By Stephanie Graves
Last night was the first of seven spirit rallies that take place during the summer as part of USC's Freshman Orienation Program. The Trojan Marching Band, Song Girls, Feature Twirlers and Spirit Leaders take a moment the first night of the program to orient the incoming freshman about the spirit and tradition of the university.
After a long day, Special Teams Coach John Baxter decided to wander outside Heritage to listen to the band when Associate Director/Arranger Tony Fox had an idea...and a microphone. So the new coach took a moment to address the new students.
"I'm a special teams coach," bellowed Baxter. "I get guys to run 60 miles an hour into each other and like it. I always tell my players: Be the hammer. Not the nail."
He then continued to teach the over 300 new freshman the call-and-response he uses with his players at practice:
"I,2,3..."
"BE THE HAMMER!"
After three rounds and a "fight on" he handed the students back over to the auspices of the band directors and continued with the rest of night. One thing is certain:
It may not be a lesson the new freshman will ever use, but it certainly will be one they will never forget.
That is absolutely awesome!!! :-) Thanks for sharing. I remember my frosh orientation spirit rally, but there were no coaches who spoke. Coach Baxter is quickly assimilating into the Trojan family.
I really enjoyed this entry. I hope we can extrapolate the analogy and make the NCAA our nail. Fight On