Duty. Honor. Country.
While Indiana head football coach Tom Allen never served in the military, he holds those who did in high regard.
Not only does he admire what those men and women have done, he tries to adapt their toughness, especially mental toughness, to his Indiana program.
Allen recently discussed how he uses military leadership, especially that of the Navy SEALs, in molding football players.
"I have studied the Navy SEALs. Military leadership is huge to me. The way they train the mind and body, and that greatness is revealed through time, I have always been intrigued by that. How can you mentally handle some of the stuff they put the men and ladies through? I have studied the filtering process they use to see who is going to make it there," Allen said.
Allen has referenced the book, "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance," which is written by Harvard and Oxford educated psychologist Angela Duckworth. In the book, Duckworth examines character traits men and women who are cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point exhibit.
“The very beginning of the book talked about the whole funneling process of West Point and how they go through this large pool all the way down to a narrow group of guys and girls that end of making it in the academy from the pool that are recruited,” Allen said. “The grit piece is all taken from that. That’s the one variable that is the best indicator that someone is going to have success in that world. I’ve always liked that and thought there was a great correlation to what we’re trying to get here and trying to develop great mental and physical toughness in our guys.”
The character traits service men and women exhibit were a major reason why Allen selected Charlton Warren as his new defensive coordinator, replacing Kane Wommack, who left in January to take over the reigns at the University of South Alabama.
Warren played at the United States Air Force Academy, graduating with a degree in human factors engineering before serving at Warner Robins Air Force Base, where he was a C-130 avionics program manager.
In addition, Warren was stationed at Elgin Air Force Base in Florida, where he was an air-to-ground weapons program manager for the Air Armament Center.
""I always liked that and thought that was a great correlation to football," Allen said on Warren's military background. "To be able to develop mental and physical toughness in our guys. So, yeah, I think that's a very important thing that he brought that most guys don't have. He has went there as a cadet at Air Force, talk about the real life experiences he has, he has been overseas, been in battles, has lead. Commanding the room is a phrase I use and that is one of his strengths."
When he was introduced, Warren was asked about the differences in recruiting players to service academies and traditional colleges and universities. While there is a certain individual who attends service academies, Warren noted that the recruit and family are looking for one thing -- a program that features coaches who care and are interested.
"People are people and families are interested in if you are invested in their child’s development and growth. The type of player you are recruiting to a service academy is a little different. I think parents and kids care about real relationships. They don't care about you trying to sell them on anything, and my job is not to sell a kid or a parent or family on anything, it is to present a tremendous opportunity for you to get a great education, be developed as a man, be developed as a football player, and prepare you for what's next in life," Warren said. "That could be a husband, that could be a doctor, a lawyer, NFL football player, we're going to have all those guys. And so it’s about that family saying I trust my son to come play for you and your organization and you're going to do right by him.
“I think kids and parents, they can weed out if you're not genuine. To me it is about being who I am. It's about being relentless in my pursuit to know him, the kid, the mom, the dad, the grandma, the auntie, the coach, the influencers in their life.
"I think when you build genuine relationships, and people know you care about them, their interest in making them better prepared for life, I think that's a home run. At that point it is about them making an informed decision.”
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