A San Bruno boys coach decided to motivate his team to win the turkey tournament by promising them that he would get an ”inverted Mohawk” -- in the team’s colors -- if they took home the championship over the other eleven talented teams. The motivational tool apparently worked.
Eric Dias coaches the U14 AYSO Liberty United boy’s team. This team is comprised of 15 boys who will be traveling to Germany next summer as a Cultural Exchange team. The team is scheduled to play several tournaments in and around the Bay Area over the next few months in order to prepare for the Germany teams they will face in July 2013.
The first Tournament of this season was played last week, with the team winning San Bruno’s own Turkey Tournament and becoming the U14 Boys champions. Before the tournament was played, Coach Dias decided he wanted to give the boys a motivational incentive because they had not won any tournaments in the past season. Dias said, “I knew the team could win, I just felt like something needed to drive them to win”. Dias offered an inverted Mo-Hawk if the team played hard enough and won the Tournament. He would have this hairstyle for the next 2 months.
After facing 5 difficult teams in the division, the boys were able to pull off the wins and become the 2012 U14 Turkey Tournament champions. I asked Dias if he thinks the incentive had anything to do with the boys playing hard to win and he said, “Having my head on the line took the pressure off of them and put the focus on me. They did not have to worry about errors they just needed to make sure the coach gets his head shaved.”
On Saturday, Coach Dias invited his team to witness this hairstyle be created at Sam’s Barber Shop located on San Mateo Avenue in San Bruno. The team convinced Barber Sam to color in the hair with the team colors.
The next time you see a scalped man walking in San Bruno, there is no need to run. He has not lost his mind. He is simply the happiest coach -- with a winning haircut to prove it.
