Jason Kidd took a trip recently to learn from one of the best coaches in the National Football League—Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks.
As detailed by The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Charles F. Gardner, Coach Kidd absorbed a lot from the Super Bowl-winning coach, but at the top of the list of values he wants to bring back to Milwaukee: commitment.
“Being in, being committed. ‘I’m in,'” Jason said, repeating Coach Carroll’s mantra. “If you’re in, no matter how well or how bad you’ve shot the ball that day, that you’re committed to your teammates.”
Carroll’s resume is impressive: two national championships and six BCS bowl wins at the collegiate level, as well as one Super Bowl and two NFC titles at the professional level with the Seahawks.
“I’m trying to learn how to be a coach and when you talk about the best…I’ve never been that close in the meetings, and then to be able to sit down and talk with him,” Jason said of Carroll. “He was great.”
Like Jason, Carroll inherited a franchise that was in a bit of a slump. But now, he has built a perennial contender in Seattle. Like Miami’s Erik Spoelstra and Golden State’s Steve Kerr before him, Jason headed to the Pacific Northwest to see just how he has done it.
And right from his arrival, the energy Pete brings to the job was apparent, and it’s something Jason wants to see in his team as well.
“He was saying for whatever reason, basketball (coaches) are coming to visit me,” J-Kidd told the Journal-Sentinel. “And I can see why. The energy he gives — and you can feel the energy he gives when you walk in that building at 7:30 (a.m.) — it’s a special place.
“The facility is great. They have 25 coaches. For him to have to manage that size of coaching staff, you can see they’re all on the same page. I was very honored for him to let me and Sean go and hang out for the day.”
