A lesson in teamwork from Coach Barwis and staff.

Now, since we found out pigs are flying, the fat lady is singing and korea is finally united. I have a small info piece about the importance of team from the RRod camp. This might help explain why some players leave like a bat out of hell and some absolutely love it here and come out Michigan Men, and the fact that you will not see any "me players" anytime soon at umich. During the offseason, the football team is broken down into little "squads" as some would call it. About 6 to 8 per squad and the squadmates rack up points for their squad, like going to motts on thursdays, volunteering, etc. They can also lose points for things like being late, missing study hours/class check etc. If your squad drops below a certain threshold, you get to enjoy something courtesy of Coach Barwis called "Torture Tuesday".

It starts promptly at 6am and ain't fun at all. It is a full hour and a half of conditioning. The activities may include 50 yard wheelbarrows, suicides, or my personal favorite "buddy carry" which involves you and your partner to carry each other on your backs doing laps around the football field. If you drop him too much you get another lap and this is usually the last activity, 

Why did I mention this? 

Well, to further solidify the new concept that is flourishing in umich football. I laughed when some former players blamed the "lack of family" for transfering and this could not be further from the truth. There are no star players, there are only teammates. No matter what your position, year, or ability, you are expected to pull your weight and help your teammates pull theirs.

So don't fret when we lose a player to transfer, or we don't get that star recruit. RRod wants teammates who will win for the block M, not people looking for a stepping stone to the NFL. There will be rough patches, but if we stay the course, we will be champions once again.