Pat Summitt Thoughts

On Character
I think as a coach it’s vital that you lead by example. I’m a teacher and if I want them to understand our philosophy then it’s up to me. If I want them to be on time, I’m on time. If I want them to have good communication skills, I have to have good communication skills.

I think you have to establish your philosophy. I don’t think you can try and be four different coaches. You have to arrive at what’s really important to you.

The players need you to be real. And I am very real. I always tell them that winning doesn’t give you the right to think that you’re better than someone else and losing doesn’t make you a bad person. You have to keep life in perspective and it’s never as bad as it seems, nor is it as good as it seems.

You have to surround yourself with good people and people who are on the same page as you. They’re not going to undermine you; they’re going to be incredibly loyal to you and committed no matter what your philosophy might be. You have to have that loyalty and support.

On Commitment
I expect our teams to work just like I do. They know I’m here early and I stay late. I watch film with them. Whatever it takes. If they want to shoot extra, I’m here.

On Caring
I really think first and foremost you generally have to care about the people you work with. I don’t think you can fake that. I think it’s got to be real and the reason I love so much what I do is that I get the opportunity to work with people. You develop those relationships and if I didn’t care then I wouldn’t be doing this.

On Consistency
Our philosophy is to be firm, be fair, but be consistent. Players really watch for coaches who favor their best players. I’ve never really had a problem with that. I like people. I’m not about titles; whereas a lot of people are about titles. I’m friends with the custodian and the president of the university. It’s just people and there’s a right way and a wrong way to treat people and that’s true with discipline.