Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play Like a Champion by Pete Carroll
Having just won the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks Pete Carroll has been earning plaudits for his coaching and the impact he has had on his players. Before this recent Super Bowl win, his career had suffered significant failures at both the New York Jets and the New England Patriots. This book is not only an overview of his coaching career, but also his views on life and what it takes to achieve success.
Carroll suggests that central to every successful person is a deep and meaningful understanding of themselves and their personal philosophy. He writes of a moment where he was influenced by the famous coach Monte Kiffin who carried around a sheet of paper with his coaching philosophy written on it. Following his sacking at the New York Jets he states that he spent many months collecting his thoughts, making notes, to finally cut it down to the central theme of ’Always compete’ in every aspect of life. The base rules of the philosophy are: 1. Always protect the team 2. No whining, no complaining, no excuses 3. Be early
Where Carroll challenges consensus thinking within the culture of US football is in him espousing the necessity to enjoy what you do and also make time for your family. This culture of fun has led to several famous moments including Will Ferrell arriving at University Southern California and lecturing the players on the ‘always compete’ policy that led to the title of the book ‘Win Forever’. He speaks of his belief that the job of every teacher and coach is to entertain his pupils and keep them eagerly anticipating what comes next.
The need for coaches to be teachers and the emphasis he places on practice and are other notable cornerstones of his philosophy. His principles of practice are a continuation of the policy of always competing. The players practice at game speed and every day of practice has a set theme such as ‘No turnover Tuesday’. He speaks of the need to find any possible way to make practice competitive, whether that is keeping the score, or competitions between different coaches.
One of the central tenets of Carroll’s philosophy that stands out is the effort he puts into cultivating relationships with the people around him. He insists that the coaches go home to their families early at least one day a week and puts enormous effort into cultivating relationships with his players. This letter written by Richard Sherman the controversial Corner back sums up his influence on the team.
This is a very entertaining read and well worth a look, especially for those fans of American football. Here are some further articles that further explore the influence Pete Carroll has had on the Seattle Seahawks
Pete Carroll and the power of positive coaching
Pete Carroll, once ahead of his game now vindicated by success