The U

I just watched "The U" 30 for 30, streaming on Netflix.  I need to look up the details to find the bibliography.

I was struck by a few things:

Coaching leadership:  There were subtle differences between the 3 coaches documented in the film.

Recruiting:  The first coach used the community for recruiting.  Miami was in the midst of incredible racial tensions, including killings and riots.  At the same time, high school football was huge.  (I believe it still is.)  The youth of these neighborhoods recognized that football was one way for them to get out.  The white coach went into the impoverished neighborhoods and recruited these young boys.  This provided him a team of talented, hard-working, local boys.  At the same time, these boys grew up in crime-ridden neighborhoods and for some of them, crime, lying, and cheating were just ways to get by.  Some of them felt this even more when, much like the Fab Five, they realized how much money the University (and the city of Miami) was making off of them while they were only provided the bare minimum (tuition, books, room, board).  For those of them with families / children, the bare minimum for themselves was not enough.  (Plus, as there is no minor league to go to instead of the NFL, there is no reason these boys HAD to have academic ambitions.  For the ones who did/do, the education and educational resources provided may have been enough of a benefit.  For those who did not have academic ambitions, there was no reason not to take money from boosters, such as 2 Live Crew.  This was just their way to get into the NFL.  And the U did put plenty of players in the NFL.)

"Office" culture:  The 3 coaches did promote different team cultures.  Some promoted the showmanship.  And none of them ever had high disciplinary expectations for the team.

I am curious to think about various team cultures and leadership through coaching in big and small sports programs, particularly at the college level (as I am focusing in Higher Education).