Pennsylvania Duck Moderator No. 1 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Dan Lanning’s Ducks are following a familiar blueprint, but they’re building something completely different in Eugene. Whenever a coach leaves a job to take over a new program, there are bits and pieces that he borrows. Maybe a coordinator here or a support staffer there. Perhaps he borrows practice blueprints and various organizational strategies. But how to affect players and get the best out of them is something that can be far more difficult to grasp. You can recruit at the approximate level of the best teams in the sport, but can you get them to actually perform? It’s the great mystery of team sports, especially with a bunch of 18- to 22-year-olds. There’s a list a mile long of coaches hired off a coaching tree who aren’t able to replicate the success of their former bosses. You don’t have to think long to arrive at your favorite failed knockoff version of Nick Saban, who is himself a product of the Bill Belichick tree, which has produced similarly spoiled fruit. Whenever any coach is hired from a tree, fans focus on how close the on-field product develops in the Saban mold. But some of Saban’s most important work has been around the mental aspect of the game. The same can be said of Kirby Smart, and now Oregon coach Dan Lanning, who worked for both of them along the way to Eugene. In Athens, Lanning met Drew Brannon and Cory Shaffer of AMPLOS, a performance psychology firm that has worked with Clemson and Georgia, among various other corporate clients. The word is Latin for growth and development, and it’s the growth mindset preached that is a key foundation of how the Ducks have built success. This is an interesing article that helps you understand Lanning's coaching style. To access the details in the article, click here. 1 1 1 4 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar No. 2 Share Posted October 11, 2023 (edited) Kinda all sounds like "WIN THE DAY" to me. I wish UO never let go of that motto for that reason, that it is a cornerstone of sports psychology. It wasn't trademarked and doesn't have to be tied exclusively to Chip Kelly. I sure wasn't happy when Taggart replaced it with "Do Something." Edited October 11, 2023 by Solar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augduck No. 3 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Agree about 'Win the Day' but again it was most closely equated with Chip and I understand why they don't use it. Each coach wants to put their trademark on things. I love one thing Dan really harps on which is to 'play the game NOT the occasion' (I sure hope they remember that on Saturday and not get caught up in the hype). I think they will and one key factor, Nix is very mature. Not saying Penix is not as well but Bo definitely has a level of maturity in him that I think fuels that team. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 4 Share Posted October 11, 2023 You improve 1% a day, but a key is it needs to be measurable. The article talked about how the players new what they needed, but were confused as to wether they had accomplished it, pretty much sones up the Mario years. With Lanning the goals and messages are concise and measurable. Before the Colorado game there was no reaction to the talk most saw before the game, message was clear. Growth mindset and improving 1% a day are powerful tools. They have changed the program profoundly. Along with clear messaging Lanning has the team on a roll. I look forward to hearing about the messaging this week. I am sure it is cleaner than what has been communicated here, although our is loud and clear too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 5 Share Posted October 11, 2023 (edited) Thank you, PA. And thank you, Richard Johnson. Great article. Victoriam in Aquilone! Victory in the North! Edited October 11, 2023 by Jon Joseph 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Washington Waddler Moderator No. 6 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Great post. Yet again, reminded that the really successful coaches never forget that they are first and foremost educators; that student athletes describes exactly who they are dealing with. DL gets that. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Sousa No. 7 Share Posted October 12, 2023 Reading the article, watching the vids... the question comes to mind, ¿How can we lose? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 8 Share Posted October 12, 2023 On 10/11/2023 at 1:37 PM, Solar said: Kinda all sounds like "WIN THE DAY" to me. I feel Lanning is a bit more subtle. With Kelly and Helfrich is was all about the faceless opponent from week-to-week. This is more explicitly Oregon is going against Oregon. It's about growth and improvement and it doesn't matter who they actually play because as long as they beat their standard they'll win. It has that competive drive focused on a face.... But that face is just themselves in the mirror. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevada Dawg No. 9 Share Posted October 12, 2023 I and a couple of my Bama friends actually think the "culture" is not as strong as it used to be at Alabama and that part of the reason for that is that Kirby Smart is no longer there. I know that DL was aware of that vibe at Georgia because I heard him talk about it in interviews while he was DC in Athens. I figured that culture would be a big deal for Dan after he moved to Eugene. I am not as wired to what's going on in the Ducks program as I am with the Dawgs, but hearing you guys talking so much about the rapidly evolving culture there convinces me that my prediction is coming to fruition. Go Ducks!!! 1 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 10 Share Posted October 12, 2023 I like the “culture” that DL is building at Oregon. Emphasizing “Oregon” standards and mapping out a mental approach to growing as an individual and team. When reading the article talking about the 90% mental vs. 10% physical approach to winning football games. I immediately thought about how Cristobal preaches the physical part of the game. Which is really the bull in the china shop mentality. His emphasis on “physicality”, lacks attention to the mental side of winning games. Which he demonstrated so well with his latest coaching disaster. A mistake that most would think would only happen one time in a career. Amusingly, we saw it happen again. Only this time to a team that paid a large amount of money to bring “their guy” to Miami. Many of their fans already want a new coach Thanks for that $8 million buyout Miami. Priceless. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioDuck No. 11 Share Posted October 12, 2023 On 10/12/2023 at 9:36 AM, Drake said: I like the “culture” that DL is building at Oregon. Emphasizing “Oregon” standards and mapping out a mental approach to growing as an individual and team. When reading the article talking about the 90% mental vs. 10% physical approach to winning football games. I immediately thought about how Cristobal preaches the physical part of the game. Which is really the bull in the china shop mentality. His emphasis on “physicality”, lacks attention to the mental side of winning games. Which he demonstrated so well with his latest coaching disaster. A mistake that most would think would only happen one time in a career. Amusingly, we saw it happen again. Only this time to a team that paid a large amount of money to bring “their guy” to Miami. Many of their fans already want a new coach Thanks for that $8 million buyout Miami. Priceless. It's just the second year and maybe it's a little pre-mature, but I'm sure feeling like Oregon has a mighty big upgrade at HC from MC to DL. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
