Shawn Gibbs knew he had his work minimize out for him at North Carolina A&T.
However the first-year Aggies coach didn’t anticipate the necessity to execute a whole tradition overhaul.
Within the aftermath of the Aggies’ newest loss to Maine, Gibbs delivered an impassioned message concerning the significance of perception, resilience, and the hazards of complacency.
“I knew after I took this job that it was going to be an incredible problem,” Gibbs mentioned. “However I actually didn’t perceive how dangerous it was. The Maine sport confirmed one thing for me—it confirmed how highly effective perception really is.”
Gibbs, who was an assistant throughout this system’s championship glory years within the MEAC, described how the present group — as a consequence of all of the losses it has suffered in recent times — lacked the assumption they may win.
NC A&T presently sits at 1-4 general and has misplaced its final two video games.
“I don’t imagine we’ve gone into any sport really believing that we had been going to win,” he admitted. “In some video games, we had been capable of hold round, after which we began believing. However that’s not the identical as stepping on the sphere already understanding that we are able to win.”
Gibbs emphasised that successful comes solely by means of relentless preparation and psychological toughness, traits he insists should type the muse of a profitable program.
“Successful is tough. It’s arduous to do, but it surely’s what true rivals love about it,” he mentioned. “The work that’s required to win is what drives profitable folks, profitable firms, profitable applications.”
He acknowledged his personal distaste for defeat, describing losses as lasting scars that gas his dedication.
“I hate dropping far more than I get pleasure from successful,” he mentioned. “After a win, I would get pleasure from it for a few hours, after which it’s on to the subsequent activity. However losses stick with me ceaselessly. I take advantage of them as motivation so I don’t should really feel that disgusting feeling once more.”
Gibbs most pointed remarks, nevertheless, had been aimed on the tradition he inherited. The coach mentioned too many inside the program have grown tolerant of dropping, making excuses as a substitute of demanding outcomes.
“There are too many individuals in our program who’ve developed a tolerance for dropping. I’ve zero tolerance for it,” he declared. “Too many need to speak about what we don’t have, what we should always have, how issues was. That mindset doesn’t win video games.”
