The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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couldn't remember Schembechler, "just call me Bo." Previously, Coach Schembechler had been a head coach of Miami of Ohio, known as a hotbed of coaching talent. He brought with him young, talented, energetic, and intelligent football minds in assistants Gary Moeller, Jim Young, Chuck Sto- bart, Jerry Hanlon, and Rick Hunter, among others. These coaches also had experience as high school head coaches, which some believe contrib- uted to their understanding of how to better communicate, teach, and mo- tivate athletically gifted young men. Bo was described by many as a psychological genius because of his ability to understand, teach, motivate, and underscore the importance of "team" to his players. He drilled the concept of teamwork over and over again, which resulted in the cohesion of his squads. It was about the team, the team, and the team. These young men became psychologically part of a group to which they belonged (what he called "bonded teammates"). As a result, for example, Mike Taylor, a defensive All-American specialist, got on Reggie McKenzie, an offensive All-American stalwart, for dogging it during practice drills. He said to Reg- gie, "Come on, they're watching you. Don't go through the motions." Within their team practices and group drills, the teammates began to identify with each other, and devel- oped unity; their goals became inter- dependent, and in the process they formed aspirations and expectations together. And as the teammates be- gan to identify highly with the group and its goals, they gained camaraderie and satisfaction with the attainment of a goal. Even under certain circum- stances, failure to meet a group goal also increased group bonding (as in that early-season loss to rival Michi- gan State). And when the teammates easily accepted a common goal (i.e., executing and minimizing mistakes of the I formation) and supported the actions required to reach it (practice, practice, practice; drill, drill, drill), teammates felt great and recognized contributions of their teammates (a solid block, a hard hit, or a key inter- ception). And team unity also positively in- fluenced the personalities each player developed. As individuals, they be- came less self-centered, more giving. Simply, they cared about each other. And what Schembechler knew well was that membership in the group was paramount for security, achieve- ment, competitiveness, and status. The team became "we" — forget about "I" or "me." So when Fritz Seyferth, a fullback, began sharing duties with a sophomore, he didn't complain or say "Poor me." Instead, he continued to work hard for the team. Reggie McKenzie told a story about Preston Henry during one spring practice. On that day, Henry, a run- ning back, had to practice offensive maneuvers for both the first- and sec- ond-string offense for some 130 plays or so. "After practice, everyone ran sprints. Even Preston Henry. We all felt sorry for him. Absolutely no one on the team would have been upset if Preston Henry was excused from run- ning wind sprints." With newfound cohesiveness, Mich-