This Little Man Creates Beasts...Inspiring Others

This will be a completely shameless Alabama Football filled, pride filled post.  

But it begs to offer an important point of how inspiration can be found in the most unlikely of places. 

If you are an Alabama fan he is a household name.  

If you are an SEC fan you despise him.

If you have ever watched an Alabama Football game you have seen and heard him.

Scott Cochran

Wait!? Not Nick Saban?? NO, Scott Cochran

He is the Strength and Conditioning Coach for UA Football.

He can be found on the sidelines screaming in his booming voice "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" 

He is most noted for his infamous on air quote prior to the Georgia Blackout Game.

 

Or Maybe you have seen the entire stadium jump around holding up 4 fingers being led by a raving lunatic on the sideline at the start of the 4th Quarter....That's Coach Cochran leading the masses. 

 

"If it feels good, you ain't doing it right"

The man takes these young men and inspires them in such a way that it makes me want to emulate the same level of motivation in my classroom. 

He's tough, there is no doubt about it. Saban and the entire coaching staff wouldn't settle for anything less.  But he is in it for the players all the way.  Hearing the players talk about him both on and off the record speaks volumes.  They respect him. They trust him.  Both assets that are vital in the classroom.

Coach Cochran is full of "Cochranisms" and you will certainly see his players post them on a regular basis.  When asked why he is such an avid quote user, he said it started at home.  His parents put quotes inside his brown bag lunches everyday. 

"And every day they'd say, 'OK, this is the message we want our son to have,'" Cochran said. "Boom! And that message kind of went through the whole school."

And so it is now. Cochran gathers quotes. He says he has approximately 2,000 pages full of quotes in a computer file. He shares one with Alabama players before practice, or before they lift weights, or before he runs them ragged in the offseason. He writes the quote on a board. He shouts it out. He hammers messages like the ones he used to pull out of the bag.

Does he remember any particular words from lunches long ago?

"Everything you've got, every play, every minute, every day." 

His personal favorite: "God places the heaviest burden on those that can carry its weight."

What kinds of messages are we leaving with our students each day?  It is an inspiring one they can carry in their hearts and use to inspire others?

Yesterday a little guy from Brisbane, Australia by the name of Jesse Williams did something extraordinary. He bench pressed 600 lbs. Then he blew up Twitter.  

 

And Kicker Cade Foster threw up 455lbs! 

God given strength is indisputable, but the unleashing of this strength is truly a process.  Do I think these players could perform and be amazing without Coach Cochran? ABSOLUTELY

but just like amazing teachers, we along with Coach, take them to the next level.

He gives his players what they need to stay motivated and to push them to be their absolute best.
So where does he get those sayings, aside from what he plucks from motivational speakers? "To tell you the truth, the players. I sit with the players. I'll ask our captains, 'OK, what kind of music do you listen to right now? OK, give me a verse, a line, that you'll need when we're running 110s, on the 25th rep, and your body is saying no. What are you going to need at that moment?' And they're going to give me a little line." 

Do you have favorite quotes or other motivators for your students?

Are you a Scott Cochran who takes on the world wide open everyday?

 A new personal goal is to hit the classroom each day just like he approaches the weightroom:

Wide Open, High Expectations, Fully Dedicated, and 110% Supportive

Because in the classroom, like the football field, every second counts.  Especially in the 4th Quarter.

“IT’S THE FOURTH QUARTER! IT’S WINNIN’ TIME!!”-- Scott Cochran