Teevens and Murphy grew up playing football together.
“We’re both such competitors and always have been. I think that’s something that probably attracted us to each other as friends even when we were young kids,” Murphy said.
But the two friends eventually split ways. Teevens played quarterback at Dartmouth while Tim Murphy attended Springfield College where he played linebacker.
During their presentation, both men put their competitiveness behind them to give advice to WHS students.
“The fun thing is, you just melt all the years away, you put on the professional gig,” Teevens said.
Although the two coaches may not agree on everything when it come to football, both Murphy and Teevens agree that there are many values that one needs to possess in order have a successful career.
“If you want something, you have to fight for it,” Murphy said.
The coaches explained that impressions are important, and people will remember you based on your actions. They stressed the importance of being professional, personable, persistent and authentic in your interactions, even if the ultimate goal is to be recruited or accepted into a school.
Teevens talked about an experience he had in middle school where he was cut from his school’s basketball team because they needed room on the bus for cheerleaders. Instead of bringing Teevens down, this act just motivated him to perform even better.
Murphy shared his experience with former NFL football player Isaiah Kacyvenski, who spoke at Wayland High School for Winter Week as well. Murphy recruited Kacyvenski for Harvard many years ago, and the two are now personal friends.
Murphy found Kacyvenski living in poverty when he first went to visit him after receiving a videotape of him playing football. Although Kacyvenski’s grades may not have been up to Harvard’s standards, Murphy was determined to have him come to the school.
“[He was] this amazingly resilient kid,” Murphy said. “As cliché as it is, it’s all about heart.”
It turns out Murphy was right. Kacyvenski went on to graduate from Harvard’s pre-medical program with honors and was captain of the football team, even though he started out with one of the lowest SAT scores at the institution.
Murphy credited much of Kacyvenski’s success to his amazing will to work.
“If you don’t have a great work ethic, you’re going to have a hard time making it in this world,” Murphy said.
Teevens expressed similar ideals for his players’ attitudes on and off the playing fields. He uses the acronym S.T.A.R. with his team, which stands for smart, trained, aggressive and relentless.
The Dartmouth coach also makes sure that his players train from a social standpoint by forming good relationships with people.
“The more people you know and interact with, the fuller your life will be,” Teevens said.
With his goal of building relationships in mind, Teevens created the “skate with a date” event at Dartmouth. In this event, a boy had to bring a girl to go sledding and skating on the frozen pond at Dartmouth. The event was a huge success, and Teevens’s players requested that he host the event again in the future.
Ever since Teevens was in college, he has been working toward the same goals he sets for his players. After a presentation Teevens gave in San Francisco, a man who went to school with him reminded him of his benevolent past.
“This guy comes up at the end, and he says, ‘Coach you don’t remember me … I was a freshman when you were a senior at Dartmouth. You guys had just beaten Princeton, just won the Ivy League championship and you walked into the dining hall there, and I was sitting by myself. You walked by and said, “Hey you want to go sit down?”’ [This guy] pulls a checkbook out of his pocket and writes me a check for 10 grand.”
While both coaches think being social is important, they regard perseverance as the most vital part of being successful.
“The bottom line is you can be successful everywhere, but you have to have the right frame of mind,” Murphy said. “Don’t be afraid to have people say no.”
