In 2007, the Ducks went 8-4 and earned a berth in the Brut Sun Bowl. It was the 11th bowl appearance in Bellotti’s 13 years at the school.
It was no surprise, then, when that he spoke to a packed audience at the 2008 American Football Coaches Association in Anaheim this past February.
Among other topics, Bellotti offered an inside look at what makes his program successful:
“Every coach has some type of thing, whether you can put it on a wall, put it on a jersey, or on a t-shirt. It’s what you believe in. It’s something that your players hopefully buy into. We call it a pledge. What can I demand of my players, and what can I ask them to demand of themselves? Hopefully it becomes something that they not only believe in, but that they live.
“All of us want to take credit for what we did – I caught the ball, I made the tackle. Not many of us say I didn’t lift today or I’m not as strong as I need to be or I didn’t go to class or I missed that tackle. The sooner our kids understand they’re responsible for their actions and in-actions on and off the field, we’re going to have a better team.
“Sometimes we get great athletes, but they don’t believe they can do it. They’re 17-18-19-20-year-old young men. We have to teach them, and that’s our job.
“No regrets. No excuses.
“Treat your players like family. We all say that, but you really have to work at it.
“Your commitment to excellence, and your players’ commitment to excellence does not end when you walk off the field. If it does, yourself or your team will be in the paper for the wrong reasons.
“Be a positive role model for our team, our school and our community.
“Be honest with yourself and others.
“Respect men and women of all races.
“Enjoy yourself, be positive and make football fun for everyone. You have to figure out how to make practice fun. Figure out a way to make them want to come back every day. I knew this year we were going to have a good football team because at the end of spring practices, our players and coaches didn’t want to stop practicing. That’s the first time in my 35 years of coaching college football that that was the case. We were having fun and getting work done, so we didn’t want to stop.”
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Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.