Tom Higgins: The Tripod of Success - Physical, Mental, and Spiritual
By CATHLOLINE BUTLER
TOM HIGGINS, Head Coach of the Edmonton Eskimos.
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EDMONTON - On a recent trip to the city of Edmonton, capital of Alberta, which is also known as the City of Champions, I spoke with one of those champions...Tom Higgins, Head Coach of the Edmonton Eskimos Football Team. And as many of you will know, the Edmonton Eskimos were the winners of the coveted Grey Cup in 2003.
When I arrived at Commonwealth Stadium, it was an awesome feeling to be in the locker rooms – the very inner sanctum of the Edmonton Eskimos – who are also known as the green and gold because of their team colors. It was also a bit intimidating to be the only five foot two female surrounded by giant football players. But Tom Higgins has a very welcoming and easy manner, and in no time at all I felt right at home.
The best way to describe Higgins is organized, responsible, focused, driven and spiritual. He is intensely proud of his football players and his wife and family. "I will always try to give enough space for people to allow them to have their own spirituality," Tom said.
"I believe if somebody truly speaks by their actions, they don't have to be standing on the corner reading the bible. Everyone can't be a priest or a minister because we wouldn't have people to do other things in life, but I believe our lives are based on a tripod - physical, mental, and spiritual - and I believe that if any one of those three are missing, then you don't have the strength of that three-legged tripod."
"I also believe that if people have the freedom to experience and develop in all three of those areas, then they have a chance to be successful like we were last year. I believe that's the reason that the Edmonton Eskimos truly is a unique organization that has a chance to always be successful."
Higgins is also proud of his Irish background. He said, "my dad is the Irish side and the Higgins have their own crest. There is also a long line of Thomas's in the Higgins family. The name was actually O'Higgins, but the O got knocked off after they crossed the pond and all of a sudden it became Americanized."
"I ended up being a pup, because my mother was half Italian and half Ukranian, so I have a quarter of that in me. But most of me is the Irish part and we always enjoyed all the festivities when it comes to shamrocks and leprechauns. I have never had the opportunity to visit Ireland, but maybe some day."
Speaking about his sports background, Tom said, "I grew up in New Jersey, and played football for the University of North Carolina State. I was a pretty good football player and the Calgary Stampeders wanted me to play for them, which I did for four years. That was also where I met my wife and four years later we got married."
"In the interim I was back in the United States and played for the Buffalo Bills. Later, I played for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders but since my wife is from Calgary, we both got teaching jobs there and then I got on with the Calgary Stampeders organization in both administration and coaching."
"Then, an opening for an assistant general manager came up in Edmonton and they gave me a call and so this is where I needed to come to. I later became general manager and when they needed someone to take over the coaching ranks, I jumped into coaching and this will be my fourth season as the head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos."
Higgins is a very strong personality and he said, "I learned a long time ago that you need to be yourself. As an athlete I was a very intense individual and I really enjoy doing what I do as I believe what you're trying to do is pull out the best in your athletes. To help them keep their focus from the very start to the end of each football game....I love it!"
With the wide variety of positions in management and coaching, I asked Higgins if he had any preferences. He said, "I love being organized. I love the joy of being on the sidelines and the close interaction with the athletes. You get to experience the highs and lows of sports itself regardless of whether you win or lose. I think it was ABC TV that coined the phrase, 'the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat'."
Higgins spoke with pride about his family saying, “I have been blessed with a wife who stays at home and three children. They are great kids who know right from wrong and have drive and determination to do something with their lives. They are going into first, second and fourth year university respectively and they're all at the University of Alberta.
"The children all have a sports background and I love what athletics can do for individuals. It teaches them a lot of lessons, particularly at the high school level, which can't be taught in a classroom. You learn to work together as a group in order to have success as a team and just because you work hard, it doesn't mean you're going to win. That means that you're going to experience both defeat and victory, and these are important life lessons."
Speaking about the Eskimos' chances for 2004, Tom said, "We're going to be a very good football team. We lost a couple of key football players recently who went to the New York Jets - Ricky Ray, our quarterback and Randy Chevrier, our long snapper - and when you lose your quarterback, that's a big loss. But, we're very fortunate to have two quality young men who are going to step in...Jason Maas and Bart Hendricks. These are two outstanding individuals and I'm not worried about them at all."
"What happens in professional sports is that any blame is going to be thrown on the head coach and the quarterback, for which I take full responsibility because it shouldn't be anybody else's burden to carry. There will also be some pressure on the quarterbacking spot and we've talked to our quarterbacks already about it. There are some things you just don't have any control over, so don't worry about them. It's the things within your control you must do something about."
"We will have a very exciting football team and that's what it's all about. All we ever want to do is to have a chance and that's why we're pretty excited about the upcoming season."
For more information about the Edmonton Eskimos Football Team, visit: www.esks.com
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