Singletary has connection to sports program

By Nick Pinkerton

San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Mike Singletary, a Super Bowl winner and Hall of Fame linebacker, knows a thing or two about the essentials to winning. He said in a press conference last year, "Our formula is this: we go out, we hit people in the mouth."

Singletary is intimidating, and not just to his athletes.

There is no one who knows this better at Santa Clara than Bronco Athletics Strength and Conditioning Coach Greg Marshall.

Marshall has a rich history and relationship with Singletary as a strength coach for the 49ers, as a trainer for Singletary's kids, and as a personal friend of Singletary's.

Marshall acknowledged the competitive, intense spirit of Singletary.

"If he were playing soccer or tiddlywinks, Coach Singletary would be intense and he'd be out there trying not just to beat you, but to devastate you in the process," he said.

Though stone-cold serious in demeanor and pushing expectations to the highest limits, Singletary has had a profound effect on his team.

Last week he set out to deliver similar messages of confidence and commitment to the Santa Clara women's soccer team prior to their match against No. 2 Stanford.

"Basically, I just talked about some of the same things I talk to (49ers) players about, and that is having mental toughness, making sure you expect to win, because you're going to do the little things that call you to win," said Singletary.

Though Singletary has been known to raise his voice and paralyze his players with his straightforward, no excuses philosophy, he entered the Santa Clara locker room with the intention to speak from experience and inspire.

"He has an aura about him," director of athletics Dan Coonan said about meeting Singletary for the first time. "It was evident in his talk; a very quiet confidence."

"You can tell that he has accomplished a lot and is a very good leader. His comments to the girls certainly reflected that," he added.à

History between the two coaches:

Marshall first met Singletary when Singletary moved to the Bay Area to start his position with the 49ers as an assistant coach. The two coaches crossed paths at Marshall's athletics training business, where Singletary took his kids to be trained for high school athletics.

From there, Singletary and Marshall hit it off, a main reason being their commitment to helping their teams and themselves be the best that they can be.

"We want to be excellent at everything that we do, and that's the mantra that he has laid down with the Niners," Marshall said of his working relationship with Singletary.

This philosophy was evident when Marshall and Singletary played competitive sports in high school and college.

Singletary earned All-American honors twice while at Baylor University, while Marshall excelled in both track and field and basketball at the Air Force Academy.

"I was at one time highly ranked in the world and the United States in the 400 meter dash and was also able to have a pretty good basketball career playing up through semi-pro levels at different points in time," said Marshall.

Mutual respect and understanding:

It is evident that Marshall and Singletary have a great deal of respect for one another and have learned much from each other over the years.

Marshall spoke of the influence that Singletary has had on him as a coach.

"Any time you're lucky enough to be around a guy like Coach Singletary on a daily basis like I am, you can't help but take away some of the things that he believes in: the commitment to preparation, the commitment to the family environment as a team, the commitment to excellence if I can sound a bit cliché," he said.

Singletary had this to say about his coaching partner and friend in return.

"He's got an outstanding personality. He's able to exhibit tough love, and I think that's what every coach has to have -- the ability to be firm and demand greatness out of their athletes, and at the same time be very real and honest and warm. There has to be a balance of both, and I think that's what Greg really does."

One similarity in Marshall and Singletary's coaching styles is the treatment of their athletes. Whether they're students of the game or professionals, collegiate athletes or otherwise, Marshall and Singletary believe in a similar foundation for instructing athletes to meet their needs.

"I think athletes are the same mold all over the world," said Singletary. "It's all about motivation, it's all about inspiration and the desire to be great."

Added Marshall, "Honestly, I know that I approach every athlete with the same mindset, from that 13 year old, up to my professional athlete. You have to go in there and understand what's the job we're trying to accomplish and then demand everything that it takes to get there out of them."

Marshall sees his working relationship with Singletary as one that is optimal and functional.

"I don't think you could ask for a better boss. On the one hand, because he's the kind of guy (who) hires you to do a job, then he gives you the resources to do the job, then he gets out of the way and lets you do the job," said Marshall. "Now on the flipside, he is not going to hear any excuses for us not getting our job done, so if our guys are not physically prepared to play the game, then we've got to answer to (Singletary)."

Final words:

Following the speech, Singletary advised student athletes.

"The one bit of advice that I would give a student athlete is really, really strive to learn everything you can at this particular time in life...because it's going to help you somewhere," he said.

"The other thing is develop your personality by surrounding yourself with the right people...so make sure you're very, very particular about who you surround yourself with because that is who you will become."

Sports reporter Gabe Taylor contributed to this article. Contact Nick Pinkerton at npinkerton@scu.edu or (408) 551-1918.