WEBVTT - Muffet McGraw: Come Hell Or High Water 0:00:03.120 --> 0:00:06.680 Welcome to the Only Ways through a podcast collaboration between 0:00:06.760 --> 0:00:11.320 under Armour and I Heart Radio episode for Muffint McGraw, 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:16.439 Come Hell or high Water. Leaders are revered for the 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:19.560 trails they blaze, the respect they come in, and when 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:23.360 the crisis presents itself, they're giving a choice endure and 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:27.400 a dad or run. Because when dalt sinks in and 0:00:27.520 --> 0:00:31.640 failure is inevitable, a true leader hunkers down and bears 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:34.680 the brun of the fight on their shoulders. Throughout her 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:37.800 career and Notre Dame Hall of Fame women's basketball coach 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:41.480 Muffet McGraw has inspired her players to accept no substitute 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:44.599 for victory. She's led her team the non final fours, 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:49.880 seven championship games, and two national championships over a thirty 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:53.040 five season career. Only one came with a losing record. 0:00:55.640 --> 0:00:58.320 With the resume like that, there's no wonder she's looked 0:00:58.320 --> 0:00:59.840 at it is one of the greatest of all time. 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:05.240 But this story is different. This story is about battling adversity. 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:09.480 It's about rising through failure. Because this season, the Fighting 0:01:09.520 --> 0:01:13.320 Irish have their backs against the wall. At the time 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:16.600 of this interview, their record was six and twelve, and 0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:19.839 over the course of the last few weeks things having improved. 0:01:20.920 --> 0:01:24.480 With morale low and their confidence shaking, it'd be easy 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:26.720 to throw in the towel and focus on next season, 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:29.600 because it's hard to look at a losing record and 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:33.560 keep battling. This is something coach McGraw takes the heart. 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:36.679 She understands that if she wants her players to leave 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:39.600 their team to victory, she has to lead by example, 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:47.960 leadership and accountability. They're not about somebody, nobody, anybody. They 0:01:48.000 --> 0:01:50.840 are about a person. Okay. It's not who's got long, 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:53.800 who's going short, who's up next? It's this happy you're next, 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.320 you got short, Murdoch, get down the floor, you're long. 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:59.640 That's what leadership is. We're just standing around waiting for 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:02.720 somebody the rise to the occasion. It's not happening. Okay, 0:02:02.760 --> 0:02:05.800 that's your job. That's your job. You gotta get everybody 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:08.280 organized when you're sitting back there, get them ready. Who's 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:16.040 coming up next? Okay? Alright, hard work. Cal Fussman sat 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:20.600 down with coach McGraw and Notre Dame to hear more. Okay, 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:25.200 it's a very interesting dynamic because you've had tremendous success 0:02:25.240 --> 0:02:28.040 over the years. I think in the last twelve years, 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:33.960 you're in the top every year, and then this year, 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:39.320 this season comes about very different. Has this season been 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:43.760 practiced for you? I prefer this success to what we're 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:47.040 having now. I've never been in this situation before of 0:02:47.120 --> 0:02:50.720 having lost five starters. We had nobody on the floor 0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:54.840 with any experience. Our most experienced player had blood clots 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:56.920 in our lungs and wasn't able to play this whole season. 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:00.720 Our other most experienced player heard her knee the first 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:03.280 game of the season was out for twelve games. So 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:06.960 we have no experience on the floor. And I was 0:03:07.040 --> 0:03:09.120 just thinking the other day, you know how when you're 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:11.840 going through things and the stress of being number one 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:14.320 and being the team to beat, being every game knowing 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:17.560 you're supposed to win, that that really weighs having on 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:19.840 your shoulders. And I think I said at one point, 0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:22.359 wouldn't it be great to be the underdog again? And 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:24.800 my husband said, be careful what you wish for. And 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:34.760 here we are after a blowout loss to North Carolina 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:38.720 State coach felt the weather this season close in and 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:41.880 a post game conference she did something out of character. 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:47.280 So the season is progressing and then the teams it 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:51.640 looks like it's starting to go into quicksand here and 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:55.720 you have a game where you lose by thirty four points? 0:03:56.400 --> 0:03:59.840 What is going on in your mind? And a lot 0:03:59.880 --> 0:04:03.920 of people may have seen the video where the question 0:04:04.080 --> 0:04:10.640 comes to you and it really stops you and brings 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:15.480 out an emotional side of you. How difficult has this 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:18.400 been for you? Okay, maybe you have an answer between 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:28.680 Thursday and today and it's altho like this happens. I 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:31.720 just I gotta do better. I feel like I can 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:38.880 fix it, but I didn't. I'm gonna keep trying and 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:48.719 I'm gonna find an answer and I'm gonna fix it. Sorry. 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:55.520 I think it was probably a couple of months of 0:04:55.560 --> 0:05:00.320 frustration piling piling over. And while you were taking that 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:02.720 knife in my heart about the thirty or four point loss, 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:05.839 you didn't mention it was at home, you know. I 0:05:05.839 --> 0:05:11.599 think probably worse loss in the program. I'm bleeding over here, 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:15.240 and uh, I knew it was gonna be a tough game, obviously, 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:18.280 but but my big message to the team compete for 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:21.000 forty minutes. That's all I want, you know. I thought 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:23.960 maybe maybe they're feeling the weight of my expectations. Maybe 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:26.640 they think, God, we're not We're not doing this right 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:28.760 because we're not winning. And so I said, you know what, 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:31.000 I just wanted to play hard for forty minutes and 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:34.920 see what happens. And my god, what happened. A massacre. 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:37.120 It was one of the hardest things to sit through. 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:40.240 We were hoping that the clock operator would forget to 0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:42.880 stop the clock and you know, just get the game 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:46.200 over with. Because our fans have been so instrumental in 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:49.159 our success. They help us in recruiting, because kids come 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:50.960 to games, they go, Wow, I want to I want 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:53.960 to play in front of this crowd, and to disappoint 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:57.119 them to to come out and not bring our best game. Um, 0:05:57.160 --> 0:05:59.840 I just really I wanted to get to the microphone 0:05:59.839 --> 0:06:02.560 and apologize. You know, thanks for watching this. So I 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:06.520 appreciate it, but we got to do better, all right, 0:06:06.720 --> 0:06:17.960 Nick got Nick, did you have to allow yourself to 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:22.320 be vulnerable or we just caught it in the moment? Well, 0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:24.359 this year I've felt like I could burst into tears 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:26.719 at any moment. You know. It's been that kind of 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:30.320 season where the frustration, you know, continues to pile up. 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:34.400 And so I think that trying to get my emotions 0:06:34.440 --> 0:06:37.120 under controls is important. I also, I mean, I have 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:40.760 a passion for it. I'm competitive and I want to win, 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:43.960 and I have a really hard time with losing. I'm 0:06:44.000 --> 0:06:47.320 not I'm not a really great sport when I lose either. 0:06:47.880 --> 0:06:51.039 And so I think when you give everything you have 0:06:51.200 --> 0:06:55.280 to something and it doesn't pan out, you're gonna be emotional. 0:06:55.800 --> 0:06:59.479 What happened the next practice. Everybody shows up after that. 0:06:59.560 --> 0:07:02.200 Maybe they saw the video, maybe they didn't, but they 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:04.359 had to hear about it, and they had to know 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:09.840 that you were really set at the depths. They came 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:13.080 into that practice and we um I called it somebody 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:14.680 to come and talk to them. Uh, we have a 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:18.200 psychologist on campus, so she she talked to them first, 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:20.960 just kind of about how important your mental game is. 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:23.520 And we kind of washed all over the the emotion 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:25.520 of the game and like we were just concentrated on 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:27.920 and we just lost by forty at home, and so 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:30.080 how do we get our mind set? That's just thing. 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:34.600 You lost by thirty four, but you thought it was forty. Yeah, 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:37.520 it could have been fifty. It was it was a lot. Okay, 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:40.640 that was enough. It's kind of like the stages of grief, 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:42.320 and I kept saying to her, I just want to 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:44.240 get too mad, that's all. I just I want to 0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:46.920 be angry. I don't want to be emotional. I don't 0:07:46.960 --> 0:07:49.320 want it to be all this frustration and all this. 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:51.080 I just want to be like, no, we're better than this, 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:56.400 and I'm going to fix it. Here's Matt mcgrawis husband. 0:07:56.760 --> 0:07:58.640 It's not that she doesn't want to lose a game. 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:02.040 She doesn't want to was a possession. She wants to 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:06.280 run every play the way she envisions that, the way 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:10.680 we did in practice, and if you don't, that's where 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:12.760 the stress comes in because she can't figure out, we 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:14.760 ran that same thing for five days, why are we 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:18.680 doing it differently now. So even in games like last 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:21.280 year where we we had a very high i Q 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:24.000 basketball team with some of the kids out there, it 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:26.720 was the same thing. I mean, she she would never relax. 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:29.640 There was never a point we'd be sitting someplace and 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:31.400 you'd say, does she have a game today? Because she 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:34.880 looks really relaxed. That never occurs. But does she have 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:38.880 that high degree of stress? Yeah, But when basketball ends 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:41.360 and she's working in the garden, she has that same 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:43.720 degree of stress. And she look it's like, how does 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:46.880 this look? That looks okay, I don't like it. So 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:48.720 I just look at the plants and I just she 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:50.840 just put in there, and I just say, don't get 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:53.280 comfortable because she's gonna move you. In five minutes. The 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:58.440 plants become the offense. Once basketball ends, it's there's there's 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:00.360 no I'd like to tell you this magic with it. 0:09:00.760 --> 0:09:04.040 She's the magic. Okay, she makes it happen. Everybody buys 0:09:04.080 --> 0:09:06.560 into what she does, and I think they buy in 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:10.679 because she really cares about them and they understand that. 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:15.280 Here's what I was wondering when I watched the video. 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.199 This is amazing that you were able to make yourself 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:22.440 so vulnerable. And I'm starting to think what is going 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:25.520 on in the mind of the players on your team. 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:28.800 If they were watching that and and here you are, 0:09:29.640 --> 0:09:33.480 probably gone into their homes talk to their parents, Yeah, 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:35.760 I'm going to take care of your kid. You can 0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:40.200 depend on me. And now they're seeing you at a 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:45.280 table basically weeping and asking for a tissue. And I thought, 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:50.520 I thought, you know what, there's something very smart about this. 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:53.600 If I'm one of those players, I may not be 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:56.760 thinking about me as a victim. I may be thinking 0:09:57.120 --> 0:10:00.440 I got to help the coach. Yeah, I there was 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:03.040 definitely some of that, and I got I got text 0:10:03.040 --> 0:10:06.280 messages from parents who I've We've got great parents, and 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:07.960 even one of our recruits parents said it. You know, 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:09.760 I knew Notre Dame was the place for it, but 0:10:09.800 --> 0:10:13.200 after watching that press conference, I'm even happier that we 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:15.760 chose to come to Notre Dame. And so there were 0:10:15.800 --> 0:10:20.040 so many uplifting comments. I got so many people texted 0:10:20.080 --> 0:10:22.440 and called, and I got a call from Roy Williams 0:10:22.600 --> 0:10:24.160 the other night just saying like I just won't let 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:25.880 you know You're not the only one going through this 0:10:25.880 --> 0:10:28.360 this kind of season. And you know, I got an 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:30.760 email from Brad Stevens you know, hang in there, And 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:33.679 just so many people reached out to say, like we've 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:36.319 all been there at one point or another, but you hadn't. 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:40.240 But yeah, I mean we've had some down moments. We 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:42.760 lost by forty at Louisville two years ago and came 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:45.360 back and won the national championship. That wasn't this kind 0:10:45.360 --> 0:10:47.840 of lost this year, you know, because we're we're struggling 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:52.079 to find a win. Not fair. And I got nothing 0:10:53.200 --> 0:11:00.400 it's one season starts. How is the last practice before 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:04.440 opening game. I always have loved practice. I would rather 0:11:04.480 --> 0:11:09.040 practice than play games. Everybody's time to shine is a practice, 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:13.120 So show me what you got. Game day is probably 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:16.880 the worst day of the year, every single game day. 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:20.200 And I look back over over thousand guys. I know 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:22.719 we're prepared, but I still worry that something's going to 0:11:22.800 --> 0:11:25.440 happen that I didn't prepare them for. Gosh, what if 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:26.600 they come out in the box someone What if they 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:28.360 go trying to say, do we work against the traps? 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:30.520 What if they do this? And so my whole day 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:33.720 has spent pretty much catastrophizing what's about to happen in 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:38.400 the game until the ball is actually tipped. That's when 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:45.800 I relax. So in a normal practice day, your mind 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:50.079 is filled with possibilities and they're positive. On game day, 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:56.720 it's possible catastrophe exactly. Now. I see why you like 0:11:56.800 --> 0:12:01.800 practice much better. The Fighting Irish lost the n C 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:05.920 Double A Championship last year by one point. The previous 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:09.480 year they wanted. The starting five who brought them there 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:12.160 all went to the w n b A. That's how 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:16.480 good they were. And then their veteran players got injured. 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:20.080 Without those leaders on the court, this year's young team 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:22.160 lost role models who could teach them how to play 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:31.400 as a unit and how to handle depression. How does 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:42.600 an injured player affect practice the next day. It's almost 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:45.000 like a freak accident At times when it happens, we 0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:47.120 do a lot of prevention for it, but you just 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:49.080 you just never know your career could be over in 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:51.719 a day. So I think it brings a little perspective 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:55.360 to it. But also losing Mix, she was our leader, 0:12:55.679 --> 0:12:58.800 she was our voice, so we got a lot quieter 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:01.400 after she left. But then you look over on the side, 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:02.960 you see her an abbey over there, and you think, 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:05.080 I gotta play a little harder. There's two people on 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:07.720 the sideline that want to be out here and can't, 0:13:07.720 --> 0:13:10.720 and I have that opportunity that brings us to abbey. 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:15.000 This is beyond an injury, is a pulmonary embolism. This 0:13:15.000 --> 0:13:20.440 this is serious. You know, we set a prayer for her. 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:22.760 We all got together and kind of came together in 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:26.000 that moment. You know, at twenty you have a life 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:31.680 threatening illness and something so unexpected. Um So I think 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:33.800 it really made them think a little bit and appreciate 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:36.280 and not take for granted, at least in that moment 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:41.000 what they had. Coach McGraw's commitment to the process has 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:45.440 helped her turn players into leaders. Neil Ivy is one 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:47.840 of them. She was with coach McGraw for both of 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:50.720 her n C Double A Championship wins, first as a 0:13:50.760 --> 0:13:54.560 player and then later as an assistant coach. She is 0:13:54.600 --> 0:13:57.960 now one of eleven female assistant coaches in the NBA, 0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:04.000 currently coaching for the Memphis Grade. Least Here's she works 0:14:04.040 --> 0:14:06.640 so tires lely, and she works so hard, And I 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:09.840 think that adversity and failure can help make you a 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:12.679 stronger person, stronger player. I mean, I'm going through the 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:15.560 same thing here. I went from Notre Dame never losing 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:18.600 to you know, having a twenty two record here. So 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:20.840 I had to learn how to accept failure because that 0:14:20.880 --> 0:14:22.800 wasn't something that I was very comfortable with. It wasn't 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:25.640 something that I had gone through. I've lost probably more 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:29.320 right now that I've lost in maybe twenty years. And 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:32.720 so instead of placing so much emphasis on wins and losses, 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:35.400 I'm placing it on how am I getting better? So 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:39.000 always some type of underlying message or lesson going through 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:41.520 failure that you might not get winning all the time. 0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:44.040 There's something else that she's learning to something else the 0:14:44.040 --> 0:14:46.400 team is learning by going through what they're going through. 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:50.560 They have so many questions about what you've been through 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:53.640 in the last few months. I really like to break 0:14:53.680 --> 0:14:58.720 this down because it enables us to see you back 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:02.120 coaching at the a real basic level. I think you 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:06.120 get to the point where you're so consumed with alright, 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:09.640 last last minute of game, here's some plays we're gonna run. 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:11.800 I mean, I'm trying to figure out how to put 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:14.680 us in a position to win. It's all about strategy, 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:18.200 and now there's almost no strategy. I told the reporter 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:20.760 the other day. My strategy hope they miss, hope we 0:15:20.840 --> 0:15:24.760 make them that. That's that's what my strategy the most basic. 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:30.080 It's it's completely different and trying to you know, set 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:32.720 those small goals of we remembered to get in the press. 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:36.600 Great job, that's that's a step forward for us. You know, 0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:39.560 everybody was in the same defense. That's really good. We 0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:42.360 only ever play zone, but occasionally some of them would 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:44.600 drift off in a man to man, so those kind 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:47.120 of little things, you know, there's there's ten seconds left 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:49.560 on the shock clock. Let's get organized into something that 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:56.080 we worked on a practice. I heard you did something, 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:58.400 but I thought it was really unique. You brought in 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:03.400 a couple of military folks and put the team through 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:06.600 some kind of training where they went in a swimming 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:10.000 pool and how to do exercise like put on a hoodie, 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:13.920 get in pairs, and take off your hoodie in the 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:21.760 water and transfer it to your partner. Well, our fencing 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:24.320 team did. Our fencing team is won more national championships, 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:27.600 I think eleven than anybody here. So I wanted to 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:30.120 listen to see what he was doing. But if I 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:32.240 was there, what would I be seeing. Oh, you'd be 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:34.600 nervous because I can't swim, and I know some of 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:36.960 them can't swim. They were hanging onto the edge there 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:39.560 in the deep end, trying to tread water, which you 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:41.280 know they didn't really want to do. This is a 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:43.600 couple of them that were very comfortable in the water, 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:45.480 so they sort of took on the leadership role in 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:47.560 the water. And they're holding each other up there and 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:49.240 they're telling each other, Hey, this is what I did 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:51.120 this time. Here's how I got the sweatshirt off and 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:53.680 we're not good communicators. So that was something that I 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:56.800 thought would help us. And you know, you gotta wait 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:58.920 for everybody. You have a time limit and everybody's got 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:01.120 to get it done in three minutes. And there were 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:02.840 plenty of times when we had to do it over 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:05.600 and over and over again until we all got it 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:21.240 on the same page, got anywhere over. When you have 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:22.720 a young team, you don't know what your leadership is 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:24.480 going to be like. We also have a team that 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:27.360 really gets along great, which to me is the most 0:17:27.400 --> 0:17:31.719 important thing the team chemistry. However, when they continually talk 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:33.520 about how much we love each other and how well 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:36.679 we get along, and I always worry because who's going 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:39.120 to be that one that's gonna be able to get 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:41.800 you by the throat and say right now, we need 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:47.320 your head in the game. So this program was designed 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:49.600 to make them accountable, to teach them how to be 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:52.720 accountable not for themselves, but for each other. What is 0:17:52.800 --> 0:18:01.040 it about the practice court that enables somebody to really 0:18:01.119 --> 0:18:06.200 improve if they're not really getting into games. I'm big 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:09.720 on roles and expectations, and I give them their expect 0:18:09.800 --> 0:18:11.600 These are the three things I need from you this 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:13.959 year and I go around the circle, not just so 0:18:14.080 --> 0:18:17.000 you know, but so everybody knows. Maybe you're not a 0:18:17.000 --> 0:18:19.720 three point shooter. So when you're open and the fans 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:21.480 or your parents are screaming for you to shoot it, 0:18:21.840 --> 0:18:24.560 everyone on the team knows. No, that's not her job. 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:27.840 So I think that's important. So the ones that aren't playing, 0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:29.960 I say, your jobs to make us better at practice. 0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:31.760 Your job is to bring energy. Your job is to 0:18:31.760 --> 0:18:34.359 bring encouragement. I want you to be the you know, 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:37.480 the leading charge taker, the leading shot plucker, the leader 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:40.600 of this at practice. Your job is to make us 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:44.520 better at practice. How do people respond to that? You know, 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:47.080 I think a lot of them. Everybody wants to contribute. 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:49.359 Everybody wants to know that they're a part of something 0:18:49.359 --> 0:18:52.080 bigger than themselves. Everybody wants to know. Your role is 0:18:52.119 --> 0:18:54.840 so important. We could not be here without you. And 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:56.720 we've had a lot of games afterwards where I said, 0:18:56.760 --> 0:18:58.560 you know what, if you didn't do that at practice, 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:00.760 we would to on that game. You're the reason that 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:03.199 we won that game. And somebody who didn't get on 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:05.440 you didn't even get in the game. But they were 0:19:05.480 --> 0:19:08.240 the other teams, you know, shoot her, and they were 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:10.240 doing a great job at practice of making us find 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:12.879 her in the zone. I never heard of that before. 0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:21.919 Somebody can win the game without being on the court. Good, okay, 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:23.200 come on, we can get one on the make too. 0:19:23.200 --> 0:19:27.320 We gotta get a box out, catch it, come on, 0:19:27.440 --> 0:19:34.560 two hands now? How does this translate? People have roles 0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:37.440 in the weight room as well. You know, I let 0:19:37.440 --> 0:19:40.320 the weight and strength coaches determine what what their jobs 0:19:40.320 --> 0:19:42.080 are going to be. You know, we're looking for leadership, 0:19:42.080 --> 0:19:44.200 we're looking for mental toughness. We're trying to build those 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:46.320 kind of things in the weight room. That's what that's 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:48.800 what's really important to me is all about who's going 0:19:48.840 --> 0:19:50.640 to take that leadership role. Who's going to hold somebody 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:53.840 accountable when they're nobody's looking. Are they doing as their best? 0:19:53.920 --> 0:19:55.760 You know, they lifted as much as they can, Are 0:19:55.760 --> 0:19:58.399 they running as hard as they can on every play? 0:19:58.480 --> 0:20:01.280 And that that's something that I think needs to to 0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:04.280 work a little bit better for women. I think that 0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:08.840 we are reluctant sometimes to tell another woman, you know, 0:20:08.920 --> 0:20:12.360 you're not doing that right. I think we're we're more 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:14.560 known as something that's going to be encouraging and help 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:20.400 them out. Here's Beth Morgan Cunningham, former player turned assistant 0:20:20.440 --> 0:20:23.680 coach at Notre Dame. She's been by coach McGrath side 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:27.960 for the last eight years. Here's been We're trying to 0:20:28.000 --> 0:20:30.080 make these kids the best versions of themselves that they 0:20:30.080 --> 0:20:33.240 can possibly be, you know, and maximize everything that they 0:20:33.240 --> 0:20:36.760 possibly can to get themselves to compete at the highest 0:20:36.840 --> 0:20:40.560 level academically, athletically, and then still we have a well 0:20:40.600 --> 0:20:43.520 balanced you know, four years here, so I think, you know, 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:46.679 breaking it down for us. You know, we have strength 0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:50.360 and conditioning, we have nutritionists, We've got an awesome athletic 0:20:50.400 --> 0:20:52.720 trainer who takes care of them. You know, our doctors 0:20:52.760 --> 0:20:56.919 are medical staff. Every single thing that these kids are involved, 0:20:56.920 --> 0:20:59.440 and you're trying to maximize everything that they can possibly 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:02.720 do by just giving them the best support staff, the 0:21:02.720 --> 0:21:05.800 best chance possible to excel and compete and do what 0:21:05.840 --> 0:21:09.520 they need to do at the highest level. Michael Samborski 0:21:09.640 --> 0:21:12.720 is the director of Olympic Strength and condition at Notre Dame. 0:21:13.200 --> 0:21:16.200 Along with Beth and arrest of his staff. Michael knows 0:21:16.240 --> 0:21:18.640 that discipline is the key to get back on top. 0:21:19.359 --> 0:21:22.280 He works with coach to develop conditioning programs designed to 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:26.160 push each athlete through today's adversity and towards their full potential. 0:21:26.800 --> 0:21:29.439 Everybody wants to jump higher, everybody wants to run faster. 0:21:29.640 --> 0:21:33.240 You know that. That's that's no secret. Whatever training program 0:21:33.280 --> 0:21:35.879 that you're really going to dive into, you've got to 0:21:35.920 --> 0:21:38.720 make sure that you're not dabbling into too many different 0:21:38.720 --> 0:21:40.840 training programs all at the same time, trying to get 0:21:40.880 --> 0:21:43.720 a bunch of different things. Focus on one aspect. If 0:21:43.720 --> 0:21:46.280 you want to get faster, get faster, don't try to 0:21:46.280 --> 0:21:49.040 get faster, jump higher, be stronger, squad more all at 0:21:49.080 --> 0:21:51.640 the same time. That's really hard on no matter who 0:21:51.680 --> 0:21:57.920 you are. Talent is incredibly common. We have talent walk 0:21:57.960 --> 0:22:01.520 through the door all the time. This plan is incredibly rare. 0:22:02.480 --> 0:22:04.920 Very rarely are we going to have an athlete that 0:22:05.000 --> 0:22:06.840 walks in here that is at the top of their 0:22:06.880 --> 0:22:10.080 talent level and is also incredibly disciplined. So when you 0:22:10.119 --> 0:22:12.560 combine those two things, that's when you really get a lead. 0:22:13.000 --> 0:22:15.159 What what I really like to see is I like 0:22:15.240 --> 0:22:18.280 to see an athlete that performs at a really high level, 0:22:18.920 --> 0:22:21.560 and they come in the weight room and they absorb 0:22:21.680 --> 0:22:24.640 what I'm telling them, they push themselves to their potential 0:22:24.680 --> 0:22:27.000 I tell my athletes all the time, there's a lot 0:22:27.080 --> 0:22:29.920 going on in everybody's lives. You're not gonna walk into 0:22:29.960 --> 0:22:33.240 a training session and be at your peak every single time. 0:22:33.280 --> 0:22:36.359 Nobody ever expects that. It's got to be okay to 0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:40.439 fail a little bit in my setting. How do you 0:22:41.520 --> 0:22:46.280 put that into somebody two who would normally be encouraging 0:22:46.880 --> 0:22:50.320 to be demanding. Yeah, that's really hard. I think that 0:22:50.440 --> 0:22:52.879