"The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining."
-John F. Kennedy
We actually shared it with our team yesterday -- thanks Coach Mosely! We talked to them about what it meant. We are coming off of three wins in the Maggie Dixon Classic. By most standards it was a good weekend -- the sun is shining. But we need some roof repair. We had too many turnovers and didn't get the job done on the defensive boards. Our level of execution needs to improve in a lot of areas. We could sit happy with our 3-0 record or we can be process oriented and climb up on the roof and get to work.
As Coach Don Meyer would say, "Whatever you accept in victory, you must also accept in defeat." The score can not be the only indicator in our level of play.
A similar concept comes from Lon Kruger: "Prepare for every game like your lost your last game."
It truly is amazing how often we wait for rain to expose the leaks.
The other element is that the best teams are looking to always improve. The opponent or time of the year has nothing to with that goal -- which should be your ultimate goal.
Most people think Nick Saban's team is preparing for Western Carolina. Coach Saban is working to improve his team.
Here are some quotes from his press conference yesterday:
"I think the most important thing to do at this time of year is everybody stay focused on what they've got to do. Focus is like momentum. When you lose momentum in the game, it's really hard to get back. So if you don't stay focused on what you need to do to get better, it's not about the other team, it's about what we need to do as a team."
"Are you going to get better that way or not? Taking advantage of the opportunity that you have is much bigger than that. I need to play better. I need to improve. I need to help my teammates play better. We didn't execute these plays properly. We need to start getting these plays right. We've got to do a better job, whether it's covering, blocking, carrying out fakes, catching balls, whatever it is.
"The major thing for me is stay focused on what you need to do to improve, so you take advantage of the opportunity. And that's for every player."
You can see video of this portion of Coach Saban's press conference here.
