12/20 analytical

In the next section of Quiet Strength, by Tony Dungy and Nathan Whitaker, Tony Dungy gets fired from his head coaching job in Tampa and is yet again unemployed. Because the books begins with a flash forward of this information it wasn't shocking to me, but how he took it definitely was. When the news first came up he was shocked, sure they had lost again in the first round of the playoffs, but it was only year four and the team was making huge strides from where it was Tony took over. Even though it hit him as a surprise, Tony stayed strong, knowing that it was all part of gods plan for him. His wife however, was not in the same frame of mind. Last time Tony was out of work times got very tough for the Dungy family. Money was scarce and living conditions were not optimal. Tony did his best to convince her to let her faith lead her and not to worry because god would not let them struggle unless he felt it necessary. It is at points like these in his life that Tony's faith is obvious and admirable. Most people would be very stressed if they just lost a job, but Tony knew that god would strike again, just like he did in Tampa, and lead him to a new job. After a spring and summer of waiting and hoping, Tony got the call from the Indianapolis Colts that they were looking to interview him for a head coaching position. Tony was ecstatic, not only had god blessed him with another job, this was a much stronger program than Tampa. One where everything was kept tidy and ready to go, and the payers were the same way. Tony knew that if he trusted god and waiting it out, he would get another opportunity to coach in the NFL, and he did. Some would say this is not faith, it is cockiness, but if you read this book you will realize that Tony Dungy is a man of incredible faith and always remembers that god has a plan for him. Tony would go on to win two super bowls coaching the Indianapolis Colts and become one of the best coaches in Colts history. To this day he still credits Tampa Bay for shaping him into the coach he is and helping him realize that everything happens for a reason. He is still highly recognized in both organizations, and in the coaching Hall of Fame.

12/21 vocab

This week I have read from pages 173-260 in the book, Quiet Strength, by Tony Dungy and Nathan Whitaker. 

Dividends (174): A sum of money paid to shareholders of a corporation out of earnings.

Orchestrated(175): To arrange or manipulate, especially by means of clever or
 thorough planning or maneuvering.

Gregarious (178): Fond of the company of others; sociable.

Formality(179): Condition or quality of being formal; accordance with required or
 traditional rules, procedures, etc.;conventionality.

Intricately (182): Complex; complicated; hard to understand, work, or make.

Normalcy (190): The quality or condition of being normal, as the general economic,
 political, and social conditions of a nation; normality.

Tenure (192): The holding or possessing of anything.

Calloused (201): Made hard; hardened.

Derived (202): To reach or obtain by reasoning; deduce; infer.

Penning (219): The act of revetting or paving with small stones.

12/18 quote

In the next section I read of Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy and Nathan Whitaker, Tony discusses his failures in Tampa Bay and how he recognized he needed to adapt and improve. When taking on a failing organization as a head coach, it is very difficult to change the mindset of the team from losing to winning. It takes complete cooperation and respect from everyone in the organization, but it also takes the mind to realize when what you are doing is not working and it is time to change.

"We can all learn and adapt even though our principles stay the same" (Whitaker 166).

This is what Tony said in an interview after a huge loss in his second year coaching the Bucs. It was a very mature and experienced answer when asked if he thought he needed to change and if he would be able too. What he did not tell the media is that he knew he had to change the way he attacked this team. His nice guy, no yelling coaching style was not getting to this team, and he needed to switch it up or risk being fired from turning this organization around. He knew what he wanted to do with thisd team, his master plan, would need to stay in tact being already two years underway, but the way he approached the team with this plan would have to change. He needed more spark, more life, something to light a fire under this team and motivate them to win games, and he would work the rest of his time with the Bucs to create this fire. This was a soft team, and he would have to harden them up. I can connect to this quote because I have played football for many different coaches and many different teams. Every team and coach and team have had a different dynamic, due to the type of kids and who was at the helm. One year the team was struggling to get wins. Our coach was a down to earth, very nice man who did not like yelling at us, much like Tony. The team was a rambuncious group of sixth graders who loved yelling and not listening. These dynamics did not mix well, and resulted in a tough first half of the year, going 1-5. Halfway through the season, after we had been beaten badly, he turned his coaching style around. Every day was filled with high intensity drills and exiting team competitions. This recharged us as a team and brought us together. With lots of heavy conditioning at the end of practice, it forced us to work hard as a team and grow as a unit. This is huge to have good team chemistry, and it usually comes from hard work together. We ended up finishing that season winning every game after the wake up call, and made the youth playoffs for the first time in the program. It was a necessary switch that took a very good coach to see we needed. I still credit our strong finish to that season to that coach, and to this day I try to emulate his football tactics. There are many similarities between him and Tony, making it clear they are both excellent coaches.

12/14 vocab

This week I have read from page 87-173 in the book Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy and Nathan Whitaker. In this portion, the book dives into Tony's head coaching career at Tampa Bay and how he turned their organization around.

Surreal (94): Of, relating to, or characteristic of surrealism, an artistic and literary style; surrealistic.

Firsthand (98): From the first or original source.

Orchestrated(101): To arrange or manipulate, especially by means of clever or
thorough planning or maneuvering.

Stewarding (102): A person who manages another's property or financial affairs; 
one who administers anything as the agent of another or others.

Hallmarks (105): Any mark or special indication of genuineness, good quality, etc.

Mandated (116): A command or authorization to act in a particular way on a public issue given by the electorate to its representative.

Wholesale (118): The sale of goods in quantity, as to retailers or jobbers, for resale.

Incredulous (134): Not credulous; disinclined or indisposed to believe; skeptical.

Naysayers (137): A person who habitually expresses negative or pessimistic views.

Candid (147): Free from reservation, disguise, or subterfuge; straightforward.

12/13 Analytical

In this weeks portion of Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy and Nathan Whitaker, it gets into the rebuilding process Tony had to face in order to turn the Tampa Bay Buccaneers around from a terribly run franchise into a winning one. Throughout the chapter, the author repeats the phrase, no excuses, no explanations, six times. He says this to everyone in his organization, from owner to coach to player. Everyone involved in the organization knows Tony's expectations. No matter what happens in the game, there should never be an explanation or an excuse. When Tony took over the team, he realized that there was an attitude that nothing was their fault. There would be an excuse every time something went wrong, whether it was the opponent, the refs, the playing conditions, or the coaching. Tony knew to be successful, he would have to rid this from the teams attitude, so he implemented the most famous saying of his coaching career. In essence, no excuses no explanations basically means don't make a mistake, and if you do own up to it and move forward. To win in a league as competitive as the NFL, one must play near mistake free football. It is very hard to win when there are mental mistakes being made on the field. This is where the no explanations half comes from. If there are no mistakes made, then there should never be an explanation of why something didn't work. This being said, nobody is perfect, and everybody is bound to make a mistake here and there, but the key is being able to own it. Every time something went wrong on the field, everybody had a finger pointed at another player, deeming that it was their fault over his own. This is a terrible habit to get into, especially in football. The games are long, and everyone is bound to mess up. It takes a true man to own up to that mistake and turn his attention to ma,king up for it on the next play, yet keeping it in his conciseness so it does not happen again. This is where the second half of the saying, no excuses, comes from.
Tony also used this saying in his everyday life. Raising seven kids and holding a successful coaching career is a juggling act to say the least. Tony says that he used a lot of the same tactics on his kids that he uses on his players, no excuses no explanations being one of them. With seven kids in the house at once, one can imagine there was lots of tension. This saying helped Tony teach his kids that they are family, and family doesn't fight, so there should never be an explanation that starts with, "he started it." He also instilled in them that family is everything, and a Dungy supports their family through it all. There should never be fingers pointed at one another in blame, instead there should be talks of acceptance and how to get through the disagreement. This saying is applicable to many aspects of life, from football to raising kids. Remembering this saying while going through life raises character and maturity, both things required to be successful in the NFL.

12/12 Quickburst

This is a video talking about Tony Dungy receiving the Buccaneers ring of honor. This is a huge reward given out to only the best coaches the Buccaneers have. This proves that all his hard work payed off and he was recognized for turning the organization around.

https://www.abcactionnews.com/sports/football/tampa-bay-bucs/former-head-coach-tony-dungy-to-enter-ring-of-honor-during-steelers-buccaneers-game

12/11 Quote

In the next 100 or so pages in Quiet Strength, by Tony Dungy and Nathan Whitaker, the book transitions into when Tony is on the job hunt, and the lead with the Buccaneers was looking promising. This was a huge surprise to tony because going in, he, along with the media, didn't think he had a shot. When he got the job he said in an interview,






"Head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I couldn't believe I'd actually gotten the job. I was especially humbled when I thought about all the times I had fallen short and all the other African American coaches who had gone before me but had never gotten this chance. I realized that the one thing I could do to help them-and the coaches who followed behind us-was to win. Actions speak louder than words. Winning would create greater potential for change than talk alone" (Whitaker 95).

This quote speaks top the character of Tony Dungy. He was a selfless, determined guy who always saw the bigger picture in what he was doing. After all his hard work had finally paid off and he was a head coach, he didn't think of himself. He immediately thought about how significant this was that he was an African American head coach, and the impact he would lead for other African Americans to follow. He realized that this special, there had been many African American men who had the skill and drive he did but always fell short, but Tony didn't. Him saying that this humbled him shows his inner humbleness and selflessness. Tony also says that to truly leave a lasting impression on the league and pave the way for African American men to follow behind him, he needed to win. It was not enough to give it his best go and hope for victory, he had to work 100 times harder than he ever had to truly succeed. He, and everybody working for him knew his ambitions, they knew what his goal was, to win a Superbowl. His entire career he wanted nothing more than to hoist the Lombardy trophy and celebrate with his team, but he had always fallen short. Now that he was at the helm of his team and he controlled what happened during the season, he truly felt the pressure. He knew he would be satisfied with nothing less than world champions, so he worked for it. Everyday he showed up early, left late, and did everything he could to make sure everybody in the organization was on the same page. He says at the end of the quote that actions speak louder than words, and I believe this is true. Everybody can talk the talk if they have too. Speak on how good their teams will be or how their players are top notch, but come game time only some can walk the walk. It takes near perfect performance on the field and a great week of preparation to win in the NFL, and some don't have what it takes to put it all together. Tony knew is he was going to achieve his goals and pave the way for African American coaches that followed him, he would have to do exactly that.

12/7 vocab

This week I have read pages 1-87 in, Quiet Strength, by Tony Dungy and Nathan Whitaker. So far it has been about Tony's early career with the Buccaneers, leading in his termination, then transitioning into his early life. 

Earnestly (1): Serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous.

Fathom (4): A unit of length equal to six feet (1.8 meters), used chiefly in nautical   measurements. 

Notoriety (8): The state, quality, or character of being notorious or widely known.

Deliberate (26):carefully weighed or considered; studied; intentional.

Dividends (27): A pro-rata share in an amount to be distributed.

Trounced (32): To defeat decisively.

Divine (38): Proceeding from God or a god.

Audible (39): Capable of being heard; loud enough to be heard; actually heard.

Quantifiable (47): To determine, indicate, or express the quantity of.

Mononucleosis (49): The presence of an abnormally large number of
 mononuclear leukocytes,  and ormonocytes, in the blood.

Teetering (50): To move unsteadily.