MORE COACHES.

A couple weeks ago we talked about coaches on the local level. Now let's look at prominent coaches on the national level.

Some of my favorite basketball coaches are John Thompson of Georgetown, Thompson was a tough task master but he loved his players and treated his players like his own kids. Another of my favorites was Rollie Massimino of Villanova. Massimino started a game perfectly coiffed and dressed. By the end of the game Massimino looked like he had walked through a carwash. His jacket was off; his shirt, sweat- stained was pulled out of his pants and his tie was askew. . He was in on every dribble of the ball. And let’s not forget Jim Valvano from North Carolina State. The man was just intense. Who could ever forget the video of when he won the NCAA title and was walking around looking for somebody to hug?

Although I am not a big fan of pro basketball, they have a few great coaches in my estimation.

Red Holtzman, former New York Knicks coach was also a favorite along with Phil Jackson, former Chicago Bulls coach and now coaching the LA Lakers. Red Aurbach, Boston Celtics, has more achievements of any coach and general manager. If Reggie Lewis and Len Bias didn't meet untimely deaths, the dynasty would have never ended. I wonder if modern society would have let him light his victory cigar at the end of each game.

In college football, I loved Bear Bryant from Alabama. When all these end zone celebrations started Bryant told his players. "When you score, act like you have been there before." Although I seem a bit provincial the Yale. coaching staff of Carmen Cozza and defensive coordinators. Bill Narducci and Buddy Amendola were my favorites. Cozza was always a perfect gentleman but he somehow got the most out of his players. Remember 95 percent of the Ivy League players are playing for the love of the game, because very few go on to the pros. Narducci and Amendola were exactly opposite from Cozza. They were fiery, but they were in my estimation defensive geniuses.

My favorite local baseball coach in the area with Porky Vieira of the University of New Haven. Where do you start with him? He won, he turned college players into pros and he was a certified "nut.” I could do a whole column on his one-liners. If you were one of his players you did it his way or the highway.

Locally, there are two guys I admire as coaches. More than anyone else -- Lou Astorino and Vin Virgulto.. There's nobody that wanted to win more than these two, but they were high school coaches and although they wanted wins, they built productive citizens.

Astorino, Hamden High boys’ hockey coach, was a tough task master. He won numerous titles including one of his teams being rated number one in the country. His strength was in teaching and discipline. He gave his players curfews and called their homes to see if they were following curfews.

Virgulto coached Hamden High baseball, football, and badminton. All players had rules to follow, whether they were stars or not, he believed that sports are the last bastion of discipline. He once cut a freshman baseball player, because his grades were not up to par, Later, the player signed with a major league team. He thanked the coach for teaching him a lesson. Virgulto never blamed the kids for losing, but rather took the blame himself.

Now that I have rambled on about my favorite coaches let me give you my top five.

# 1 – Geno Auriemma, girls’ basketball coach at UConn. He’s brash, cocky, sarcastic, but he is a winner. He is refreshing in his own way. He doesn't give you a lot of bull. When asked why he thought he was going to win a certain game, he responded "because I have Diana Taurausi, they don't."

I am told that his practices are relentless, but I have never heard one of his players complain. In fact many of his former players have become coaches themselves.

# 2 - Joe Paterno, football Penn State. He is 82 years old and is presently negotiating a three-year contract. That says it all - he would rather talk about his players than himself.

#3 - Bill Parcells, New York football Giants among several others. “Big Tuna”, as he is nicknamed, has no peer when it comes to taking a mediocre team and making it a winner. He respects his players and they respect him.

Quarterback Phil Simms and Parcells would go nose to nose on the sidelines. After Simms had his say, he always seemed to perform better.

#4 - Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers. He is credited with helping and putting pro football where it is today. His players hated him while they were playing for him, but many later admitted he was the best thing that ever happened to them. He was a strict disciplinarian, and many of his players were actually scared of him.

# 5 - Billy Martin and Joe Torre, managers of the New York Yankees. I'm not sure why I put these two together accept that they were both winners and loved being Yankee managers. There, the similarities end.

Martin was fiery, combative type. He argued with management, umpires, and even with his own players. His ideas of a rally was a walk, steal second, bunt the runner to third and scored on a passed ball.

Torre was exactly opposite. He sat calmly on the bench, sometimes it looked like he was sleeping. If the leadoff batter got on he would rather look for the long ball to move the runner over.

Coaches come in all sizes and shapes; all strategies and temperaments. A little ways back I read a book by Phil Jackson about the triangle offense. The plays are built on the defensive reaction. I really think it is too complicated for high school or college. I sat for hours diagramming plays in trying to understand.

Many years ago a friend told me that when you read a book you should read the last chapter first. As I read the last page of the book. Here is what Coach Jackson said. "The first time he ran the offense with the Chicago Bulls, he had Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The second time was with the LA Lakers and he had Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. As I've always said, good players make good coaches