Letter to Joe - Tribute to a Great Coach

Written by Kim

I was born and raised in Pennsylvania, living in State College from age 2 to 15. Both of my parents are Penn State Alumni. I grew up watching Penn State football with my daddy, who died in 1986 and didn't live long enough to see Joe Pa's last National Championship. I have lived in California since 1986, but I watch every Nittany Lions game I can find broadcast in my area.

When I did my MBA at UC Davis, I took a class on leadership and power, and the topic of my final paper was Joe Paterno. For our team presentation, we did a mock roast and gave our professor a set of black glasses and a tie to wear so that he could pose as Joe Pa. I submit excerpts from this tribute paper to a great coach, a great leader, and a great man. May history be kind to his legacy once all facts are revealed.

JOE PATERNO’S LEADERSHIP RECORD:
“To be a successful leader you must have a genuine concern for people and their ability to trust you. Building a team and being a leader starts with your own personal integrity. It’s up to you to make it happen. True success occurs if your values and your integrity have prevailed. That is true success and that defines excellence.” - Paterno

What makes Joe Paterno a great leader? A great leader has a sense of purpose. Joe’s purpose is to be first and foremost, an educator of young men. A leader shares his vision and mission and values with those around him, inspiring them to be part of something greater and bigger than themselves. Joe Paterno has a vision of Penn State as a world-class educational and athletic institution, and he inspires his football players to serve as ambassadors. His mission for the football team is to prepare his young players not just for the football season, but also for life.

A great leader knows how to use all decision-making styles effectively, at different times to achieve team objectives. Joe will be autocratic during practice to keep the team disciplined, consultative with his coaching staff during game strategy meetings, and consensus oriented when making decisions about the future of the football program or the role of the football program in the athletics department. A great leader will have systems for measuring performance and ensuring accountability of individual team members. Each player understands his role and what he is responsible for the minute he steps out on to the field. A great leader uses data systems to measure the performance of their team. Team and individual player statistics and rankings are a regular part of measuring the Penn State winning football tradition. A great leader uses feedback systems and communicates regularly with the team to let everyone know how they are doing. The team has goals, set by the leader, and a tradition of excellence that all are proud to uphold.

JOE PATERNO’S NITTANY LIONS CULTURE:
“As I have said many times for a team to become excellent it has to overcome individual preferences and individual performances.” – Paterno

Joe’s philosophy is simple. When the team wins, the team wins. When the team loses, the coach lost and let the team down. He believes in frequent, short, organized meetings. He takes input from his coaching staff and looks to bring out the best in all of his players. Joe believes that if you take care of the little things, the big things will work themselves out. He constantly reexamines himself and his strategy to avoid becoming complacent. Relationships are the key to his success. He is very loyal, which has resulted in enormous stability on his staff. This has resulted in fewer opportunities for growth and advancement among his coaching staff, but he has always focused more on his players. Players for Penn State cross the “blue line” when they come to practice: once you cross it, you leave the rest of your life behind and come ready to work. He keeps his approach simple: no grand promises, no bad mouthing competitors school, and no hounding recruits. Team players focus on a common goal, something greater than themselves.

Joe Paterno has created a strict Penn State culture. The team’s image is consistently clean and classy. They wear plain uniforms bearing no names, the travel in ties, they follow rules of conduct, and there is no “hot dogging” or dancing or trash talking. They are student-athletes displaying poise and concentration and the moral of every player is crucial. Paterno is controlling, but genuinely sympathetic to the needs of his players. He has a lifetime open door policy and keeps track of the accomplishments of his players long after they have graduated from Penn State. He is a romantic, an idealist, and a reformer. He is intense, competitive, and thrives on adversity. He wants to be the best. He practices what he preaches.

CONCLUSION:
And once you reach your goal, you set new goals. When you reach the top, the quest then becomes staying on top with new kids.” – Joe Paterno

What more is there for a coach with so many honors and distinctions to achieve? Joe Paterno sees each new season as a fresh challenge, with new kids to lead and inspire. Joe Paterno has seen the size of Beaver Stadium increase from 41,000 to 107,000 by 1999, the largest college football stadium in the country. And the games sell out, year after year. He IS Penn State’s authentic folk hero. Paterno's thick glasses, rolled-up pant legs and white athletic socks have become signatures every bit as familiar to the Penn State faithful as the McDonald's golden arches or the Nike swoosh.

Joe Paterno’s word of wisdom? “To be with aggressive, ambitious people who have lost themselves in something bigger than they are – this is what living is all about.”

Thanks for reading,
Kim