PEA RIDGE — I recently had the opportunity to attend the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas in its’ production of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. It is one of my favorite pieces of music, dating from the time that I was in the Harding University chorus that participated with the premier of the Arkansas Symphony’s 1976-1977 concert season in presenting the 9th.
This particular piece of music is considerably complicated being a symphony anyway and it has with it a large choral segment with the whole thing taking close to a couple of hours to run through. Watching the conductor at the concert in Fayetteville go through his gyrations, facial expressions and jumps around the podium, it made me think of some athletic coaches I have witnessed in their attempts to get thebest from those in their charge.
The author of the 9th Symphony, Ludwig von Beethoven, was no ordinary soul. He was a worldrenowned composer before he wrote the 9th - what some say (what I say) was his greatest achievement.
The most interesting thing to me was that he composed it all after he was stricken with deafness.
Deaf as in he couldn’t hear the music he wrote and was writing.
Beeethoven so thoroughly knew and understood every aspect, no matter how small, of everything musical, that he was able to “know” what it would sound like. To put it another way, he was one with his music. I have read some biographies of Beethoven that lamented the fact that the poor man never got to hear the greatest of his works. As for me, I think he did hear it, so complex was his brain and manner of thought.
So why the headline about Beethoven, the coach? I got to thinking about how anyone dealing with other people has to be a master of a lot of things in order to be succcessful.
An NFL head coach who doesn’t possess at least a little of the mastery and determination that Beethoven had would often become one of those NFL coaches as in “Not For Long” coaches.
For that matter, football coaches of any level have to be aware of a lot of things in a lot of ways. One of the reasons I grew to really like football was its complexity as well as its simplicity. I didn’t play football myself as my doctor would not sign the form, so ended up on the sidelines as a supporter. The more I knew about the game, the more I liked it. Having a Hall of Fame coach at our school to look up to, and to be coached by him in other sports (for me, track) was an experience that has a lot to do with the direction of my life.
Had Beethoven been a football coach, he would have been one of those who would not only demand the best from his players, he would have expected it.
From every player on every level, to each and everyone that would have had an effect or bearing on the outcome of their efforts, he would have been so “in their face.”
Demanding and expecting the best from their players is a trait that not all coaches share. Being able to show their charges what their best could be, and then showing them how to get there is the hallmark of a succcessful coach and not all men/women can do that.
Ya’ gotta believe!
It’s fun being a sports fan, although at times it can be excruciating.
The travails of the Razorbacks with the abrupt dismissal of the their football coach put a lot of folks on a roller coaster ride emotionally. With the approaching 2012 season holding so much promise for the Hogs, possibly even a national championship, it was incredibly shocking that the architect of Arkansas’ rise to power would throw everything away for a tawdry affair.
Today it was announced that John Smith would be the new head coach. Smith was a coach with Arkansas until he left for another job but he hasn’t been gone all that long as he was going to Weber State to be their coach this fall. The new head coach term will be a one-year deal, and with Smith turning 63 next year, it might be his retirement year.
The Razorbacks are looking great. Many are saying that Tyler Wilson might just be the best quarterback in the United States this fall. Others think that Knile Davis is back and could be the top running back in the land. The hires of two Ohio State coaches has done wonders for the defense and 2012 looks to be the best outlook that a U of Ateam has ever had.
It was a good time to go ... for St. Louis
Being a Cardinal fan (as in St. Louis Cardinals) I was a little perturbed that the Cards’ longtime baseball hero Albert Pujols abandoned the only team he ever knew to sign withthe Los Angeles Angels for what amounted to a 1 percent higher offer than what the hometown folksoffered.
With taxes what they arein LA and California, I am pretty sure his take home pay would have been better in St. Louis had he stayed.
I read on an ESPN web site that a lot of Pujols’ salary is being declared null and void by the league office.
The Angels wrote a “creative” contract that would help both them and Pujols avoid a lot of taxes, but it seems their jig is up.
About Pujols
When he was the humble and admired man in St. Louis, he averaged a home run every 14 timeshe came to bat. In his new home in LA, he has officially come to bat 65 times with zero home runs. He actually ranks seventh on his team in home runs hit and that is on a team that is in last place in the AL West. He is batting about 60 points below his lifetime average and the viscious LA press is starting to take shots at him.
Back in St. Louis, his spurned former team, the Cardinals are leading the division with a 10-4 wonloss record. They have won every series theyhave played this year, setting a record for teams coming off World Series championships. I believe that all but one starter for the Cards is outhitting Pujols.
He shoulda stayed.
◊◊◊
Editor’s note: John Mc-Gee is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The TIMES. He can be con tacted through The Times at prtnews@nwaonline.com.
Sports, Pages 10 on 04/25/2012