The tragic tale that has become the life of disgraced NFL star Aaron Hernandez remains an interesting topic of discussion within the football community.Hernandez’s alleged involvement in several murders has left many wondering how much responsibility does a coach bear for an athlete’s off-the-field behavior?
But for Alabama football coach Nick Saban, there’s a difference between “responsibility” and “accountability.”
“There’s a greater responsibility to have the kind of program that helps people make good choices and decisions,” Saban said. “Everyone is getting asked, ‘Are you responsible for every player in your program — their behavior?’ Everyone has to be responsible for their own self determination, to some degree, but that’s accountability.
“What we have to be responsible for, in my opinion, is setting up the structure and the kind of program. And define for those players what the expectations are for them personally, academically and athletically. So then they have something to understand that they have to be accountable, too. … I think changing their behavior is what we’re responsible for.”
Saban was in Montgomery on Wednesday speaking to high school coaches at a clinic, an event hosted by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association (AHSADCA) at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center. He will be in Hoover today for SEC Media Days.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer took heat for his handling of Hernandez, who played for Meyer at Florida for three seasons.
The former Patriots tight end has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Odin Lloyd last month. Hernandez is also being investigated in separate shootings in Florida and Massachusetts.
“We can’t control what every guy does, but we can take every opportunity that we have as teachers and coaches to every circumstance to try and teach our players from it,” Saban said. “…We can provide structure, try to provide education, consequences for good and bad behavior so players will have enough foresight to do the right things.
“But at the end of the day, they have to make the right decisions and choices. They have to do it. We have to provide the guidance for that. We have to set an example for that. We have to provide leadership that will help them, and we got to care about them.”Saban said having “character, quality” players increases a program’s chances of winning.
“I think that if you’re a disciplined person off the field, have good character off the field and you practice that every day and make good choices off the field,” he said. “You’ll make better choices on the field.”
Saban’s comments struck a chord with several local prep coaches.
“A lot of these kids in our society don’t have a father figure, so a lot of times we’re looked at as a father figure, and it’s up to us to not only mode these guys into football players, but mode them into young men,” said Catholic football coach Gregg Baker, who coached Faulkner two seasons ago. “I think that’s most important because it begins with character.”
Marbury High coach James Strickland agreed, too.
“I think coaching football is just a small part of what we do,” he said. “It’s an instrument that brings us in contact with those kids that allows us to affect them positively, hopefully. If you got a kid who has quality character, and you’re working on that with him and for him, he’s going to be everything he can do for you on the football field.”
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But for Alabama football coach Nick Saban, there’s a difference between “responsibility” and “accountability.”
“There’s a greater responsibility to have the kind of program that helps people make good choices and decisions,” Saban said. “Everyone is getting asked, ‘Are you responsible for every player in your program — their behavior?’ Everyone has to be responsible for their own self determination, to some degree, but that’s accountability.
“What we have to be responsible for, in my opinion, is setting up the structure and the kind of program. And define for those players what the expectations are for them personally, academically and athletically. So then they have something to understand that they have to be accountable, too. … I think changing their behavior is what we’re responsible for.”
Saban was in Montgomery on Wednesday speaking to high school coaches at a clinic, an event hosted by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association (AHSADCA) at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center. He will be in Hoover today for SEC Media Days.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer took heat for his handling of Hernandez, who played for Meyer at Florida for three seasons.
The former Patriots tight end has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Odin Lloyd last month. Hernandez is also being investigated in separate shootings in Florida and Massachusetts.
“We can’t control what every guy does, but we can take every opportunity that we have as teachers and coaches to every circumstance to try and teach our players from it,” Saban said. “…We can provide structure, try to provide education, consequences for good and bad behavior so players will have enough foresight to do the right things.
“But at the end of the day, they have to make the right decisions and choices. They have to do it. We have to provide the guidance for that. We have to set an example for that. We have to provide leadership that will help them, and we got to care about them.”Saban said having “character, quality” players increases a program’s chances of winning.
“I think that if you’re a disciplined person off the field, have good character off the field and you practice that every day and make good choices off the field,” he said. “You’ll make better choices on the field.”
Saban’s comments struck a chord with several local prep coaches.
“A lot of these kids in our society don’t have a father figure, so a lot of times we’re looked at as a father figure, and it’s up to us to not only mode these guys into football players, but mode them into young men,” said Catholic football coach Gregg Baker, who coached Faulkner two seasons ago. “I think that’s most important because it begins with character.”
Marbury High coach James Strickland agreed, too.
“I think coaching football is just a small part of what we do,” he said. “It’s an instrument that brings us in contact with those kids that allows us to affect them positively, hopefully. If you got a kid who has quality character, and you’re working on that with him and for him, he’s going to be everything he can do for you on the football field.”
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