Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012, February 11, 1981, Section B, Page 3, Image 11

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    jody murray
double play
“I’ve always wanted to sit
down and write an editorial for a
big sports magazine and say to
coaches, ‘Hey, those people
you're beating on have lives to
live, too.’ ”
Well, the Emerald isn’t exactly
Sports Illustrated, and Oregon
swimmer George Koch, the
author of those words, isrv’t ex
actly Mark Spitz. But what the
holder of several Oregon
records says has little to do with
the breaststroke.
He is concerned with what
goes on at pool side, or on the
sidelines, or in the player’s box.
“You must think of the coach,
that’s his job," says the Oregon
senior. “He must make the kids
produce. You know how that
saying goes, ‘No pain, no
gain.' ”
But some coaches go beyond
the restraints of their salaries,
Koch says, and thereby put a
strain on the meaning of sport.
“Some coaches say, Hey,
kids, I’m the closest thing to
God you'll ever get.’ ’’
Years ago, when Koch was
competing for Portland's David
Douglas Swim Club, the only
thing he worshipped was swim
ming itself.
“They had to tie me down to
keep me from the pool. I’d get
out of a workout ready to throw
up, but it felt great.”
Perhaps it felt a bit too great,
because once Koch showed
some promise, the coaches
started getting into the act.
“It gets to the point where
coaches take over and they
begin to forget the athlete.
That’s where it gets lost.”
Koch, a physical education
major who plans a coaching
career, said a coach “has to
develop his own rapport with an
athlete.
“You are their coach, and
they respect you, but out of the
water they should respect you
as an individual.”
Some would argue that even
though Woody Hayes or Frank
Kush scared the living heck out
of their players, they had suc
cessful programs. Those
“some” would be right. But the
key phrase for these two men
isn’t “successful programs,”
it’s “had successful programs.”
Coaches who use the bull
whip method are waltzing on a
knife edge — one extracur
ricular punch at a player and
they cut themselves out of the
picture.
The athlete, in turn, constant
ly dodges a hangman’s noose
held by the coach. But the
coach is wary of the athletic
director, who is looking over his
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Give your sweetheart a
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These are large helium
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George Koch
shoulder at the administration
and alumni.
The athlete gets the nastiest
end of the pecking order. Does
it really benefit the competitor to
receive verbal and sometimes
physical abuse? Certainly any
athlete who feels a need for
such treatment is on the down
hill side of his career.
All this bitching about over
zealous coaches may sound
utopian to those who worship
Hayes or Kush or former U S.
Olympic hockey coach Herb
Brooks and his scare tactics.
But is the success of a program
a sufficient tradeoff for the
doubts of a George Koch or the
lawsuit of a Kevin Rutledge?
Apparently, yes.
Say Koch, “A lot of coaches
lose it when they forget the ath
lete is a human being and not
some animal they're trying to
train.”
Perhaps it’s the coaches who
should be caged.
LOVE FESTIVAL
Friday, Feb. 13 th
ft.
%\
Put on your BOOGIE SHOES
Show starts at 9:00
If you dare, dance till 2:00
at
Lane County Fairgrounds
$3.00 advance/$4.00 at door/$5.00 a couple
Tickets at Everybody’s and E.M.U. Main Desk also LCC Main Desk
Reservations...342-5231
2200 Centennial Blvd.
. v
*ss5$&:
i'<* ° c^ntot* Aoe y° M.V.
U^Q,Stf*0 ^0^
*** \r* q Q''
tc,00o^'c dta.
WINTER
TUNE-UP
SPECIAL!
ENGINE OIL & FILTER (IF NEED
ED) • CHASSIS LUBE • ADJUST
CARBURETOR WITH FUEL AN
ALYZER • CYLINDER COMPRES
SION • CHECK AND REPLACE IG
NITION POINTS • ADJUST VALVE
CLEARANCE • ADJUST FAN
BELT • INSPECT AND ADJUST
BRAKES • CHECK RADIATOR
COOLANT AND ADD (IF NEED
ED) • REPLACE SPARK PLUGS
4995
PARTS AND LABOR
1972 AND LATER
BUSES. RABBITS,
AND DASHERS
PARTS AND LABOR
ALL VW BEETLES,
PRE '72 BUSES, AND
ALL TYPE 3'S
OUR MECHANICS CERTIFIED BY NIASE
VOLLITEDT
VOLKSWAGEN
20 Coburg Road • 485-6111
Parts and Service
Open Saturday mornings by appointment only
Due to the already low price of the special no additional discounts will be given
Offer expires Feb. 28. 1981
This information is for the Emerald only.
It will not appear in the ad.
Name --Date
Address_Phone
Category —
Date ad starts
Hic3l?„r rwU>B3
FCA. IS
Number ot words
20
Cost
iuso