Evening star. [volume], January 15, 1961, Page 15, Image 127

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
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] ' B Spartans win! Coach Anderson collapses
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Frasier
li Ji I liJEir J~~„- 7 He used to take tension home
with him—but no more
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sion and BSH }Vin -
— ?/'" j R
Joe Clori
which his boys were leading, grabbed the timer’s
pistol. The explosion seriously scorched his face.
Another bench-bound friend of mine, out West,
tells me, "My knees start knocking before a game.
My stomach never stops rumbling. My wife says I
kick her and yell orders to the team in my sleep.
I’m a wreck and I can’t do anything about it.”
I believe that he can. Tension once came close
to lining my stomach with ulcers and my family
wasn’t happy with my snarls around the house.
Professionally, it was develop self-control or go
under. Remembering my college coach, Everett
Dean of Stanford, who remained amazingly cool
under stress, I began trying some of his methods.
And testing some of my own. These days, a frantic,
close-scoring game leaves me limp, yet I sleep and
eat well. I can smile (slightly) in defeat. My wife
and four children no longer worry about me. I feel
like a new man. If I do say so myself, it hasn’t
hurt my coaching. In four years at Michigan State,
I’ve had two championships and one second place.
And if my anti-tension technique works in the
madhouse of big-time basketball, maybe it’ll work
for you.
Like any businessman, I’m in a four-way squeeze.
I must beat tension in my relations with:
1. TAe people who work with me and under me (my
players)
2. The people Ido business with (the paying fans)
3. Those who hold authority over me (the officials)
4L My family
Here are the ways I have found to keep my rela
tions with people as relaxed as possible.
When the gete rouffh,
chamse your pace!
In 1957, the Spartans were in a combined hard
luck, bad-play streak. Purdue beat us, then we
dropped two more in a row. I felt the boys were
pepless and I gave them a good blasting at a squad
meeting, which only made things tougher. We
blew our fourth in a row. But then I began won
dering —am I as responsible for this as the boys?
Have I been driving them too hard, winding them
too tight?
At home, I told Pat, ’Tm going to build that
recreation room you’ve been wanting. Where’s the
saw and hammer?”
"Pooh,” she said. "You’ll never do it, not when
you’re working sixteen hours a day and with the
Minnesota game coming up.”
To her surprise, I headed for the basement and
waded in. In three weeks, I’d finished a long
wanted rumpus room and also found tremendous
relief from my problems. In a relaxed mood, I
stopped pressuring the team began building their
confidence. A wonderful thing happened. We
jumped into a ten-game winning streak and tied for
the league title.
So, now, when my collar Continued on next page
15