A few bubbles from the submarine

Submitted by mGrowOld on

Nothing terribly earth shattering but tonight I worked out with the high school head coach of one of our current players and he shared a few nuggets from a conversation they had over the weekend so I thought I'd share:

1. With Hoke they had a catered chef who basically cooked to order whatever the players wanted and they had as much as they liked.  He said it was like eating at a 5 star restaurant every day and it was fantastic.  With Harbaugh there are basically no meal choices and if you don't like it - that's too bad

2. The past two years the players stayed in nice, new, air-conditioned rooms where they had a lot of space and personal freedom.  With Harbaugh they are crammed into an old, dirty, non-air-conditioned room that's hot as hell.  Note: where are they exactly?  Sounds like my old dorm room.

3. Under Hoke this player had no clue why he'd play, get pulled, start or be benched.  He said there was little communication and he was very confused on what got him playing time or what got him pulled from the game.  With Harbaugh he knows exactly where he stands on the depth chart every single day (he said it's updated every day) and he knows exactly what the coaches want to see in him to improve his standing.

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mGrowOld

August 18th, 2015 at 10:56 PM ^

That's exactly what I thought too Rob - it's a culture change of no small order and he's leaving no stone unturned in sending the message that the days of wine and roses are gone.

I have a feeling this team is going to be NASTY.  And unlike the teams of the past few years who talked the talk - Harbaugh's going to have these guys are going to ready to walk the walk.

 

Joined: 10/04/2010

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B-Nut-GoBlue

August 18th, 2015 at 11:13 PM ^

Ohio St. I have a feeling pampers their players.  I'd wager Oregon's players a bit pampered.  Oklahoma St. possibly.

I do get your point and I don't disagree with what Harbaugh is doing but the resemblances of Ditka and Bo in College Football are becoming less and less.

Joined: 09/30/2011

MGoPoints: 43697

alum96

August 18th, 2015 at 11:25 PM ^

Yes, we are all rah rah about this because the team looked so soft but plenty of "tough" teams out there are "pampered" and winning big the past decade.  This is 1 extreme that is not common in CFB.  I am curious if this will be a 1 year thing to "cleanse" the place of previous regime or ongoing.  If ongoing there is a certain % of high end recruits that wont sniff here if this is the case (and no they are not soft, it is just very atypical in this day and age) and before everyone says "we dont want them" - again, plenty of programs play tough as nails without resorting to boot camp conditions.  

I will be curious if they do this next year.  Also the food thing I dont get - it doesnt have to be 5 star but these guys need to maintain weight and if you dont like the food you eat that is hard to do.  Maybe the HS coach is exaggerating a bit - it makes it sound like there is 1 choice at every meal.

Joined: 04/28/2012

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PurpleStuff

August 18th, 2015 at 11:27 PM ^

I'm guessing someone just really likes chicken broccoli bake and the dorm switch messed up the timing on when it gets served.

There is zero chance the coach who bragged about guys chugging clam chowder was out there personally whipping up custom crepes for his pampered princesses and that his culinary culture caused Michigan's misfortunes.

#DrunkenAlliteration

Joined: 04/21/2009

MGoPoints: 15969

csmhowitzer

August 19th, 2015 at 10:27 AM ^

Although he doesn't have a "list of things" to change the culture. I was thinking the same things you stated. This seems like if there is anything "harsh" it must be a cleanse. To in other words say "you're not in Kansas anymore". The are a ton of tough teams that probably pamper their players. Just think of the NFL players. This is simply to say "hey, no surprises here, at our camp. You know who you are, who we are, and where you stand on this Football team. You'll have to fight the same battles as the rest of the players and compete and play better if you want to move up, otherwise move down and leave."

If anythign this HS coach said is true, then I think it's to keep everyone on edge. It builds anxiety, that fight or flight mentality. Adrenaline will be pumping, guys will have had bad nights of sleep, no time to take a shower before the next practice, etc...  Just like how we learned about the guys that went to all of the spring practices got a shirt that said something about what they accomplished, no one told them that there would be a "prize" or whatever. In the end they had accept the challenge to learn on their own, be adult about it, and learn how to win those little mental battles we all have on the inside. "Man I'm soo hot today, ughh I just want to sit down and cool off by the fan!" instead of "I don't give a fuck, I'm running in on that next play because I got to help my team". I mean to be selfish about it and to simply play harder to move up on the depth chart. That guy playing harder, doign more, showing his toughness, will move up.

I feel that once the current squad gets the gist they'll have achieved a level of mental toughness that they can pass down to the new guys, next year. So yeah if this is true, the state of camp luxuries that is, then I can see it lighten up in the future.

Joined: 09/24/2012

MGoPoints: 3659

Gofor2

August 19th, 2015 at 4:34 AM ^

Any every other school at the top does the best they can for their players. They have come to understand that they are bringing millions to the schools and deserve to be given all the schools can short of paying them. The kids know this these days. They will see the shit Hairball is pulling and think fuk that. Why wouldn't they? It's not like UM can offer them anything except promises, promises that for the last 6'years have not been delivered

Joined: 12/13/2014

MGoPoints: 549

East German Judge

August 18th, 2015 at 10:51 PM ^

Thanks for the update!  So the takeaway I get is that Hoke did run a bit of country club, but with no communication.  While I get the whole we are staying in South Quad bit, because as students those who stay in a dorm will either get South or West Quad (or at least it use to be that), I do not understand why the lack of nice food choices, as you can give them choice and make it nutritious.

Joined: 10/05/2014

MGoPoints: 190484

JamieH

August 19th, 2015 at 1:16 PM ^

Anyone who has played on a team will tell you that having no understanding of WTF is going on with the depth chart is a massive de-motivator.  If you see no connection between what is going on in practice and the depth chart, your entire work effort goes down the tubes incredibly fast. 

Joined: 09/05/2009

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LSAClassOf2000

August 18th, 2015 at 10:52 PM ^

With Harbaugh he knows exactly where he stands on the depth chart every single day (he said it's updated every day) and he knows exactly what the coaches want to see in him to improve his standing.

We will probably never see them, but I have always wondered exactly what a wall of charts looks like in a Harbaugh locker room only because I would love to see how the transparency he likes to have translates into performance. This statement sort of reminded me of that wish. 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130636

Brimley

August 18th, 2015 at 10:56 PM ^

I know Ben's from your neck of the woods and I know that a lot of us (probably including Ben) were frustrated that his playing time in prior years didn't seem to follow rhyme or reason.  Anyway, first rule of management is being direct with people about what you need to see and this player I'm sure appreciates Harbaugh's honesty.  Getting stoked for the season!

Joined: 03/22/2011

MGoPoints: 11668

jace owen

August 18th, 2015 at 10:58 PM ^

Never thought I would be happy to hear about leaks from a submarine. Thank you for the info. Agree with many of you that there will be attrition and love the way Harbaugh does things. Transparency and toughness.

Joined: 01/07/2015

MGoPoints: 483

switch26

August 18th, 2015 at 11:00 PM ^

Number 3 sounds familiar as Hoke would randomly do this all season long during his tenure..

I remember some games wondering why are starters weren't in?

 

Kind of like when we had the game wrapped up against PSU and he puts in 2 true freshman to cover the best receivers and they make 2 huge completions in a row.

 

Or when we were trying to finish the game at home agianst Neb and it was 3rd and long and we sub in someone cold and they blew the coverage..

 

Actually have some sort of structure on why players are in and where they stand should help signifcantly so players actually know what they are working for..

Joined: 02/04/2010

MGoPoints: 8309