Thursday, January 29, 2009

The wisdom of Coach Royal

For those of y'all who grew up watching the Longhorns in the 60's and 70's, you need no introduction to Darrell K. Royal.  Coach Royal brought the 'Horns to prominence with a pair of national championships.  He also coached scores of memorable games - though he is associated mostly with 1969's Game of the Century, a 15-14 victory over Arkansas that garnered Texas a national title.

Coach Royal believed in smash-mouth, run-oriented football.  He once said there were three things that could happen on a pass play, and two of them were bad.

He also said you've got to dance with the one that brung ya.

Although he was very conservative on the sidelines, he and Emory Bellard introduced the
most revolutionary offense (at that time), the Wishbone.  By removing a flanker and putting out an additional halfback, Coach Royal was able to take advantage of his bottomless cup full of running backs on the Forty Acres.

Said James Street (quarterback of the 1969 National Champions):
He was not a rah-rah coach. He would not give a big-game speech. He said attention to detail, kicking game and the breaks would win the game.
To win at trial you don't have to be someone that you're not. You don't have to be flashy and you don't have to be a stage actor.  Pay attention to the details, keep the focus on your story during cross-examination and you'll be able to take advantage of the breaks that come your way.

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