There’s a great video of Geno Auriemma making the rounds on social media. It’s a big deal. If you didn’t know, Geno Auriemma is also a big deal. He coaches the women’s side of the Connecticut Huskies basketball teams. He and his teams have also won 111 games in a row. Not a typo.
You can check out that video HERE.
It’s somewhat similar to the video found in Hoosiers, which is HERE. The player that wants to go in was benched previously for his attitude and, even though it meant only having four players on the floor, the coach kept the player with the attitude on the bench. Tear.
Metaphorically speaking, this is what most people just don’t seem to understand. If they understood, then entitlement wouldn’t be used so often when describing today’s youth.
I have taught at the same school for 18 years. Some of those years were filled with a morning commute on the 405. That written, I have never been late to school. Yeah, there have been a handful of days where I came to school late, but I had something to do AND didn’t have a first period.
Today was a late start. One room close to mine had 18 of 34 kids in the room by that 8:50 bell, which is 50 minutes later than the regular days. Another room close to mine had 19 of 29 in the room by that same time. 26 kids not ready at the start of school, yet most trickled in by the end of the period. That was in two classes. Kids everywhere on the campus, no attempt to hustle–they’ll get to class when they get to class.
We’ve locked doors in the past. Shut gates. Yelled. Sent out notifications. Over and over. Tried to incentivize. I would blame our school for not caring, but that’s not the case. Teachers are in their rooms waiting for a class to teach and we just don’t have enough people on campus to corral everyone. And if you think I’ve got this great answer, then you better keep thinking.
But I go back to that Geno Auriemma video, and I know we can’t select All-Americans like he can. However, he didn’t always have All-Americans at his disposal. He didn’t even make the post-season tourney for his first three years. But he was building a brand. He won 12 games his first year,lost 15. He went 14-13 the next, and 17-11 the next. He has never missed the tourney since, AND had six perfect seasons. He built a brand, people came, everyone was happy (or they sat).
This year, his team needs to win two more games to have a perfect season and win yet another championship. It may not always be easy, but the results certainly outweigh any negatives.