‘It sure ain’t babysitting’: An inside look at Nick Saban’s
- Chris Low, ESPN Elder WriterJun 14, 2023, 07:00 AM ET Close College football reporter Signed up with ESPN.com in 2007
- Graduate of the University of Tennessee
TUSCALOOSA, ALA.– THE stifling heat is just beginning to reveal its teeth on a sun-splashed June morning when Nick Saban sees something he doesn’t like on the Alabama practice fields.
“Outdoors foot, outside foot. Pivot and run!” Saban yells as he bursts into the middle of a drill to passionately demonstrate how he desires it done.A couple of seconds later on, he grimaces and turns his ire on one of the assistant coaches.
“Hold it, hold it. We’re all ruined. We’re in nickel now,” he states, stepping forward with his arms restlessly crossed.Saban is not training Dallas Turner, Kool-Aid McKinstry or any person else on the Crimson Tide football team. However he may as well be.A voice over the speaker, nevertheless, makes clear this is a different type of exercise.”Brent Lewis, report to the 50-yard line. We have your helmet.
“Lewis is one of the more than 1,100 kids, ages 8 to 13, who have signed up for the famous coach’s youth football camp. Lots of are under 5 feet high, and the vast majority will not play Division I ball. But on this day, they all are getting the full Nick Saban experience– minus some vibrant words, possibly, and with a scattering of the innocence and turmoil that comes with a group of kids of those ages.”If these moms and dads are going to pay the money for their kids to come to camp, then we owe it to them to provide the complete Alabama experience, to teach them and coach them properly, “Saban says throughout his only break of the day, a 10-minute reprieve during a marathon picture shoot that included shaking hands and taking images with every camper.The campers come from as far away as Germany. They came from Canada and all over the United States, from California to Massachusetts. The youngest child of movie star Matthew McConaughey, 10-year-old Livingston, is on hand to learn from the coach who has actually won seven national championships and produced 49 NFL first-round draft choices. McConaughey, a big Texas fan, has actually remained in Birmingham filming a movie,”The Rivals of Amziah King. “The one-day, noncontact camp is intense, hectic and filled with meticulous guideline, as one might anticipate from a camp with Saban’s name attached to it.And Saban is anything however a spectator or a figurehead who makes a 10-minute appearance and lets others do the
grunt work. Throughout the early part of the camp, he hits the ground and does the stretching exercises with the kids, the exact same program Crimson Tide players do prior to practice. After having hip replacement surgery in 2019, Saban began doing the workouts with his own players to open practice.Nick Saban is barely simply a token at his annual youth football camp. The requirement stays the same as it provides for his @AlabamaFTBL players.
pic.twitter.com/OcaNzN2Lmj!.?.!— Chris Low(@ClowESPN)June 14, 2023 Straight leg increase series. Cut the grass series. Rocker series.”He does them better than most of our players,”Alabama head athletic fitness instructor Jeff Allen says.And all the while, as Saban rests on his back and whips through the stretches like he’s
still playing college football, he’s peering out into the mass of kids to make sure they’re not taking any shortcuts.” It sure ain’t babysitting,”quips Ellis Ponder, Alabama’s chief running officer for football and executive director of the camp. Kendrick Brinson for ESPN THE DAY begins witha 7:30 a.m. personnel conference, some 30 individuals strong, including Ponder’s primary assistants: JT Summerford, Brandy Lyerly and Ashleigh Kimble.
Every coach on the staff– even the coordinators making almost$2 million each year– takes part, dealing with their own individual groups. Saban passes out an 11-page package and spells out why they exist in the very first location.” We’re here to promote the game, to promote group, which you do not get a great deal of in this day and age unless you play sports,”Saban says as he rocks back and forth in his chair.”We’re going to need to have persistence. But above whatever else, they need to leave of here thinking,’I like football.’Part of the factor kids don’t play is that they have a disappointment with a coach when they’re young and never ever play again. “The camp is barely a revenue manufacturer; it costs just $50 per kid. The only uniform requirement is a helmet. Registration starts months beforehand and no walk-ups are accepted.” It’s important to me that every kid has an opportunity to come no matter what their monetary circumstance may be, “Saban says. “We’re not doing this to generate income, and it’s not a recruiting tool. We have a responsibility to grow the game.
“Obviously, in the world of recruiting, you never ever know what might cause landing an elite player.Saban began his youth camp when he was at Michigan State, brought it over to LSU and then Alabama. When he checked out highly hired security Landon Collins
back in 2012 in Collins ‘house in Geismar, Louisiana, he saw a photo on a mantel of himself
and Collins together at LSU’s camp when Collins was simply 9.”He grew up ideal outside Baton Rouge, however told me,’Coach, it was constantly a dream to come play for you, ‘” Saban stated to his staff.Editor’s Picks 2 Related Collins, ESPN’s No. 7 total prospect because 2012 signing class, went on to become an All-American at Alabama and a three-time
Pro Bowl choice in the NFL.The first time Saban addresses the campers, he does so in Alabama’s indoor practice center and before they are split into 2 groups according to age. The kids ages 8-10 stay inside
(where it’s air-conditioned), and ages 11-13 go outside.”I’ll ask you people the very same thing I initially ask our players:’Why did you concern Alabama, and what do you wish to achieve? What do you want to do?'”states Saban, his voice echoing throughout the indoor facility, with moms and dads standing shoulder-to-shoulder around the synthetic grass field.”Your goals aren’t any different. It is very important to have goals and goals since that’s what offers you a sense of function.” Saban isn’t much into reflection, however he states his thoughts normally wander back to his late daddy every year when it’s time for the kids’camp. Nick Saban Sr. was greatly involved in Pop Warner football in their hometown of Monongah, West Virginia. He drove kids to and from practice in an old school bus, coached the team and did a bit of whatever to assist the league.”
My papa liked me, however when I was 9 years of ages, he was hard as hell on me, and I’m grateful he was,”Saban states, smiling and surveying the practice fields as the campers spread to their different stations.”I’m going to be tough as hell on these kids too.” Kendrick Brinson for ESPN AS THE MORNING sessionwinds down, Saban calls numerous of the older campers together to take a knee. He places his traditional Alabama straw hat on the head of among the kids right in front of him and does not mince words. They are leaking in sweat, and he notices a lot of them flexing over and grabbing their knees throughout the middle of drills.”Listen, about 90%of you are doing it the proper way,”Saban says, his voice rising.” However what are you informing your opponent, the guy you’re competing versus, when you’re bending over like that and grabbing your knees? You understand what you’re informing him? You’re informing him,’You simply kicked my ass.’ “Stand tall, constantly, no matter how tired you are.”Numerous moms and dads being in yard chairs and lean in to hear every word. Others stand 8 to 10 rows deep on the sideline to get a glimpse of Saban training their kids. Most are collected under the shadow of Bear Bryant’s old coaching tower.Allen, the head fitness instructor, is the last football team member staying who Saban employed in 2007 when he took control of the program. After all these years, he understands to brace for the assault of campers, as the 50 athletic fitness instructors on website will go through 2,000
pounds of ice, 1,400 gallons of Gatorade and 3,600 bottles of water. And it didn’t take Allen long to determine what the camp meant to his boss. Allen accepted the task on a Friday and asked if he might wait till the following Tuesday to report. He required to get some things settled.Saban’s action informed Allen whatever he needed to know: “No, we require you here Sunday. We’ve got kid camp beginning.” Saban spends the majority of his time with the older kids, but he ducks in to examine the younger kids. Right after Saban speaks to the entire camp, a kid wearing a No. 17 Jaylen Waddle jersey rakes through the crowd, runs right approximately Saban and boldly requests his sign.”Not right now. It’s time to get to our stations and focus on why you came here– to improve,” Saban states, patting the kid on his head.Some of the youngest kids wear helmets that appear to weigh more than
they do. Dustin Owens enjoys his 8-year-old son, Hayden, from the sideline in the indoor center. They drove from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and even though Hayden is overshadowed by the other kids in his league, he plays with a ferocity that makes his daddy proud.”I understand I would most likely get killed for stating this around here, however I don’t truly provide a s– about Alabama football,”Dustin states.
“I’m more a procedure, energy and military-style person and love how [Saban] coaches, demands quality and makes them males. That’s why we’re here.”For the record, little Hayden plays nose guard on his youth team.It’s a stressful job for the coaches trying to stay up to date with the 8-and 9-year-olds. Former LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger, an offending analyst for the Tide, sees a tiny kid roaming around and looking lost. Mettenberger leans over, and the kid tells him,”I play running back.”Mettenberger conserves the day by getting him back to his position group.Coaches are continuously counting as they move their kids from station to station.”I’m missing four,”one coach states frantically.One Alabama staffer examines at Saban as he goes out of the indoor facility where the focus, not remarkably, is beginning to wane with the more youthful kids.”I’m happy Coach isn’t therein
right now,”the staffer states in a hushed voice.” He might have an aneurysm. ” Kendrick Brinson for ESPN AFTER HAVING A box lunch, the campers go by bus to Bryant-Denny Stadium. They line up around the ramps resulting in the upper decks and ultimately make their method down through the stands to the field. They’re naturally excited
, the more youthful kids a bit rowdy, and all of
them waiting on their possibility to meet football royalty.Jeff Allen and Bob Welton, Alabama’s director of player workers, have possibly the hardest tasks. They usher the kids through in rapid-fire style, keeping a nearly two-hour image shoot from ending up being even longer. “Tuck your shirts in. Company handshakes,”tight ends coach Joe Cox bellows.Before the image shoot, Saban asked the kids to tell him their names and where they’re from when it was their turn, however many are so starstruck they can’t spit out anything.One camper searches for at Saban and states,”Coach, can you get me an NIL deal?” Saban, who has actually been outspoken about how name, image and similarity deals are being utilized as a guise for pay-for-play in college sports, tells the kid to come back and see him in a few years.” I suggest, the kid’s only 9 years of ages, and he’s already striking me up about NIL, “Saban states with a wry smile, shaking his head.Another 9-year-old, Sam Phillips, from Hoover, Alabama, walks away from his photo with Saban shaking his right hand in wonder.
“I’m never washing this hand again,” Phillips beams as he dips into at his position coach, brand-new Tide offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.Rees playfully asks Phillips what he would make with his hand when he showers if he’s never going to clean it again
.”I’ll put a garbage bag around it and tie it up,”he says without missing a beat. Kendrick Brinson for ESPN FORMER ALABAMA WALK-ON offending lineman Jackson Roby, who is from
Huntsville, Alabama, wouldn’t miss out on working the camp for the world after attending multiple times as a kid.”I’ve seen this camp from every
point of view, “he states.”It never ever gets old.” Running backs coach Robert Gillespie’s daughters, Nola and Sadie, are right there front and center among the kids. Nola, 12, plays deal with football in among the boys’ leagues in Tuscaloosa. Her group, the Stampede, won the state championship last season. She plays running back similar to her daddy did.One camper who stuck out physically was 11-year-old Alex Randolph, who has deep Alabama ties.
His older brother Kendall was a senior offending lineman on last season’s team.
Another brother, Levi, played basketball at Alabama and is now playing expertly overseas.Saban watches Alex spin a tight spiral throughout individually drills, nods approvingly and states, “Great throw.”Saban had actually joked with his staff earlier in the morning that 600 of the 1,200 kids think they’re quarterbacks and “so do their parents.”
Alabama security Malachi Moore makes a quick look, indicate Alex and his size, and jokes with his coach that he had all the skill on his end of the field.Saban shoots back, “It’s called recruiting. That’s part of the game, too. “Saban’s camp tasks end right around 5 p.m.
He takes one last take a look at the protective backs– he never strays too far from the defensive backs throughout Alabama practices– before briskly strolling off the field. Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele substitutes Saban to address the campers one final time prior to they depart.The last meeting of the camp ends with a raucous”Roll Tide!”But Saban’s day isn’t over. He hurries to his home to spend the night with a group of his senior leaders. They are striking the lake on boats, floats, jet skis, a bit of whatever. It’s an annual outing for Saban, who enjoys boating and enjoys to see who
he can get rid of the float when he’s driving.For someone who will turn 72 in October, Saban’s energy is boundless. He’s going 100 mph( nearly literally )on the water as 11-
and 12-year-old kids drag themselves off the practice fields to find their moms and dads.”
I’m not exactly sure he’s ever yawned,”Ponder states.”If he has, we have actually never seen it.”For Jody Wade, whose 9-year-old boy, Dax, attended the camp for the very first time, the entire day was a pointer of why Saban has actually won more championship games than any person to ever coach the game.”I guess I should not be surprised at how well it’s run. Anything Coach Saban touches, it’s going to be that way,”states Wade, who is from Mobile, Alabama, and was a Crimson Tide cheerleader however graduated right before Saban showed up in 2007.”My favorite part, as I told among my good friends who’s with me, is that they do not let up. The standard is the very same, the exact same requirement they have here with the Alabama players.”In Saban’s world, it’s the only requirement.