John’s high expectations were evident in how he handled himself during games. He remained stoic—even when the team was playing very well. Looking at his facial expression, it would be tough to know if the team was in a dogfight or up by fifty points. He expected success, so when it happened, he was not surprised. As Mark said, “He also is a master at making what would be exceptional to most teams as being ordinary everyday occurrences. I can remember him guiding young players to harness their enthusiasm after big plays so that they could make more big plays. A one-handed catch, a big hit, and a touchdown were all plays that you should make. There was nothing special about it.”
John’s teams played consistent football and continued to perform at a high level even when they were far ahead. It was very rare that an opponent could mount a comeback once Saint John’s took a commanding lead. John Laliberte was a running back on the 1974 team and after graduating devoted his career to the South Saint Paul public schools as a teacher, coach, dean, and principal. He recalled that during his junior year, the Johnnies once took a 35–0 lead into halftime. “The team had played well, and we were pumped up going into the locker room. As the offense gathered we expected John to congratulate us on a great first half and tell us to continue to do what we were doing. However, John came in and asked the question, ‘Now, what problems are we having on offense?’
“We were taken aback a bit and there was a pause. For me, it was classic Gagliardi to come in with that question and get us to focus on the second half of the game. With that question, he was attempting to get us to strive for even more. It was not a perfect first half, and he wanted us to perform better in the second half than in the first. It was something I never forgot in my thirty-three years as an educator and coach of three sports.”
Part of having high expectations is communicating those expectations to others, sometimes quite directly. Rick Bell said that the Monday afternoon film sessions could be very difficult. “John was tough on mistakes made by the players,” Rick recalled, “as the team that made the fewest mistakes would often win the game. John’s tough attitude caused players to work hard to not make mistakes.”
Rick earned John’s trust early in his career and became an All-American running back in 1982, rushing for fourteen touchdowns and nearly 1,000 yards. After wrapping up his career at Saint John’s, Rick played for the Minnesota Vikings for a season, a rarity for a Division III football player.
Part of the reason for John’s success was that he had high expectations not just for his starters and star players, but for everyone who put on a Saint John’s jersey. As a result, the second teamers worked hard so that when they finally got an opportunity to become starters, they were prepared. John periodically would be criticized in the media for “running up the score” in a game, when in reality it was just the players executing his game plan. In the first game of my senior year, I was a second-string offensive guard. We were leading our opponent 47–0, and in an effort to not embarrass the other team, John told our quarterback that he could choose from four very simple running plays. We executed them perfectly and scored another touchdown anyway, winning the game 54–0. We did so because we were trained to perform at our best whenever we entered the game and because we knew that any mistakes would be pointed out on films and could cost us playing time in future games.
John diagrams a play as All-American running back Rick Bell looks on, circa 1982. Saint John’s University
Mark Laswell was a scout team halfback for Saint John’s in the early 1980s. He recalls a game in which Saint John’s went ahead by a large margin, and John cleared the benches. The quarterbacks were allowed to call their own plays, and, it turned out, the plays they called were largely ineffective. “At films on Monday, John stopped the projector, confused by what plays we were running that he was seeing on film. They clearly weren’t working, nor were they part of the game plan. I can still hear his words clearly, ‘What game were you watching? How do you think we got the 70–0 lead? What plays were you guys running? If you find a play that works, don’t look for one that doesn’t.’”
Key to Winning #1: Through his actions and words, John fostered an atmosphere of very high expectations. Any result short of excellence was analyzed and changes were made as needed.
CHAPTER 3
I arrived ten minutes early for the second day of class, and a couple dozen students were already present, sitting guy-gal as instructed and interviewing each other. Taking the spot next to me was Kristin, a senior nursing major. Like most of her peers, Kristin didn’t need the one credit in order to graduate; she was taking this elective class because of John’s reputation.
Students generally are fascinated to see professors outside of their own classroom or office, but Kristin did a good job of not talking to me like I was an alien. “Are you auditing the class or just sitting in on it?” she inquired.
I told her I was actually enrolled in the class.
“How does a prof enroll in a class?” she asked, somewhat incredulously.
I explained that I had to fill out a few forms, and then John had to e-mail the registrar.
“He did that for you?” she questioned.
I told her how I had been in John’s office after the previous class and explained to him what he needed to do. He looked confused, so I just asked if I could use his computer and send the e-mail from his account. “He agreed, and here I am.”
Kristin laughed, and then I introduced myself to the student behind me. “I’m Joey,” he said. Joey was a physics major and an offensive lineman on the football team. He had a special interest in taking the course: John was his grandfather. Joey had always dreamed of attending Saint John’s and playing football for his grandpa. When it came time to apply for colleges, Joey filled out only one application. Saint John’s accepted it, and Joey’s dream came true.
We looked up to see John slowly pacing back and forth at the front of the room. He again had on tan slacks, but this time he wore a long-sleeved, black collared shirt with a red Saint John’s emblem. John had been in fantastic shape in his younger years, and although his body had softened, he had aged gracefully. His movements were more deliberate, but his spirits and handshake were as strong as they had been decades earlier.
John waved his hands in the air and sixty-three sets of lips stopped flapping. “I hope everyone has visited.” He looked at a Johnnie in the back row and asked, “What’s her name?” Lucy. “Where is she from?” Salt Lake City, Utah. “Pretty good.”
After peppering a few more students to make sure they were doing their jobs, John said, “Okay, here is a lesson for today.” He pointed to the chalkboard, where the words WIN and LOSE were written in capital letters. He moved closer to the board and pointed at the letters as he spoke. “The W stands for Work. The N is for Now, not some convenient time later.”
“But the key is the I: you have to work Intelligently. Like not beating yourself with penalties. You have to play smart. The same goes for studying. You have to figure out the best way to study. You have to play smart, work smart, and study smart.”
John pointed to the board and asked, “Who knows what LOSE means?” Nick, a fiery and stocky linebacker, raised his hand. “Come on up and show us, then,” John invited.
“Lack …Of …Sustained …Effort,” said Nick, pointing at each letter along the way.
“That’s right. But you didn’t say it the way I would.”
John pointed at the letters, purposely skipping the S. “Lack …Of …Effort. But everyone can give some effort,” he explained. “The effort has to be sustained. Sustain the effort,” he said with emotion as he made a fist with his right hand. “Never, never, never quit.”
John asked the