Pete Carroll - Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play Like a Champion

Table of Contents

Additional Praise for Pete Carroll and Win Forever

Coach Carroll has taught me that to be a true competitor, a true warrior, a person must master ones own doubts, passions, and fears to obtain self-knowledgeself-knowledge being one of the greatest virtues an athlete can attain.

Troy Polamalu, safety, Pittsburgh Steelers

Coach Carroll will forever be remembered as one of the best coaches in the history of college football. Even though we may find ourselves on opposite sides of the field now that hes back in the NFL, I cant thank Pete enough for everything he taught me during my last two years at USC and helping me become the player I am today.

Carson Palmer, quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals

Pete Carroll taught me what it takes to compete at a high level. He believed in me, and in those three years I started for him at USC, we accomplished things that no other team will ever accomplish. Because of Coach Carroll, his Win Forever philosophy, and how he prepared us, we never once felt the pressure of being on top.

Matt Leinart, quarterback, Arizona Cardinals

Coach Carroll is the fiercest competitor I know. Not only as a coach, but also as a mentor and, more important, a friend. That mentality allowed me to enter the NFL with the tools necessary for the highest level of competition. Those traits transcended the field and will offer a competitive edge for anyone who reads his book.

Mark Sanchez, quarterback, New York Jets

Sitting in the film room one day at Arkansas, coach Lou Holtz asked me what I thought of our twenty-five-year-old graduate assistant, who happened to be sitting in the back of the room taking notes. My response was short and simple, Coach, get to know this young man because he wont be here very longhes born to be a head coach. The Seattle Seahawks are fortunate to get Pete Carroll, not just the excellent coach that you will read about in Win Forever , but the great person.

Monte Kiffin, legendary defensive coordinator

The thing that impresses me the most about Coach Carroll is that he practices what he preaches, as he is both the student and the teacher. He lives his life, both on and off the field, with passion, enthusiasm, integrity, a can-do attitude, a tireless work ethic, and a heart of gold. Coach Carroll lives his Win Forever philosophy, and the results of choosing such a life are beautiful, inspiring, and wonderfully successful.

Kerri Walsh, two-time Olympic Gold medalist and the worlds top-ranked womens volleyball player

The teachings of Coach Carroll are universal and stretch beyond athletics into all aspects of life. Win Forever is a must read for anyone looking to maximize his or her potential and live a richer and more fulfilled life.

Dean Karnazes, ultramarathoner and New York Times bestselling author of 50/50

Petes infectious passion for the game of football, his competitive edge, and his zest for life are a reminder to us all that its the journey and not the destination that counts. I have been inspired by his enthusiasm, impressed by his professionalism, and challenged to become an even better coach and person myself thanks to his example.

Jrgen Klinsmann, international soccer icon and former Germany World Cup and Bayern Munich manager/coach

Pete Carrolls fiery effervescence burns through this book with marvelous clarity and wisdom. Win Forever will inspire men and women young and old for a long, long time to come. Its integration of sport and high, hard-won philosophy opens new ways for us into our own undiscovered country.

Michael Murphy, founder of the Esalen Institute, author of Golf in the Kingdom and The Future of the Body

Win Forever is not about sports, it is about life. Pete has found a way to create a vision that instills character and integrity through the competition that we call life. It is about how we choose to see the world, our life, and the problems within both, and find a way to have faith and confidence that we have it within ourselves to solve these problems.

Tim Leiweke, president and CEO, AEG

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First published in 2010 by Portfolio,
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Copyright Win Forever, LLC, 2010

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Carroll, Pete, 1951-
Win forever : live, work, and play like a champion / Pete Carroll with
Yogi Roth and Kristoffer A. Garin.
p. cm.
Includes index.

eISBN : 978-1-101-43719-3

1. Success. 2. Excellence. 3. Sports. I. Roth, Yogi. II. Title.

GV965.C414 2010

796dc22 2010011848

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials. Your support of the authors rights is appreciated.

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To Glena, Brennan, Jaime, and Nate,
who have allowed me to chase
the dream all these years

INTRODUCTION

I slammed the book shut, stunned.

It had been six months since Id been fired as the head coach of the New England Patriots and in the summer of 2000 I was trying to figure out what to do next with my life. I was reading a book by the legendary basketball coach John Wooden.

It took him sixteen years to figure it out, I told myself, but once he did, he absolutely knew it. After that, he rarely lost, and he went on to win ten of the next twelve national championships. It seemed he won forever .

Looking back, I had been feeling all but down and out. Suddenly everything had changed.

I reached for a pad of paper and started writing. What Coach Wooden had done that so impressed me was to pull together his own vision, philosophy, and belief system into a detailed plan for winning. Once he had it, he went on, year after year, to build teams that were almost unstoppable. I needed to come up with a plan of my own. I needed to develop my own winning philosophy and design a plan for implementing it. I started that afternoon.

For the next few hours, days, and weeks I wrote down phrases, bullet points, and definitions about who I was, where I had been, where I wanted to go, and what I wanted the next program I ran to look like. In no particular order, I wrote what came to mind. It was completely unorganized, but I knew just getting it all down on paper was a critical first step.

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