Dec

17

Lou HoltzOne person I have admired over the years is Lou Holtz.

Louis Leo Holtz (born on January 6, 1937 in Follansbee, West Virginia) is an author, television commentator, motivational speaker, and former NCAA football and NFL head coach. Holtz is the only coach in NCAA history to lead six different programs to bowl games and the only coach to guide four different programs to final top 20 rankings. He is also a multiple winner of Coach of the Year honors.

Many remember him as head coach of one of the most storied college programs, The University of Notre Dame. There he took over a program in 1986 that was mired in mediocrity after suffering for five long years under the guidance of the very forgettable Gerry Faust. By his third year he led the Irish to an undefeated season and a national title. Between 1988 and 1993, Holtz's teams posted an overall 64-9-1 docket. He also took the Irish to bowl games for nine consecutive seasons, still a Notre Dame record despite consistently having one of the most difficult schedules in the country.

Prior to Notre Dame, Lou developed a reputation of being a turnaround specialist, dramatically changing around such programs as North Carolina State, Arkansas, and Minnesota. After a brief retirement in 1999 he assumed the head coaching duties at South Carolina, which had just completed a 1-10 record. Holtz went winless in his first campaign but in his second year his team went to the Outback Bowl and defeated Ohio State. The next season the team went back to the Outback Bowl and defeated Ohio State again.

He is consistently sought after as a motivational speaker and is a sports commentator on ESPN.

I had the pleasure of meeting Lou in Orlando when he was a guest speaker at a sales conference some years back after his retirement from Notre Dame. His enthusiasm was overwhelming and his speech was polished and compelling and despite his diminutive size of 5'9" and 150 lbs he is a commanding presence and personality. His speeches are a blend of Mark Twain and Will Rogers, and once you have been around the man you won't soon forget him or his message.

There are many great quips that I could quote but I will share one particular one that I think is quite appropriate for one who speculates in the financial markets.

"In life things are never as good as you think they are nor as bad, they are usually somewhere in between."


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4 Comments so far

  1. Acetrader on December 18, 2007 12:19 pm

    I grew up watching Holtz on the sidelines of ND every Saturday…I enjoy him on ESPN but hate that he isn’t a coach anymore.

  2. jeff on December 18, 2007 12:35 pm

    I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Lou a few times and have found him to be one of the funniest guys alive.

    Jeff

  3. Tom on December 18, 2007 11:06 pm

    I met Mr. Holtz at a conference in October 2003. He was the smartest and kindest person I’ve ever met.

  4. Diana Welsch on December 19, 2007 12:04 am

    I love that quote.

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