When Pete Carroll Speaks I Listen and So Should You

Petr Carroll

Ah yes, college football season is upon us. The team I was raised (brainwashed) to love, the USC Trojans, play the weak and feeble, University of Idaho Vandals this Saturday. I will be there, at the L.A. Colosseum, rooting my team on and hoping for a complete slaughter.

The first USC game I went to was in 1974 when USC was down to Notre Dame 24-0 one minute before half time. USC came back, opening the second half with 102 yard, Anthony Davis kick off return for a touchdown, eventually beating the Irish 55-24. Needless to say, I was hooked.

Since then I have seen the Trojans have good seasons, horrible seasons and over the last five years, excellent seasons. The excellent seasons have occurred under the leadership of Pete Carrol l. Here is what he has accomplished in first five years at USC:

Two BCS Championship Game appearances (win over Oklahoma , loss to Texas)
Five Associated Press Top-4 finishes, including the split 2003 national championship and the undisputed 2004 national championship .
A record five consecutive BCS bowl appearances
A record five consecutive years as PAC-10 Champions or Co-Champions
A national-record 33 consecutive weeks as AP’s No. 1-ranked team
A winning record of 65-12 (84.4%), including 10-2 against traditional rivals Notre Dame and UCLA
A NCAA-record of 63 straight 20-point games
Nineteen All-American first teamers
Three Heisman Trophy winners (Carson Palmer , 2002; Matt Leinart , 2004; Reggie Bush , 2005)
Four Top-5 recruiting classes
Still-active win streaks for home games (32) and Pac-10 home games (21).

Here is a list of his personal awards:

2003

2003 American Football Coaches Association Division I-A Coach of the Year
Home Depot National Coach of the Year
Maxwell Club College Coach of the Year
ESPN.com National Coach of the Year
Pigskin Club of Washington D.C. Coach of the Year
All-American Football Foundation Frank Leahy Co-Coach of the Year
Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year

2004

2004 National Quarterback Club College Coach of the Year
2004 ESPN.com Pac-10 Coach of the Year

2005

Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year

2006

Pac-10 Coach of the Year

So you can see when I find out what Pete’s secret is, in his own words, my ears perk up. This past Sunday the L.A. Times printed a small, out of the way, article entitled, “Carroll goes by the book to teach football at USC ,” written by Kurt Streeter , I felt like I had found a buried treasure.

It turns out “the book” that Pete Carroll goes by is “The Inner Game of Tennis .” Carroll says it is full of teaching that inspires his life and that he uses to help his players perform — even if they don’t know it.

So why this post? Well, I wanted to brag on USC football and point out an article that it no one seems to have seen.

Bottom line: read the article and buy the book . Who knows maybe you can become the Pete Carroll of your business field.

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