TCU Post-Practice
12/25 at University of the Incarnate Word
Interview: TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson
How was your practice today?
Practice 11, yesterday was really good. A little bit cooler today but our kids liked it. Most of our work got done before we left Fort Worth but today was a good day. Everybody did what they needed to do. It’s always good to be together with these guys on Christmas.
Does it help knowing that you were here two years ago?
Yeah, I’m sure it helps because it’s not our first shot. These guys out here at Incarnate Word, working out here, they have been tremendous. Our guys are kind of doing checkmarks, same hotel. Everybody is more familiar with it and they feel comfortable. Then you get a different football team to prepare for and play on Thursday night. There’s never been a bad Bowl game, to get a chance to come do this and meet the people you get to meet, and San Antonio has been great.
Do you rely more on the coaching staff or leaders of the team to help your young players prepare for the Bowl game?
We always spell fun W-I-N. That’s how we do it. We practice hard when we come back into bowls now until we get to the end where we’re in shorts. The younger guys, if they don’t learn it now they’ll learn it later. I think the way we practiced last year to face Georgia in the Liberty Bowl carried over to the off season. You never want to end your season on a loss.
How much do your guys enjoy the off the field activities at the bowl game?
I think we had some that had too much fun the first night. They struggled the first practice but we didn’t go home so you have to let them get that out of their system. Outside of that it’s been a good deal. Our kids know how to act, some of them have been to five bowl games so all of that is fun.
Anything in particular from two years ago that you really enjoyed?
I just like coming down here. I like the city. I stay so busy, my best time is 30 minutes after the game is over because everyone signs with their parents and I’m just in charge of me. I like bowl practice because you get to be around the kids a lot. Everybody then starts coming to town to be a part of the bowl game and that’s really fun because you get to see a lot of people you haven’t seen since last June. I’ve been in a dark room watching film or playing bowl games.
Any reason you and Coach Shaw are close friends?
We have been on trips together with Nike. We stay busy but our wives have a lot in common. I think the way we believe that you need to grow kids up, it’s more than just football. Stanford is that way, TCU is that way. When they leave, you want them to have a foundation for how to be successful in life. How to treat people, accountability, work ethic. We worry about kids and we worry about the profession because of everything that’s going on with it.
