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More Than Winning
"The only way I want to stay in this for any length of time, I thought, is if I can be a head football coach where I can take control of my own destiny."
--Tom Osborne
At age 28, young Tom Osborne made this resolve when he agreed to join Bob Devaney's full-time coaching staff at the University of Nebraska. With his commitment to football came a secret determination to be a head coach by the time he reached age 35. Little did he know that his goal would chart his course toward becoming one of the nation's premier coaches.
Six years later, in 1972, Osborne's knowledge and experience in athletics, plus his hard work as assistant coach, gave Devaney the confidence to name Osborne as his successor as head coach. Tom had been an outstanding athlete in his own right, playing three sports during high school and later at Hastings College. He won the honor of Nebraska "Athlete of the Year" in his senior year of high school and twice won State College "Athlete of the Year"--a feat no one else had accomplished. he then went on to play professional football and to earn his master's and doctorate in educational psychology.
Throughout all these years in sports, he was developing his unusual and inspiring philosophy of coaching. He saw it wasn't winning that mattered so much as the process of athletics. He also realized early on that a coach can't define personal success by a winning record alone.
"It really isn't so much achieving the end result--the national championships and the trophies," Osborne says. "I love the process--the preparation, the effort, the strategy, the players, the games."
In More Than Winning, Tom Osborne gives an in-depth personal account of his life--the forces that shaped his values, his own accomplishments in sports, and his experiences as a coach at Nebraska. He shares personal perspectives on football greats such as Turner Gill, Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier, Dave Rimington, and others. He gives his view of key Nebraska games such as the quest for the national title against Miami in 1984. Throughout, he maintains that his strength and success come from a deep faith in God and a desire to honor Him with his talents.
--Tom Osborne
At age 28, young Tom Osborne made this resolve when he agreed to join Bob Devaney's full-time coaching staff at the University of Nebraska. With his commitment to football came a secret determination to be a head coach by the time he reached age 35. Little did he know that his goal would chart his course toward becoming one of the nation's premier coaches.
Six years later, in 1972, Osborne's knowledge and experience in athletics, plus his hard work as assistant coach, gave Devaney the confidence to name Osborne as his successor as head coach. Tom had been an outstanding athlete in his own right, playing three sports during high school and later at Hastings College. He won the honor of Nebraska "Athlete of the Year" in his senior year of high school and twice won State College "Athlete of the Year"--a feat no one else had accomplished. he then went on to play professional football and to earn his master's and doctorate in educational psychology.
Throughout all these years in sports, he was developing his unusual and inspiring philosophy of coaching. He saw it wasn't winning that mattered so much as the process of athletics. He also realized early on that a coach can't define personal success by a winning record alone.
"It really isn't so much achieving the end result--the national championships and the trophies," Osborne says. "I love the process--the preparation, the effort, the strategy, the players, the games."
In More Than Winning, Tom Osborne gives an in-depth personal account of his life--the forces that shaped his values, his own accomplishments in sports, and his experiences as a coach at Nebraska. He shares personal perspectives on football greats such as Turner Gill, Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier, Dave Rimington, and others. He gives his view of key Nebraska games such as the quest for the national title against Miami in 1984. Throughout, he maintains that his strength and success come from a deep faith in God and a desire to honor Him with his talents.
162 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 8, 2021
The most impressive statement in this book is when Osborne states that Nebraska led the nation in Academic All-Americans, and by a two-to-one margin. This was during a period when Nebraska was a football powerhouse, in contention every year for the national championship and winning three in the nineties. Osborne instituted several major changes, including year-round weight training, nutrition and other conditioning.
While Osborne openly states his religion, he does not flaunt it, stating that all he prayed for was safety, health and a game that was cleanly played and properly officiated. He also points out some of the absurd aspects of the NCAA rules, when Nebraska was cited for violating an obscure rule, he took the blame. Openly admitting that he didn’t know the rule existed, he accepted it saying that he should have known.
Osborne was also a master at growing players into starring roles. Allowing men to walk on and letting them take as much as years before they developed into a quality player was a trait of the program. He also showed courage and his winning resolve when he went for two points and the win against Miami in the 1984 Orange Bowl.
A coach that did things right and was rewarded for it, Osborne demonstrated that you could follow the rules, avoid being the ruthless taskmaster, be gracious towards others and still be one of the most successful coaches of all time.
While Osborne openly states his religion, he does not flaunt it, stating that all he prayed for was safety, health and a game that was cleanly played and properly officiated. He also points out some of the absurd aspects of the NCAA rules, when Nebraska was cited for violating an obscure rule, he took the blame. Openly admitting that he didn’t know the rule existed, he accepted it saying that he should have known.
Osborne was also a master at growing players into starring roles. Allowing men to walk on and letting them take as much as years before they developed into a quality player was a trait of the program. He also showed courage and his winning resolve when he went for two points and the win against Miami in the 1984 Orange Bowl.
A coach that did things right and was rewarded for it, Osborne demonstrated that you could follow the rules, avoid being the ruthless taskmaster, be gracious towards others and still be one of the most successful coaches of all time.
September 26, 2017
Informing. More than Winning by Tom Osborne is nonfiction and is very informing about the life of a college football coach. It talks about Osborne's life when he was young and as an assistant and head college football coach. It starts by talking about his childhood in Hastings. It then talks about his High School career. He played football, baseball, basketball, and track while he was in high school. It then talks about how he went to Hastings College. He played football, basketball, and track when he was in college. He played Quarterback in football and was then drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. He was moved to Wide Receiver and played on the practice squad. Then after a couple of years he went to the Washington Redskins and was a starter. He retired after a couple more years with the Redskins and went back to Nebraska. After Osborne's playing career he went back to Nebraska and became an assistant coach at Nebraska under Bob Devaney. He worked his up the coaching staff and became the offensive coordinator when Nebraska won their championships in the 1970's. When Devaney retired he named Osborne the head coach. Osborne talks about the ups and downs in the program. He also talks about the recruiting that he had to do and the rule changes over the years. He also explains what some of the scandals that have taken place at Nebraska over the years. Another thing he talks about is some of the success stories that there have been in the program. The last thing he talks about is what more than winning means.
I think that the story captured the attention the reader by the information that it provided, the people that it talked about, and Osborne's interesting life. It really creates a picture into the life as a coach. The theme was useful in which winning isn't everything, you can do everything right and have a few bad breaks and lose. I like the theme because it is really important in knowing that you can't win everything.
I think that the book was very interesting. I like the stories about recruiting different players and the challenges that he faced with each situation. Another thing I liked was how it talked about Osborne's life before he was a coach. One thing that I didn't like was the ending of the book. I didn't like how it talked about some of the lessons and stuff like that, I just found that it was a little boring. Overall it was a very interesting and informing book and I liked it a lot.
I think that the story captured the attention the reader by the information that it provided, the people that it talked about, and Osborne's interesting life. It really creates a picture into the life as a coach. The theme was useful in which winning isn't everything, you can do everything right and have a few bad breaks and lose. I like the theme because it is really important in knowing that you can't win everything.
I think that the book was very interesting. I like the stories about recruiting different players and the challenges that he faced with each situation. Another thing I liked was how it talked about Osborne's life before he was a coach. One thing that I didn't like was the ending of the book. I didn't like how it talked about some of the lessons and stuff like that, I just found that it was a little boring. Overall it was a very interesting and informing book and I liked it a lot.
October 25, 2012
Read it in one setting. Fantastic book focusing on the process of competition rather than the end result. Written by one of the most impressive human beings I've ever known of. Tom Osborne is a man of unwavering faith, unquestionable character, and unmatched integrity.
April 18, 2013
When the goal is raising up and developing excellent men, the result is an excellent football program. Coach Osborne is a man who exemplifies integrity, character, and faith.
June 23, 2013
Learned a few good lessons. I thought it was going to be better though.
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May 29, 2014Just finished this one...it's not the best-written book ever, but the stories and lessons are worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews