Nick Saban on Intangibles and the 4 finger salute

-“I think that intangibles are probably really important to being a good competitor and I think most people who have passion for something as important to them is what gets them to commit to something, and your mind kind of does whatever you tell it to do. So once you have the passion and the commitment, at least you’re going to be moving in the right direction when it comes to work ethic, discipline, trying to make good choices about what you do and what you don’t do. The effort, the toughness and the discipline to execute are probably the key ingredients to any sport…I think those part of your character and who you are, and I think the same ingredients would be necessary to be successful in anything.”

-“There are 3 intangibles that take no athletic ability that aids a player in being responsible for his own self-determination. Those 3 intangibles take the most time in coaching in my opinion. Those intangibles are effort, toughness, and assignment.”

-“I think the things that it takes to be successful are the same regardless, whether it’s passion, commitment, hard work, investing your time in the right things, perseverance, pride in performance, how you think in a positive and negative way, the discipline you have personally—you have to make choices in your decisions.”


FOUR FINGER SALUTE
The four-finger salute held up by UA football players at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Each finger stands for discipline, commitment, effort, and toughness. The thumb is pride.