NO FINGER POINTING ALLOWED

from LJS:

Add this number to the pile of statistics. Place it right beside the No. 2 (Nebraska’s scoring defense) and the No. 102 (Nebraska’s ranking in total offense).

It’s the number 0. That’s how many times Bo Pelini said he’s seen a Husker player or coach point a finger at someone else on the team this year.

“Never has been and never will be as long as I’m around,” the Husker coach said of any finger-pointing."

“No matter what, you win as a team, you lose as a team. It hasn’t been difficult for us. You have to find that recipe to do what it takes, and what you need to do to win the football game. Our guys stick together. There’s never, ever going to be any finger-pointing in our football program."

Secondary coach Marvin Sanders said it hasn’t been hard keeping offensive and defensive guys united.“It’s a family,” Sanders said. “You know, it’s funny. I think people outside the program have talked about it a lot more than we ever talk about it. Somebody says, ‘Do you have confidence in (offensive coordinator Shawn) Watson?’ I said, ‘Why? I never didn’t have confidence in Watson or anybody on offense.’ I think you guys on the outside talk about it. I could care less. Watson is my family member. That offense, everybody on that offense, is family.”

“It’s just kind of how we run our organization,” Husker defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. “There’s not a lot of ego. There’s not a lot of ‘me’ guys. It’s about the team and we know there’s three aspects. And on any given day … maybe special teams one day wins the game for you, defense another, and offense another. You’ve just got to play to your strengths and everybody does as good as you can do and hopefully it’s good enough to win the game.”

“You have a good day if you win 35-34. You gotta be happy. If you win 7-6, you gotta be happy,” Bo Pelini said. “A year ago, the offense kind of picked up the defense, and this year it was a little bit different. Each year you’ve got to find what it takes to win. There are always going to be different dynamics. But no matter what, it’s a team game.”

SUCCESS

Reminder to all: SUCCESS is about investment not entitlement; invest the time, energy, & effort into your success. Don't just expect it.

The difference between good and great players, is that great players do what they do all the time-not just occasionally! ONE time vs. ALL the time!

JETER

excerpts from an article by Tom Verducci on the Yankees Derek Jeter -- he is an excerpt:

If you were to draw up a list of Jeter's dislikes, most all of them would be what he regards as obstacles to winning:
1. Individuals who don't care about winning.

2. Self-promoters.
"I never liked people who talked about themselves all the time, gloat," he says. "If you're accomplished and have done things, people will talk about it for you. I don't think you have to point it out. I'm not judging anybody. That's just the way I am."

3. Measuring success by individual statistics.
"In this day and age, not just in baseball but in sports in general, all people care about is stats, stats, stats," he says. "You've got fantasy this, fantasy that, where you pay attention to stats. But there are ways to win games that you don't get a stat for."

4. Injury talk.
"You either play or you don't play. If you're playing, nobody wants to know what's bothering you. Sometimes it's a built-in excuse for failing."

5. Negativity.
Jeter wants nothing to do with negative questions from reporters or negative talk from teammates. He once went 0 for 32 and refused to admit he was in a slump. "We weren't allowed to use the word can't—'I can't do this, can't do that,'" Jeter says of his childhood. "My mom would say, 'What? No.' She's always positive. I don't like people always talking about the negative, negative, negative, because once you get caught in that mind-set, it's hard to get out of it."

WORKERS

WORKERS get the most out of themselves; when a body has limited talent, it has to muster all its resources of character to overcome this shortcoming.

If you think you are working hard, you can work harder. If you think you are doing enough, there is more that you can do. No one really ever exhausts his full potential.

Winning takes character and intelligence. It is the most important thing you can do because it’s a reaffirmation of your character.

-Pete Carril-

Why we win.......

“Why We Win”—Key Ingredients For Championship Teams

Ara Parseghian·

It’s good chemistry. It’s loyalty. It’s good personnel. A team will reflect the intensity of a coach.

Anson Dorrance·

There are several keys. One is to have a collective will. We had some teams with very average talent that collectively were just so overwhelming. That was the key. It’s tied into team chemistry, really. And tied into philosophy that we’ve sort of encouraged from the beginning—that concept of playing for each other. Playing for championships or titles is overrated. In my experience, teams aren’t motivated for championship games; they’re motivated for each other.

Joe Gibbs·

People. You don’t win with X’s and O’s. They’re needed. You’ve got to be good at it, but you don’t win with it. You win with people.

Chuck Noll·

People. You can’t do it without talent. You have to have talented players who are good people. Attitude is the thing that separates people by far. You have to be ready to work together.

Tommy Lasorda·

A championship team is when you have a team who will play for the name on the front of the jersey and not for the one on the back.

Sparky Anderson·

It’s the players. If you have good players, you’re going to have good teams. Even if you’re not there. But if you are a good coach at any level, it’s what you do with that good personnel and how you keep them focused to play.

Dan Gable·

You have a championship team when everybody is contributing close to what they’re capable of contributing. When you have a group of individuals clicking for what they need, and still understanding the total team concept, then you’re going to have a championship team.

Bill Walsh·

It’s the day-to-day hard work, and making sure everyone is working for the same single purpose.

Joe Paterno·

The expectancy. The key ingredient is to plan for it.

Being a fierce competitor

Great stuff form Coach Roy Williams:

I love playing road games. I love that atmosphere. I encourage my players to treat games away from home as a wonderful challenge. I like to tell my team, "Let's go into their living room and steal their brownies." It's all about having the confidence and attitude that I can beat your butt anytime, anywhere, anyplace, anyhow...

The bottom line is that I want my players to understand that at some point in every game, somebody's going to give in, and I don't ever want it to be us. We want to be the last team standing.

Underneath Coach Williams folksy and cordial outward demeanor beats the heart of a fierce competitor. He is driven to be the best and enjoys the continual challenge of taking every opponent's best shot - whether at home or on the road. He relates several stories in the book about how his competitiveness has been an edge throughout his career. If you want to compete with the big boys and girls, you too are going to need to become a fierce competitor. More importantly, you will need to instill your own competitive will in your team as you develop them into competitors. Highly successful programs look to dictate the tempo of the competition and impose their will on their opponents. They force opponents to react to them rather than the other way around. You too can get to this level. But you must remember that having a competitive team is a big key - and it begins with you modeling it, developing it, demanding it, and rewarding it as coach.

Singletary Formula for winning

1. Hit people in the mouth (Be aggressive)

2. We are not a charity (Make your opponent earn it)

3. We execute (Focus, do the little things right, attention to detail)

What is a workout?

By George Allen, former Washington Redskins Coach
A workout is 25 percent perspiration and 75 percent determination. Stated another way, it is one part physical exertion and three parts self-discipline. Doing it is easy once you get started.

A workout makes you better today than you were yesterday. It strengthens the body, relaxes the mind, and toughens the spirit. When you work out regularly, your problems diminish and your confidence grows.

A workout is a personal triumph over laziness and procrastination. It is the badge of a winner - the mark of an organized, goal-oriented person who has taken charge of his, or her, destiny.

A workout is a wise use of time and an investment in excellence. It is a way of preparing for life's challenges and proving to yourself that you have what it takes to do what is necessary.

A workout is a key that helps unlock the door to opportunity and success. Hidden within each of us is an extraordinary force. Physical and mental fitness are the triggers that can release it.

A workout is a form of rebirth. When you finish a good workout, you don't simply feel better, YOU FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF.