Jan. 25, 2005

Author's Note: This week allow me to share with you some thoughts that I have expressed to our coaches and staff in a memorandum as we begin 2005. I believe it to be self-explanatory and hopefully will provide better insight on exactly what Solid Orange is about. We wish you the very best as we enter 2005.

MEMORANDUM

TO: All Coaches and Staff

FROM: Terry Don Phillips, Director of Athletics

DATE: January 18, 2005

RE: Start of 2005 -- "Solid Orange". It really is about PRIDE.

As we begin 2005, I wish to take this opportunity to express some thoughts as we all work together to create an environment that we must have in order to improve and optimize our opportunity to be successful. Our perception, image and actions are absolutely critical to build an environment for success. To ultimately be classy in all we do, we must always act with class and reflect pride in who we are and what we're about.

Solid Orange is synonymous with having pride -- it's more than just wearing orange on Friday -- more than promoting a sense of unity and spirit with our people by their wearing orange to our events. Solid Orange is the mantra and symbol of PRIDE in all we do.

In the strength and conditioning facilities in Jervey and Littlejohn, the following statement is prominently posted so that coaches, staff, and athletes can see and hopefully, understand:

Solid Orange -- It's About Pride
PRIDE: Our actions honor our university.....traditions....teams....performance....people....and each other.

Very simply, we are expecting everyone to understand that what we do; how we act; how we react; how we treat our facilities; how we expect our athletes to handle themselves, etc. -- all reflect whether or not we truly have the requisite pride necessary to be a consistently class and quality program.

I will say that I do not believe all understand this because I see actions or lack of action that reflect an indifference -- as such, I ask that each and everyone of us check ourselves as we start the new year and truly reflect whether we are merely going through the motions or do we really have the necessary pride to work -- get better and have the kind of program that we're capable of having?

We look forward to improvement in 2005. IT'S ABOUT PRIDE.

Terry Don Phillips

Past Columns
January 11, 2004
January 11, 2004
January 6, 2004
December 15, 2004
December 7, 2004
November 30, 2004
November 17, 2004
November 10, 2004
November 3, 2004
October 26, 2004
October 21, 2004
October 11, 2004
October 4, 2004