My fascinating day
Jun 7, 2013, 2:43 PM | Updated: Jul 26, 2024, 1:09 pm
I had a fascinating day.
Started with ASU basketball, then went to Cardinals football and on to the show.
I met with Herb Sendek for coffee and donuts. I’m not special. A few members of the media sat with him to find out how the offseason is going.
I love talking to coach because he is clearly the smartest man in the room but never has a condescending attitude. I’m always troubled after talking to him, though. He’s so honest and principled, winning is difficult. The NCAA doesn’t spend the money on enforcement and most schools do little to police their own. Sendek is one of the few who want to win the right way. It’s too bad fans only support teams that win instead of winning people.
I then headed to Cardinals OTAs. The first thing I noticed is the number of young players that were working on the other field. So many times in the Ken Whisenhunt practice, the young players stood around watching. There’s learning in watching. You can see professionals run the play. You can simply watch professionals play. As we saw, there wasn’t enough learning.
The Bruce Arians practice has young players doing nothing but playing. The players learn the plays while the coaches learn if the players can play. The Bruce Arians practice is filled with coaches. There are coaches everywhere, coaching always. If the players aren’t learning, they aren’t listening.
After practice I talked to Carson Palmer for five minutes. I have no idea if he’ll be successful. I know his attitude will be. He has a lightning quick wit. You have to listen to everything he says to catch it. I’m sure I missed the meaning of something. He sets a total tone of professionalism. He has a laid-back southern California attitude about everything that doesn’t include family or football.
If you get a chance to meet him, you’ll enjoy the time. He’s easy to root for.
