Grant Wahl reports it was obvious that U.S. coach Bob Bradley enjoyed spending a week before the World Cup at his alma mater, Princeton, site of the South Africa-bound USA's training camp.
Bradley flashed his biggest smile of the week when he posed with Hall of Famer Pete Carril, the 79-year-old former Princeton basketball coach. As a young soccer coach at Princeton in the 1980s, Bradley latched onto Carril, who served as a sort of Yoda figure, offering wisdom to Bradley at one of the local watering holes, writes Wahl.
“Normally you’re in a conversation with somebody and you say ‘A’ and they say ‘B’ and it keeps going from there,” Bradley recalled. “I found out early from Pete, I would say ‘A’ and he’d maybe say ‘W.’ At some point you then understand that there’s other ways to see things. When you’re a coach and you come in contact with people who do see things a little differently, who see it at a different level, who challenge you, that’s important. To have him show up was great.”
Bradley’s admiration for Carril is nothing new. One quirk about Princeton is that every undergraduate is required to write a senior thesis, and all those theses are available for public reading at the Mudd Library on campus. For most Princeton students, the senior thesis is a life-changing project, the closest they will ever come to writing a book.
The people who often come to read old theses are journalists looking for background information on Princeton alums like Michelle Obama, Elena Kagan and David Duchovny. Last week I went to read Bradley’s senior thesis from 1980. Titled “The History of Intercollegiate Athletics at Princeton,” the 105-page thesis examines a number of sports, including the basketball team that was coached by Carril.
Last week I went to read Bradley’s senior thesis from 1980. Titled “The History of Intercollegiate Athletics at Princeton,” the 105-page thesis examines a number of sports, including the basketball team that was coached by Carril.
On page 56, one of Bradley’s paragraphs from 30 years ago stood out: “Carril is not able to recruit the top-notch city talent. In fact, many of his players are barely recruited by other schools. But Carril is able to take these players and teach them his patient, intelligent style. Carril’s teams are noted for their tough defense, patient, often deliberate offense, taking only the good shot, and team play. To me, there is nothing better than to watch a Princeton basketball team frustrate and beat a ‘bigger and better’ team. Yes, the coaching staff is definitely very important.”
Know what that sounds like? A mission statement for Bradley as the coach of this U.S. team on the eve of the World Cup.
Bradley flashed his biggest smile of the week when he posed with Hall of Famer Pete Carril, the 79-year-old former Princeton basketball coach. As a young soccer coach at Princeton in the 1980s, Bradley latched onto Carril, who served as a sort of Yoda figure, offering wisdom to Bradley at one of the local watering holes, writes Wahl.
“Normally you’re in a conversation with somebody and you say ‘A’ and they say ‘B’ and it keeps going from there,” Bradley recalled. “I found out early from Pete, I would say ‘A’ and he’d maybe say ‘W.’ At some point you then understand that there’s other ways to see things. When you’re a coach and you come in contact with people who do see things a little differently, who see it at a different level, who challenge you, that’s important. To have him show up was great.”
Bradley’s admiration for Carril is nothing new. One quirk about Princeton is that every undergraduate is required to write a senior thesis, and all those theses are available for public reading at the Mudd Library on campus. For most Princeton students, the senior thesis is a life-changing project, the closest they will ever come to writing a book.
The people who often come to read old theses are journalists looking for background information on Princeton alums like Michelle Obama, Elena Kagan and David Duchovny. Last week I went to read Bradley’s senior thesis from 1980. Titled “The History of Intercollegiate Athletics at Princeton,” the 105-page thesis examines a number of sports, including the basketball team that was coached by Carril.
Last week I went to read Bradley’s senior thesis from 1980. Titled “The History of Intercollegiate Athletics at Princeton,” the 105-page thesis examines a number of sports, including the basketball team that was coached by Carril.
On page 56, one of Bradley’s paragraphs from 30 years ago stood out: “Carril is not able to recruit the top-notch city talent. In fact, many of his players are barely recruited by other schools. But Carril is able to take these players and teach them his patient, intelligent style. Carril’s teams are noted for their tough defense, patient, often deliberate offense, taking only the good shot, and team play. To me, there is nothing better than to watch a Princeton basketball team frustrate and beat a ‘bigger and better’ team. Yes, the coaching staff is definitely very important.”
Know what that sounds like? A mission statement for Bradley as the coach of this U.S. team on the eve of the World Cup.
I just started reading Carril's 'The Smart Take From the Strong', and I am excited to learn more about Yoda's teachings...
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