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Nick Saban cites Steph Curry, golf as teaching tools during Q&A
By Nick Cole
Published:
It seems that everyone wants a glimpse into the mind of Alabama coach Nick Saban.
That’s what happens when people identify you as one of the best coaches to walk the planet.
As Saban prepares for Saturday’s spring game (his 10th with the Crimson Tide), he has opened his office to several national writers seeking an opportunity to pick the brain of the 64-year-old who just won his fourth national championship in the last seven seasons.
This time, he had an hour-long chat with FOX Sports’ Bruce Feldman.
Among the topics discussed was the challenge of keeping players motivated coming off a championship season.
Saban referenced NBA superstar Stephen Curry as a personality that he points to when it comes to such matters.
“Steph Curry is special in terms of the kind of competitor he is. We’re always trying to build that kind of attitude in our players internally so that we don’t have those issues. I really haven’t seen that part of it with this team, where guys are like, “Why are we doing this? What are we going through offseason where it’s so hard? Why are we practicing this long?” We’ve had that around here before after winning, after being successful. I haven’t seen that with this group. But there’s still a lot of challenges. There’s challenges with leadership.”
Curry’s Golden State Warriors just broke the NBA single-season record for wins in a season in the year following an NBA title. That’s a perfect model for motivation for Crimson Tide players.
Coming out of The Masters weekend, Saban also referenced golf as a metaphor for life.
“Golf is a great example to me. Golf is a metaphor of life. I mean, every shot. You have this beautiful hole, this beautiful opportunity to get a good score. You hit a beautiful drive. Well, I don’t know how many times I’ve been 114 yards from the hole and made double bogey.
Well, I hit a great drive, but it doesn’t matter. It’s only the next shot that matters. You could hit that in the water, which means now you have to overcome adversity. You put yourself in a hole and it’s, “Can I get up and down and still make bogey?” But that’s how life is. Sometimes you don’t control it. You don’t control the negative things that happen. But you still have to overcome them. You still have to manage it. You still have to react the right way. It’s not the problem. It’s how you respond to the problem that is the key to the drill. You’ve got to keep harping on this stuff all the time.”
Saban had plenty more to say to Feldman. You can read the full transcript of their chat here.
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
