The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/544673
in what his swimmers do apart from earning championships. "The majority of the team was winning academic awards, which in my opinion, is the most important thing," he said. "These guys are getting it. It's not about what hap- pens in the pool as an end game. It's about what happens in their lives, through the pool, and in the lives of the people around them through what they're learning in the pool. That's what we're about." At the same time, they work way too hard not to succeed in their sport, he pointed out. So much ef- fort goes into any endeavor across the board at Michigan, there has to be a reward. "If we're not successful in the pool, all the energy they put into getting better and improving both their technique and their team … if we're not winning, moving forward in the pool, all those lessons will be lost," Bottom stressed. "Who wants to learn a lesson that ends in a negative feeling or a nega- tive result?" Not Hutchins, or any of her play- ers. A freshman enters the doors to the Donald R. Shepherd Softball Center, and she's walking into a culture that has known nothing but high-level winning for decades. Hutchins aims to keep it that way, and that requires a laser focus. She wants her players to enjoy a full ex- perience, but makes sure everyone stays on track. "The balance for the college ath- lete these days, or the college coach, is unbelievably difficult to achieve," Hutchins insisted. "We are pulled in so many directions. Our kids are busy from the first day of school, every day of the school year. "Whether it's people asking us to partake in their charity events, whether we have speaking engage- ments, all the training they do, and they have enormously difficult academic schedules. They are really pulled. "As a coach, my job is to make sure we keep our eye on the ball. And one of the balls is to make sure we win on the field. That's the ex- perience they want. And you do it while allowing them to be success- ful in the classroom." Harbaugh's players crave that winning experience as well, perhaps with increasing desperation. The fifth-year seniors on the team own no Big Ten championship ring, and the freshmen on the squad were seven years old the last time any Michigan football player slipped one on. So while Harbaugh makes head- lines like Krispy Kreme makes khakis split, the new boss in Schem- bechler Hall knows enough to keep quiet and get better today. He's done it before, he'll do it again, but he hasn't yet, not here. A good look around provides plenty of incentive to try and keep up. ❏ Editor John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @JB _ Wolverine.