Razno
2006.02.21. – Katarina Tepesh – Book Review “THE EDUCATION OF A COACH” by David Halberstam
… Ivan
Bilicic came to America in 1897 from the area near Karlovac. While
still in Croatia, Ivan married Marija Barkovic. They were supposed to
stay in touch, but because he had never been to school, which were
several kilometers away, Ivan could neither read nor write, and so he
could not contact her…..
Bilicic came to America in 1897 from the area near Karlovac. While
still in Croatia, Ivan married Marija Barkovic. They were supposed to
stay in touch, but because he had never been to school, which were
several kilometers away, Ivan could neither read nor write, and so he
could not contact her…..
Through thirty-one years in the NFL, Bill Belichick
has proved himself to be one of the most formidable and highly
intelligent coaches in football history. He has worked his way up from
the very bottom, serving with seven different teams (including a brief,
flawed term as head coach in Cleveland) before becoming the head coach
of the New England Patriots in 2000. His work has always been defined
by the exceptional preparation of his team and his almost unique
ability to break down opponents’ game film and to anticipate their next
moves. Belichick has shied away from media and remained an elusive and
inscrutable figure, implacable and focused wholly on the game. Now,
Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist, national bestselling author, and
world-renowned historian David Halberstam has turned his incomparable
love and knowledge of American sports to football in THE EDUCATION OF A COACH.
Halberstam
writes not merely a biography of Belichick, but a rigorous examination
of the ways in which his intelligence, discipline, and abilities have
made him so successful despite the ever-changing face of football and
the media scrutiny that accompanies it.
With
rare cooperation from Belichick, Halberstam starts the story with
Belichick’s childhood and the impact that his father, Navy coach Steve
Belichick, one of the most respected scouts of his era, had on him.
Steve started teaching his son how to break down film at the age of
nine, instilling in Bill the work ethic of his immigrant family.
Ivan
Bilicic came to America in 1897 from the area near Karlovac. While
still in Croatia, Ivan married Marija Barkovic. They were supposed to
stay in touch, but because he had never been to school, which were
several kilometers away, Ivan could neither read nor write, and so he
could not contact her.
Marija
set out for America with her brother Nick to find Ivan. Not speaking a
word of English, the two arrived here and started searching the
Croatian enclaves of western Pennsylvania, the coal mining and steel
manufacturing part of the country. They went town by town, looking for
Ivan, until they found him by luck and hard work in Monessen, a tough
steel town just south of Pittsburgh, where he worked for Pittsburgh
Steel. All five of the Bilicic children were born in Monessen,
including Steve in 1919. Anna, the first family member born in the
United States, told her first-grade teacher that her last name is
Bilicic. The teacher changed it to Belichick, thereby earning the
undying hatred of Marija Barkovic Bilicic for corrupting the family
name.
Steve was a lifetime member of the Croatian Fraternal Union www.CroatianFraternalUnion.com from Pittsburgh.
“The Education of a Coach” by David Halberstam published by Hyperion $24.95
has proved himself to be one of the most formidable and highly
intelligent coaches in football history. He has worked his way up from
the very bottom, serving with seven different teams (including a brief,
flawed term as head coach in Cleveland) before becoming the head coach
of the New England Patriots in 2000. His work has always been defined
by the exceptional preparation of his team and his almost unique
ability to break down opponents’ game film and to anticipate their next
moves. Belichick has shied away from media and remained an elusive and
inscrutable figure, implacable and focused wholly on the game. Now,
Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist, national bestselling author, and
world-renowned historian David Halberstam has turned his incomparable
love and knowledge of American sports to football in THE EDUCATION OF A COACH.
Halberstam
writes not merely a biography of Belichick, but a rigorous examination
of the ways in which his intelligence, discipline, and abilities have
made him so successful despite the ever-changing face of football and
the media scrutiny that accompanies it.
With
rare cooperation from Belichick, Halberstam starts the story with
Belichick’s childhood and the impact that his father, Navy coach Steve
Belichick, one of the most respected scouts of his era, had on him.
Steve started teaching his son how to break down film at the age of
nine, instilling in Bill the work ethic of his immigrant family.
Ivan
Bilicic came to America in 1897 from the area near Karlovac. While
still in Croatia, Ivan married Marija Barkovic. They were supposed to
stay in touch, but because he had never been to school, which were
several kilometers away, Ivan could neither read nor write, and so he
could not contact her.
Marija
set out for America with her brother Nick to find Ivan. Not speaking a
word of English, the two arrived here and started searching the
Croatian enclaves of western Pennsylvania, the coal mining and steel
manufacturing part of the country. They went town by town, looking for
Ivan, until they found him by luck and hard work in Monessen, a tough
steel town just south of Pittsburgh, where he worked for Pittsburgh
Steel. All five of the Bilicic children were born in Monessen,
including Steve in 1919. Anna, the first family member born in the
United States, told her first-grade teacher that her last name is
Bilicic. The teacher changed it to Belichick, thereby earning the
undying hatred of Marija Barkovic Bilicic for corrupting the family
name.
Steve was a lifetime member of the Croatian Fraternal Union www.CroatianFraternalUnion.com from Pittsburgh.
“The Education of a Coach” by David Halberstam published by Hyperion $24.95
{loadposition user18}
