He wasn’t sick. He wasn’t old. And he wasn’t losing. He had a very good final season and won his last game in 2008. And then he walked away.
Lloyd Carr was 62. That’s a few years earlier than retirement(退休) age in America and many years earlier than some college football coaches say goodbye. How was Carr, who coached University of Michigan, able to leave so easily?
“ It can be intoxicating,” Carr admits. “The Saturday afternoons and the crowds. And when you win, there’s nothing like it.”
But the job needs hard work. The pressure to win. The endless training. The hours are so long that sleeping at the office is a normal thing. I reported Carr’s career at Michigan from 1995 to 2007. I saw him run onto the field before 100,000 cheering fans, saw him enjoy a share of a national championship with a 12-0 season.
And when I visited him recently in retirement, the difference was noticeable. He seems much calmer, relaxed, more at peace. He says, “As much fun as it is, there’s a period when you have other things to deal with.”
Carr knew he wanted to travel, see the world, read more, do other work. He is now connected with a children’s hospital, does some speaking, plays golf, and enjoys relaxing with his wife, Laurie, and their many grandchildren.
Several of today’s big-name coaches are all about Carr’s retirement age. Nick Saban turns 59 this month. Jim Tressel is 57. Frank Beamer is already 63. None of them seems to be slowing down.
So when, I ask Carr, is the right moment to leave such a great job?
He thinks. Finally, he says, “When you love it and can still walk away from it. That’s the right moment.”
小题1:Lloyd Carr stopped working as a coach because he _______.
A．was too old
B．was injured seriously
C．had other things to experience
D．followed others’ examples小题2:The underlined word “intoxicating” in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.
A．exciting
B．disappointing
C．surprising
D．puzzling小题3:It can be inferred from the text that Lloyd Carr ________.
A．was always free after retirement
B．was a failure as a football coach
C．missed the time when he coached
D．enjoyed his retirement life very much小题4:The author is most probably ________.
A．a football player
B．Lloyd Carr’s assistant
C．a retired coach
D．a sports reporter
