
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL8e2ujXe8g
 

If the rumors are true, the t-shirt is working as a number of players had to wear them at first and now there is only one maybe, two players still having to wear it. I have no problem with it as a means of motivation.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
...criticism is best handled and leveled one on one from a coach to a player or manager to employees not in front of everybody, and so forth. One way dialogue can lead to unintended consequences and not achieve the results you are always looking for. You walk a fine line of discipline when you use tactics like a "T-shirt" that calls someone a lopher that can cause that person to form there own negative attitude, a downward spin or even gain a stigma from everyone else.
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This is utter B.S., the worst kind of pop psychology. You may have your opinion, but you are far beyond your realm on this one. I have a psych background.

There is a difference between discipline and punishment. Wearing a shirt is not punishment. Putting a player in a dark room without water is punishment. If I have to explain the difference, I cannot help this conversation.
 

Coach Norman Dale: My practices aren't designed for your enjoyment.
 

THIS IS DIVISION 1 FOOTBALL!

IT'S THE BIG TEN!

IT AIN'T INTRAMURALS!
 

dude...I will repeat dpodoll's post of the century as it pertains to you:

Congratulations on your epic as-heretofore-unreached levels of dumbassery.

dpodoll68 12/10/10

Get your crying towel, your poor boys worked too hard and picked on attitude, and STFU!!!!!
 

Looks like you are on your own on this one Gopherdudepart2. Just because everyone says your wrong does not make it the truth but you may want to re-evaluate how you came to your conclusions.

And oh yeah, you are wrong. It is competitive B1G football. If a players psyche is weak enough for a T shirt to tear him down then he has larger issues and would never last anyway.
 

In all my time reading Gopher Hole, I have never seen more holers in unanimous agreement.:clap:
 

It seems as if GopherDude is taking this technique as being something personal, when it is decidedly NOT. Coach Kill is not some meanie in a position of authority who's getting his jollies by making players wear t-shirt's singling them out, ya know? The whole point of this exercise is TOGETHERNESS. They *all* have to do it. They all need to be on the same page mentally, and they all need to perform to this coaching staffs expectations so far as working hard, studying, and practicing go. It doesn't matter whether you're some 5* poobah, a 1* scrub, or some scrappy walk-on hanging onto his spot by the nub of his fingernails, the expectations are the same for all and they are ALL expected to live up to those. It's not a matter of Kill being some kind of sadistic jerk, and I know for a fact he does not in any way enjoy making a player have to wear that shirt, so it's tough love is what it is, and that is never easy on everyone.

I think it's awesome personally. It teaches equality and togetherness, and the importance of personal responsibility, hard work and sacrifice, and self-discipline. And it's a great bonding exercise as well. These players will bond for having made it through this particular war together, and though it's damn hard work and a lot is asked and expected of them, I would think that almost universally they will look back later on in life and be thankful to Coach Kill for these most important lessons he's teaching them about not only how to play football, but how to live life, as men.
 

I can't help but think of this scene

Full+Metal+Jacket+Donut.jpg
 




Hey, MinnMarch, can you make the picture a little bigger? I'm having a tough time seeing it.;)
 


These kids are Army inductee age kids. You have to get their attention physically; intellectual discussions about physical effort won't do it. Some of them, maybe most of them, didn't even know how hard they needed to work. They do now. It is pain in the short term , but the whole mystery is cleared up for everybody, right now. Nobody will have to nag them about their effort, they will know it when they screw off and someone tells them to get with it. They can now make an informed decision, "do I want to work hard enough to really succeed or not?" They will either go for it, or leave. It is their choice.
It is actually a great deal.
 

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