Shama: Players Meeting Sparked Football Gophers

[BleedGopher]

per Shama:

Hageman was concerned the season would duplicate 2012 when the Gophers went 2-6 in league games. Dozens of players showed up at a meeting to discuss how things could improve. “The coaches didn’t know about it,” Hageman said.

Players spoke out and among the messages was the Gophers should challenge each other more in practices. “We felt like it (practice) was kind of dead,” Hageman said.

The meeting helped the team get ready for Northwestern, Minnesota’s third conference game of the season. The Gophers won against the Wildcats and since then have added three more league victories. “It definitely set the tempo for the Northwestern game,” Hageman said. “It kind of carried on, especially during practice. We want people to compete at the best level they can compete at. I feel like it definitely carried on to the four wins in a row.”

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Go Gophers!!

 

[killme]

I missed this and the article by Marcus Fuller that described the same meeting. http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_24557873/gophers-football-players-only-meeting-led-winning-ways?source=pkg

"(Claeys) would tell me all the time when I talked to him, 'Boy coach, you'd be proud. These kids are working now. They're stepping it up'," Kill said.

That extra focus during the bye week set the tempo for the Northwestern game, which started the winning streak.

Wow! Kill mentioned several times since returning to practice after missing the Michigan game that the team seemed different. While I don't think players only meetings are the answer to all problems, this one seemed to be a collective decision to buy in and stop going through the motions. Two weeks to work on getting ready for Wisc? I like that.