By Todd J. Shriber staff reporter His job is much like that of a U.S. Army general, only he is little less visible. He commands a legion, his players and staff, whose sole purpose on the football field is to keep the opposing army from scoring more points than his team. He is TCU defensive coordinator, Gary Patterson, the man who calls the plays, schemes and stunts that keep opposing offenses on its toes. Patterson toils in relative anonymity, but if his defense gives up too many points, he's sure to hear about it. The job has its upside though such as when his defense shuts out a vaunted offensive attack as it did last week against San Jose State. Patterson hails from good football stock. He had two uncles who were junior college All-Americans. One of those uncles, Harold Patterson, was the youngest player ever to be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Patterson's father also played football north of the border.
Being a college football coach is comparable to working in a Fortune 500 company, the hours are long and people skills are a must. Patterson seems to have the latter in check, but he said the hours are just part of life as a college coach. "My life is my family," said Patterson who has been married for five years and is the father of three sons. "I work 80 hours a week during the season. I think the hardest job anyone has is being a college coach's wife." Patterson's duties as a father almost came into conflict with his duties as a coach during last year's Norwest Sun Bowl while his youngest son was in the hospital with a case of pneumonia. A difficult set of circumstances didn't distract the intense Patterson. "He had a strategy that worked during the Sun Bowl," said junior linebacker Shannon Brazzell. "Every play he called seemed like it worked 100 percent. That's when I thought to myself, 'Hey, he's a pretty good defensive coordinator.'" Patterson counts the Sun Bowl as his most memorable coaching experience. "What a lot of people don't know is that I most spent every night during the week of the Sun Bowl in the hospital with my son," he said. "He got out of the hospital around half-time of the game. That was a great memory, knowing my son was all right and winning one of the biggest football games in TCU history." Patterson's love for family doesn't begin and end with his home life. He considers the entire coaching staff to be like a family; and like any good general, he realizes the importance of camaraderie and a good attitude with his lieutenants. Or, in this case, his coaching staff. "The (defensive) assistants are just as important to the defense's success as I am, if not more," he said. "We're like a family (the defensive and offensive staffs) because of all the time we spend together. You see a staff that gets along together, you see a staff that wins games." Patterson's coaching résumé reads like an itinerary for a vacation in a National Lampoon's movie. He has coached in Kansas, Tennessee, California, Oregon, the United States Naval Academy, New Mexico and now Texas. Brazzell said Patterson must have learned to be a pretty good defensive coordinator along the way. "He's the best defensive coordinator I've ever had," Brazzell said. "Nothing distracts him from doing his job. He can just throw something together in practice, and it works in the game." Brazzell said Patterson can be a source of advice beyond football. "He's a coach first, but he's always stressing grades and other things to us," he said. "He's always kicking knowledge to us about the responsibilities of having a family and putting food on the table." Patterson isn't the kind of coach to live and die with the numbers of football; he cares about winning, plain and simple. "Our expectations as a staff are so high that outside sources don't bother us," he said. "I care about putting a product on the field that coach (Dennis) Franchione and the rest of the staff are happy with. I'll let the statistics speak for themselves." In his own words, Patterson wasn't a great player while at Kansas State, but he knows what it takes to be a great coach. "Coaching is a lot like a business," he said. "It's who you know. I've tried to build a reputation on hard work and what we put on the field."
Todd Shriber
By Gibbs Colgin staff reporter The TCU challenge course gives many groups the opportunity to work as a team and individuals within the groups a chance to challenge themselves to build trust and togetherness. The course is located in the northwest corner of the Amon Carter Stadium and was started in 1992 with a grant from the Alcohol and Drug Education Center. Jason Piter, the challenge course coordinator, said the point of the course is for group members to build a sense of teamwork and communication, helping them to work together better in the classroom or on projects. "I think it's a really good opportunity for groups to work on team building and to get to know each other better," Piter said. The course consists of both high elements and low elements. Groups start out at the low elements to begin building trust. They participate in activities, such as the "trust fall," which involves group members catching each other when he or she falls backwards from about a five-foot platform. After groups participate in several low elements, they move to elements that are more challenging. The course is composed of seven different high-training elements, including a climbing wall, an incline log and parallel ropes, which participants use to cross a distance while 60 feet above the ground. Piter said the high elements builds teamwork and relationships within a group and also creates personal confidence with each individual. He said every element will build team cohesiveness, but because there is such a wide range of elements, an individual will find an activity that will meet his or her personal needs. "Everyone has different limitations," Piter said. "Not everyone feels comfortable 60 feet off the ground." The group members who do not participate in the high-element part of the course support their team members from the ground by cheering them on and giving them positive reinforcement. Many different groups and classes have used the challenge course for various reasons. Recently, seniors from the marketing department came to the course to build relationships with one another before starting on their final project. Seniors from the nursing school also come to the challenge course every year to learn how to work as a group before going into a hospital setting. Other groups, such as sororities, fraternities and the Programming Council have also used the course. Piter said they are looking into some new things for the course. The recreation sports department is currently setting up an outdoor rental program through which TCU students, faculty and staff can rent tents or sleeping bags. Eventually, the department wants to make the challenge course an outdoor recreation facility for the TCU community to enjoy on a regular basis. Piter also said he is working with the High Adventure Club, a TCU student organization that takes trips to camp, rock climb and do other outdoor activities, for ideas for the course. To make a reservation or to get more information about the challenge course call the Rickel Building at 257-7945 or the Student Center at 257-7927.
Gibbs Colgin
By Matt Welnack staff reporter If history is any indicator, then Saturday's game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane should be a record-setter. But you won't get junior tailback LaDainian Tomlinson to admit to it. "I don't predict things," Tomlinson said. "That's one thing I never do." In the two times Tomlinson has played against Tulsa, he has averaged 172.5 yards and has scored three touchdowns. Prior to this season, his two best games have come against the Golden Hurricane. Tomlinson comes into Saturday's game as the nation's leading rusher, averaging 176.4 yards per game. However, head coach Dennis Franchione said he would like to think his team's success should not depend on one player. "I'd like to think we are developing other weapons so Tulsa can't key on (Tomlinson)," Franchione said. "Those other two games (against Tulsa) don't have much bearing on this weekend." Tulsa brings a 1-4 record (0-2 Western Athletic Conference) to the table this weekend. The Golden Hurricane has lost by an average of 30 points this season. But Franchione said he does not think that is any excuse to take Tulsa for granted after TCU's 42-0 win over San Jose State last weekend. TCU upped its record to 2-3 (1-1 WAC) with the win. "We're not good enough to take anyone for granted," Franchione said. "We've had our problems this season, too. It wouldn't matter if we were playing a junior college team." Tomlinson echoed his coach's sentiments. "We have had our struggles this season and (Tulsa) can just gel at any time," Tomlinson said. Tulsa has had problems scoring in the fourth quarter this season. The Golden Hurricane haven't scored in the fourth quarter since the opening game against Southwest Missouri State. Tulsa's ground game, led by running back John Mosley's 328 yards and two touchdowns, averages only 92 yards a game. The Golden Hurricane rely on quarterback Michael Wall's arm to provide the offense. Wall threw for 290 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions on 52 attempts against Rice two weeks ago. "They have stopped themselves more than other teams have stopped them," Franchione said. Tulsa has had an extra week to prepare for TCU, something the Frogs will have to be aware of, Franchione said. "Whatever their adjustments are we have to be prepared for them," Franchione said. "We have to be ready to defend any changes they make." Franchione said he will be interested to see if the offense that scored 42 points last week will be the same one that shows up Saturday. "We'll see if last week was the real offense or not," he said. "I don't know if we can expect that every week. Tulsa is a pretty solid team." Tomlinson said the key to his success against Tulsa will be the efforts of his blockers up front. After his 300-yard game last week, Tomlinson called his offensive line "the best in TCU history." "My success has come from my offensive line, fullbacks and wide receivers blocking for me," Tomlinson said. "They leave it up to me to make one man miss."
Matt Welnack Edge Box
Student discovers hidden riflery talent while pursuing scholarship By Courtney Wheeless staff reporter ROTC and the rifle team were foreign concepts to her three years ago. Sarah Farmer, a senior psychology major from College Station, was exploring ways to pay for a college education when her dad came home with a brochure about the TCU ROTC program. Little did she know that exploring new activities, such as riflery, would reveal hidden talents. An ROTC scholarship helped to bring Farmer to TCU in the fall of 1996. Unlike the majority of the members, Farmer knew nothing about ROTC. "It was scary coming in and not knowing anything," Farmer said, "But I learned a lot quick." Farmer then learned about the TCU women's rifle team through an ROTC class. Pleased with her new involvement in ROTC, she was willing to try something else in which she had no experience. NCAA rules require student athletes to be "cleared" to practice. Farmer said there were many new girls who also had to go through the same paperwork, but for some reason her application took the longest. Farmer said she felt left out in the wait to be cleared to shoot. Once the paperwork was in, she anxiously took aim in the range, unaware of the talent for riflery she possessed. Farmer said the first time she shot a rifle, she was amazed at the talent that had been hidden for the first 18 years of her life. "From then on, the pressure was there to continue to improve," Farmer said. Sitting at the No. 1 spot on the rifle team, Farmer has more than enough pressure to perform well all the time. Besides carrying a full load of schoolwork and her ROTC responsibilities, Farmer said she dedicates about five to 10 hours a week practicing her shooting. Farmer said it doesn't matter how many hours she practices, it's never enough for Coach Roger Ivy. She also said she sometimes finds it difficult to divide her time between her ROTC and rifle team responsibilities. "It's really hard being on the rifle team and knowing we have no scholarships," Farmer said, "ROTC is paying for my school, and I have to put that first always." Successful seasons on the rifle team make her busy schedule worthwhile. Farmer said although she didn't come to college to shoot, she knows she'll miss it once after she graduates in May. In exchange for a college education through the ROTC program, Farmer owes the U.S. Army eight years of service. Farmer finds out in December what branch of the U.S. Army she'll be going into and, then where she will be stationed in March. Farmer said she is scared about the placement because it is something completely out of her hands. "I'd like to go into medical service corps," Farmer said, "I'd like to go into counseling and work with patients."
Courtney Wheeless |
"I grew up in a small town
(Rozel, Kan.) where all there was to do was athletics," Patterson
said. "I didn't know I wanted to be a college coach. I thought I'd
be a high school coach, but I got an opportunity to be a graduate assistant
(at Kansas State). That's really how it started."| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |