Alabama Football: Nick Saban does not “believe in tired”
Alabama football head coach Nick Saban did not seem happy with the way that his team practiced. His response was not just fodder, it’s his fuel.
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On Thursday night, the Nick Saban radio show Hey Coach took to the airways. During the broadcast, Michael Casagrande of AL.com reported Saban’s comments to some questions about the team’s practices, this week. As the anticipated Tennessee Volunteers game gets closer, one may wonder if the team might be overlooking the Vols as a challenge in favor of the bye week.
Saban, on the other hand, never overlooks a challenge. When asked about whether practices went well or not, “Saban said he’d ‘rather not comment.’ But they ‘got them straightened out today.'”
Eight straight weeks of games before a week off can be a grind on the body, but Saban said, “I don’t believe in tired.”
From any other coach, people could dismiss Saban’s comment as cliche; however, coming from the five-time national championship winner, one cannot help but feel the heart glow. Saban’s daily routine has been made public on numerous occasions, demonstrating how dedicated the coach is to his craft. In August 2016, Chris Low of ESPN reported Saban’s thoughts on how hectic his day-to-day business can get. When obstacles get in the way, Saban said, “Those obstacles don’t impede you. They make you better.”
Saban is not asking any more of his players that he does not ask of himself.
According to Saban, “The thing I lose sleep over the most is not winning and losing the games. It’s about players. It’s about a guy who’s not doing the right thing or somebody you’re trying to get to see the light and buy into doing the right things.”
However, Saban could not ask his players to buy into the famous ‘Process’ if he did not buy into it, himself. From the moment that Saban wakes up in the early morning to when his head hits the pillow late at night, the head coach of Alabama overcomes many obstacles. Saban could just coach, but he realizes that his charity work, his press conferences, his media spots, and countless other duties cannot be just passed to an assistant. He needs to do them, because every part of the organization matters to him.
The program is only as strong as the community that supports it. If Saban did not work hard to make sure that every facet of the program ran smoothly, how could he ask his players to battle through pain during every practice?
Fast-forward to the present, Saban seems to think that the players may be losing sight of the right path. Casagrande reported that “Saban said he likes to create a little tension sometimes and he did today in practice.”
Whatever Saban meant by that statement, he definitely seems to have the pulse of his team. Last week, his tactics of using the ‘rat poison’ remark and his wink at reporters fuelled his team with anger and confidence. Some players were made to feel angry that they let the media’s hype make them overconfident while other players were made to feel confident to get over any anxious feelings. Both tactics worked, as Alabama football rolled over the Arkansas Razorbacks last Saturday in efficient yet passionate fashion.
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With Saban leading by example, the players have the model to look to when the tension mounts. How can the players quit on a play in practice when Saban does so much before and after practice to help them and the community around them? When he asks each player to make every play count, as if it were their last act here on Earth, it is only because Saban uses each breath that he takes to make another move that will keep his players ahead of the opposition.
A true leader does not command the pack from the back, he runs with the pack and expects them to keep up with him.