The Winner’s Manual: For the Game of Life shares former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel’s “Big Ten” fundamentals for success: Attitude, Discipline, Faith, Handling Adversity & Success, Excellence, Love, Toughness, Responsibility, Team, and Hope. It was written in 2008 in Columbus, Ohio. It was written when Tressel was the head football coach at Ohio State. Peppered with personal stories from Tressel’s storied coaching career, the book shares the fundamental lessons that he imparted to his players since the late 1980s. A perfect blend of football stories, spiritual insights, motivational reading, and practical application. The Winner’s Manuel will be of interest to everyone. Do you think the lessons in the Winner’s Manual will be applicable to you?
The Winner’s Manual by Jim Tressel
In the Winner’s Manual, Tressel gives all of his knowledge from more than two decades as the head coach at Youngstown State and Ohio State. Tressel’s father (Lee Tressel) was also a coach at Baldwin-Wallace University, so you know the advice is sound. Much like Chosen Suffering by Tom Ryan, this book should appeal to everyone because of its many leadership teachings. In fact, one could view the Winner’s Manual as a book on leadership. Its many practical lessons ring true, and the advice given in the Winner’s Manual should appeal to everyone. To boot, the book is written in a readable and approachable manner that should appeal widely.
Jim Tressel
Ohio State sorely needed a new head football coach when Jim Tressel was hired. It is not surprising he wrote a Winner’s Manual; he did a lot of winning. Tressel replaced John Cooper following a loss to unranked South Carolina in the 2001 Outback Bowl. Tressel was a bit of a surprise hire from Youngstown State. His focus was on the right place.
While addressing the Ohio State community during halftime of a basketball game just after being hired as head coach, Tressel declared, “I can assure you that you will be proud of your young people in the classroom, in the community, and most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the football field.” Tressel also had a countdown clock to the Michigan Game installed in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Tressel did a lot of winning while the head football coach at Ohio State. He had two separate, nineteen-game winning streaks and was. Jim Tressel was 9-1 against rival Michigan. Tressel’s winning percentage is the second-highest in Ohio State history. Winner’s Manual highlights the leadership techniques he used as the catalyst for winning.
The Senator
Tressel is known as ‘The Senator’ for his conservative dress and play. So-called Tressel-Ball is a very conservative approach to football that relies on defense and the running game. Tressel thinks, and wrote, that a team should end every drive with a kick and that a good punt is a good play. Tressel is also famous because of his conservative dress. He wore a sweater vest everywhere, including while coaching, and inspired countless Buckeye fans to buy sweater vests.
Notable Football Players While Tressel was Head Coach
Tressel coached many noteworthy players while at Ohio State. Perhaps the most notable was running back Maurice Clarett. Clarett burst on the scene as a freshman during the 2002-2003 season. He rushed for 1,237 yards that season and scored 18 touchdowns. Clarett is the author of probably the greatest play in college football history.
In the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, against an undefeated University of Miami football team in the national championship game. Ohio State was driving deep in Miami territory when Miami safety Sean Taylor intercepted a pass from Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel. Clarett tracked Taylor down, tackled him, stripped him of the ball, and recovered the fumble.
Clarett left the team after one season, trying to go professional, at that time, the National Football League did not allow freshmen to declare for the draft. However, the die was cast for Clarett, who would never play for Ohio State again. He tried and tried to have a professional career. He played semi-pro football. Subsequently, he was arrested for drunk driving, he developed a problem with alcohol, and a loaded gun was found in his car. Clarett went to prison. There, he turned his life around, probably leveraging lessons in the Winner’s Manual, and says Tressel is like a father to him.
Conclusion
The Winner’s Manual, by Jim Tressel (the former football coach at the Ohio State University), is an accessible book that teaches leadership lessons that should apply to a wide range of people. Tressel is known as ‘The Senator’ for his conservative approach to the game of football. That conservative approach is evident in his book as well. The conservative approach has affected many people, including his best former player.
