The drive to be perfect, the desire to succeed in every facet of the game, the want to be the best is only natural for athletes.

However, it can have an adverse effect on people involved. Specifically, the coaches.

As much time, effort and energy coaches put into their craft, it is hard to believe they are not effected by stress more seriously.

However, two of the country’s most prominent coaches have recently succumb to the rigors of coaching.

University of Florida football head coach Urban Meyer and University of Connecticut men’s basketball head coach Jim Calhoun both had to take leaves of absence, citing health concerns.

Fortunately for Meyer, 45, he has since decided to return to his post, but it does not mean his health issues are moot.

Calhoun, 67, has taken leaves of absence before, as he has had multiple bouts with cancer, all from which he has emerged the victor.

Some believe stress has a direct connection to cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, that is not necessarily the case.

“Although the results of some studies have indicated a link between various psychological factors and an increased risk of developing cancer, a direct cause-and-effect relationship has not been proven.”

Regardless, the recent and past stress-related coaching issues are prevalent as a result of Meyer’s and Calhoun’s announcements. It also raises the issue of how much stress and stain college coaches endure in one year.

Former Sacramento State head basketball coach Everett Shelton, who coached one of the most successful teams in Hornet hoops history (the 1961-62 team), once had a minor heart attack during a game, according to an entry the ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia.

He had a minor heart attack, if there is such a thing, and continued to coach.

Unbelievable.

Wake Forest men’s basketball coach died on July 26, 2007, from a heart attack not long after returning from a recruiting trip. He was 56 years old.

During a postgame interview on Dec. 2, current Hornet men’s basketball head coach Brian Katz told me in if his team had any more close games like the victory against UC Davis that night, 59-57, and a loss at the buzzer four days earlier to UC Riverside, 59-58, he might have to take a stress test.

While he made the statement in jest, I wondered to myself if there was some truth to it.

Despite Sac State being a mid-major school, the stress of coaching is not that dissimilar from the big-time programs across the country.

Not only does the coach have to perform the regular duties &- player development, teaching, etc. &- the coach spends a large majority of his time recruiting new players. Unlike many professional coaches, who rely on general managers, college coaches are responsible for assembling their teams.

College coaching has evolved from just being a mentor and leader on the field or court to a monster of a job, given all the requirements and strict regulations coaches must follow for recruiting and just coaching in general.

Stress in coaching at any level of competition will never go away. There is no way around that. Coaches just have to deal with it as best they can.

The last thing we want is to have some good coaches and great people die because they were so good at their jobs.

Dustin Nosler can be reached at [email protected]