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  • UCLA Football: Over the Wall and Off the Field


    Stephen Dunn, Getty Images

    Scott Robinson

    T.S. Eliot once said, “A tradition without intelligence is not worth having.”

    Well you have to wonder what a 6-7 football team is thinking, especially after just losing their coach, when they ditch practice in a renewed sense of “team spirit.” I’d be willing to bet newly instilled coach Jim L. Mora’s objectives of team discipline will not be one to let such a fruitless tradition survive. But what does Mora have to say about “Over the Wall?”

    From Jon Gold:


    “…I can tell you that my general feeling is that if they want to skip out of practice and jump over a wall, then they might as well just keep going… It's completely unacceptable and it will not be part of the program going forward. It's a [privilege] not a [right] to play football for the UCLA Bruins”

    A just response. Clear. Direct. Diligent. Welcome to the new face of UCLA Football: “Mora, grit.” I would venture to say that Mora understands that the kids at Western Kentucky would be salivating at a chance to practice for one more game. Mora gets it:



    UCLA’s football players might not, not just yet.

    Any team without the understanding that practice can only be to their benefit will learn sooner or later that great programs are built on the foundations of the practice field, not on game-day. Regardless if ditching practice is justified as within the vein of “team bonding,” a good coach will always tell you the best players are those who want to play, those that need to play. A player who strives to always get better and has that innate hunger is what moves the “needle” for any squad. It might be a question of motivation—but does this roster have any? Hopefully Mora’s response will catalyze the changes required to relay what is otherwise a captain-state-the-obvious statement: practice is an opportunity.

    With Mora’s hire comes a fresh opportunity to separate those who have that want, that need, and with some luck that will deliver the best coaching product we’ve seen in Westwood in over ten years.

    The Little Details

    So what sort of traditions should these players be looking to embody? As a history major, I am akin to reviewing the past. With this in mind, I look back to UCLA’s most successful coach in history: Ten-time Men’s Basketball National Champion, Coach John Wooden.

    From They Call Me Coach (105; Wooden, Tobin):

    “Over the years I have become convinced that every detail is important and that success usually accompanies attention to little details. It is this, in my judgment, that makes for the difference between champion and near champion.”


    It was from this paradigm that Coach Wooden made sure his players paid attention to everything required to be successful. Coach infamously started his practices with first teaching players how to properly put on their equipment. In a way, Wooden provided an opportunity to create a means of automatism. Practice became the venue where his players participated not just for repetition, but for creating the good habits where they became accustomed to their roles and strategy as second nature. Beginning with socks.

    “One of the little things I watched closely was a player’s socks. No basketball player is better than his feet. If they hurt, if his shoes don’t fit, or if he has blisters, he can’t play the game. It is amazing how few players know how to put on a pair of socks properly… Wrinkles which cause blisters can be eliminated by just a little attention.” (They Call Me Coach; 105; Wooden, Tobin)

    The little things are what Wooden described as the difference between success and failure. Another related quote from the annals of Coach: “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.” So, why not start with going to practice? Thankfully, Mora appears to have stated his expectations in the face of this lack of understanding. However, there is still much work to be done…

    A Team in Turmoil

    Jon Gold also reports QB Richard Brehaut is “suspended for Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl for violation of team rules.” Additionally, three players have been ruled academically ineligible. Per Gold: “Tony Dye, Alberto Cid and Isaiah Bowens academically ineligible for Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl” With the team responding to what appears to be the vacuums of change, turning the page with Mora provides a clean break. A material change is needed, one straying away from the continued unsettling and uninspired behavior from the past year’s mediocre football team. A change towards a mantra of respect and thankfulness for the opportunity to don a Bruin uniform is required to bring Bruin football back to relevancy.

    As Mora stated on air with KLAC 570’s “Loose Cannons” this morning:

    “It’s about responsibility and it's about accountability.”


    Perhaps with the right direction and a new focus on the “little details,” Mora’s squad will get right back on track.

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