Be Opposite The Moment

Last month, Texas A&M pulled off the biggest comeback in their proud 131-year history.

Down 3-30 against South Carolina, the Aggies rallied to score 28 second half points to win by one point.

"I'm not lost for words very much, but I was lost for words with the team in the locker room after the game," Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko said. "Ultimately, to score 28 straight points and win a football game that ends with a 99-yard drive, there's just not a lot of words for that. It's really impressive."

But the situation also gave rise to the usual trope about the head coaching giving a big rousing speech at half time. Elko wasn’t having any of it.

“Everyone is going to think it’s some amazing half-time speech and it’s not,” Elko said in his post-game press conference. “We won that game because of what we did six months ago, in the winter. We built a culture, we built a character, we built a commitment to doing things the way we want to do them, and that’s what came out in the second half”.

He’s right. To be down by 27 at half-time and have a group of players who believe they can win, and be knowledgeable about how to execute with no margin for error — that’s some skillful coaching. And teams don’t just find that ability because of a speech. They find it because they’ve been practicing and preparing for it, sometimes unknowingly.

Continuing, Elko offered a great reminder about how a coach’s role is to be a counterbalance to the team’s energy.

Being ‘opposite the moment’ is one of the most challenging elements of head coaching because it put you in a constant state of being misunderstood and disliked. You’re driving when they lack drive, you’re at ease when they think they need to be riled. It’s uncomfortable to be opposite the group, but that’s one of the costs of leadership.

So, today, as you take stock of the energy of your team, ask yourself: what does this team need at this moment?

You can watch Mike Elko’s press conference here: