Paying your Dues - ELITETRACK

There was an interesting article inthis weeks Sports Illustrated about Lane Kiffin the very young headcoach for the Oakland Raiders. I read the article with great intereston two levels: One was how proud his father must be (Father is longtimeNFL assistant) and second is, what are his fathers contemporaries arethinking about this – What has this young whipper snapper done todeserve being a head a head coach at age 31? Iknow I have been pretty outspoken about paying your dues, but this guyhas paid some dues and he will pay some dues big time if he does notproduce. It took some guts and calculation on his part to accept thejob, also knowing that he would be working with a toxic owner in AlDavis. He has also made some interesting picks in assistant coaches. Inresponse to a reporters question about that he said: ?Sometimes youhave an assistant coach teaching the same thing for 10, 12 years in arow, almost going through the motions. I?ve got guys whose livelihoodsdepend on how they coach and how we play.? Myquestion is how many doors were opened for him because he was laneKiffin?s son that would not have opened for him. It will be interestingto watch his growth and progress.

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Vern Gambetta

Director at Gambetta Sports Training Systems

Vern is the Director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems. He has been the a conditioning coach for several MLS teams as well as the conditioning consultant to the US Men's World Cup Soccer team. Vern is the former Director of Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox and New York Mets. He has lectured and conducted clinics in Canada, Japan, Australia and Europe and has authored six books and over one hundred articles related to coaching and sport performance in a variety of sports. He has a BA in teaching with a coaching minor and an MA in Education with an emphasis in physical education from Stanford University.