All Things Must Pass II

This past January, two without a doubt future Hall of Fame football coaches retired -  University of Alabama Head Football Coach Nick Saban  and New England Patriots Head Football Coach Bill Belichik.  I posted about their anticipated retirements in a post entitled "All Things Must Pass".  Well, I learned over the weekend that another Hall of Fame coach is retiring.  University of North Carolina Women's Soccer Head Coach Anson Dorrance announced his retirement after 45 seasons.  Apparently Dorrance was UNC's first and so far (until now, of course) only women's soccer head coach, and he led the team to an overall 934-88-53 record over 45 seasons (1979-2023).  Dorrance was also the men's soccer coach from 1977 to 1988, winning 172 games and guiding UNC to an ACC title and NCAA Final Four berth in 1987.  During his tenure, the UNC women won an unprecedented 22 national championships and were the runners up six other times.  The 934 wins, 21 NCAA titles and 147 NCAA tournament wins are all the most in women's soccer history. The Tar Heels enter the 2024 season having been ranked 513 consecutive weeks.  As UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts said, "It is no exaggeration to say Anson Dorrance is one of the greatest collegiate coaches of all time, in any sport.  He has trained many of the best players in the history of U.S. women's soccer and has led our program through decades of unparalleled success."

I've posted about Dorrance in the past (see "How 'bout those Heels?").  I stated at the time that there  are a number of reasons that explain why the UNC team has been so successful under Coach Dorrance.  Without a doubt, he can identify and recruit talent for starters, but he also knows the technical aspects of soccer very well.  However, former players and coaches that have worked with Coach Dorrance consistently cite the team's winning culture.  The elements of their winning culture boil down to Twelve Core Values.  Every year, Coach Dorrance meets with the rising seniors in the spring to discuss how the team can continue to live the core values, both in their personal lives as well as on the soccer field.  Here they are:

1.  We don't whine.  

2. The truly extraordinary do something every day.  

3. And we want these four years of college to be rich, valuable and deep.  

4.  We work hard.

5.  We don't freak out over ridiculous issues or live in fragile states of emotional catharsis or create crises where none should exist.

6.  We choose to be positive.

7.  We treat everyone with respect.

8.  We care about each other as teammates and as human beings.

9.  When we don't play as much as we would like we are noble and still support the team and its mission.

10. We play for each other.

11. We are well led.

12. We want our lives (and not just in soccer) to be never ending ascension, but for that to happen properly, our fundamental attribute about life and our appreciation for it is critical.

There's a lot to say about organizational culture, and I think these Twelve Core Values are a great place to start!  Congratulations to the UNC Women's Soccer Team on a great run and good luck in the future!  More importantly, congratulations to Coach Dorrance on a job very well done!