Dolan

Ryan Dolan was the coach of my CIC team 1941 for 6 months. He was the most articulate, inspiring, direct, insightful coach I have had since Craig. His final rehearsal was yesterday, he stepped down because of scheduling issues.

Me: Dolan, can I take your picture?

Dolan: Sure...what for?

Me: My blog. I'm going to write about how much I liked you as a coach.

Dolan: (deliberate stupid face)

Me: (click)

Dolan could say a couple words and make a gesture and you would know what the note he was giving was. He would give notes that were mostly gestures sometimes. He would be very direct and on someone, put the pressure on them in order to get that discovery. He is a pusher. He brought out something new from everyone. Dolan made everyone on the team grow, some of us in larger ways than others. That's not something I can say about every coach I've had. Dolan is direct when others might be vague. And for that I'll always put him on a pedestal.

The number one thing I loved about Dolan was how much shit he gave to Jimmy. God. Dolan would ride Jimmy so hard. I loved it. It was so fun to watch and most of the notes were totally true. I think Jimmy minded it but I think we didn't mind because we all would have been fine with the same attention. If that makes sense...

I will say Dolan can be surly and may have a weird taste in movies. He was talking up 'A Separation' for weeks. I saw it and was put off.

If you have the opportunity to be coached by Ryan Dolan, take it.

If Ryan Dolan recommends a movie to you. Think about it seriously.