UConn Loves Pressure

[JudgeSCR]

Part of Geno’s brilliance is how he has taken the concept of pressure and turned it into an ally. I was taken with some of Muffet’s comments before the game noting that in her mind UConn had all the pressure on them. You often see this dialogue from coaches and players shifting the “pressure monkey” to the other team or person’s back. The implication being that pressure is not good and is to be avoided and if you see it, if you feel it, if you admit that it is coming and it falls on you … well, you just won’t perform to your maximum potential.

At UConn Geno and his coaches don’t run from pressure. Instead, they embrace it. He works his players in practice under stressful conditions. He places them in harder and harder (more and more pressure filled) situations and says “get yourself out of it”. After Geno, CD, Shea and Marissa finish with you nothing an opposing crowd can say will sting quite as much. Pressure becomes the ugly wallpaper that you notice but learn to deal with and eventually accept it as part of the what makes this room unique.

Geno, and now his players, take great pride in saying some version of “the big games (read pressure filled) are WHY YOU COME TO UCONN.” In other words, ‘We want the spotlight and all that brings. The pressure of a hostile crowd. The pressure to make the big stop. The pressure to step forward and deliver when the lights are brightest.’

Does that mean that UConn will always succeed in pressure situations? No. But they look forward to it. It is why they come here. Pressure makes diamonds, or as Geno says:

“Champions are not born, they are made … HERE.”

 

[dtbtbtb]

The thing that impressed me the most about this team is how well (at least so far) they have handled pressure...even more so considering that they are young and playing in different roles than last season...the FL St. Game, Baylor, TX and ND had points where they could break but instead they came back stronger to defeat those team. Amazing!

 

[UcMiami]

Great minds think alike! (My long winded post in this thread: The meme of the tough and the not tough - specifically this:
I loved Geno's comment about one team in practice that each day for a week was challenged by more desperate 'situations' with the number of opponents growing from five to six to seven. They got to the end of the week and Geno gave them a situation and only five defenders, and the team was like - what is this, you don't think we can handle seven?! Come on - make us earn it!)


'____A____ the ____B______!' with the A filled in with 'Embrace' and 'Enjoy' and B filled with 'Challenge' and 'Pressure' are the mottos for this team!

Collier and Samuelson are allies in the Enjoy version, Kia and Gabby maybe more in the Embrace version - but both work for the whole team, the juniors have just grown a little more serious with their advanced age!