Keeping the Eyes of Texas on Today

Good morning Hook 'em Nation, it's officially NCAA tournament time. The Texas Longhorns have earned their 1 seed in the bracket and stand just 6 games away from their hopes of winning a national title. But as the saying goes, there's only one of those six games that you can win today, and that's the message this morning from the Texas coaching staff to their players.

This postseason, coaches are posting a bracket on players' lockers before each match, but that bracket contains only one match: the one Texas is playing that day. It’s a small gesture, but it sets the tone the moment players walk into the locker room. The staff wants the first thing they see to be the reminder that the postseason is built on discipline, not daydreaming. It's when you get wrapped up in the future that you can start to cause problems for yourself today.

With Texas' spot in the bracket, it's very easy to look ahead. You've got a strong 2 seed in Stanford that took Texas to five sets in the Moody Center earlier this season. You've got a 3 seed Wisconsin team that Texas also beat in the non-conference schedule, but lately has been on fire with the return of Charlie Fuerbringer from injury. The 4 seed Indiana is a program on the rise with a lot of young, exciting talent just like the Longhorns. And not to mention, there's a solid chance Texas meets the reigning national champions, Penn State, in the second round. 

It's so dangerously easy to look ahead towards all of that and get caught up in trying to make a run towards another national championship. But for the coaching staff, that's the exact mindset they're trying to avoid. Their message is that December rewards the teams that stay grounded, not the ones that get caught imagining the trophy three weeks too early. For Texas, the priority is shutting out the noise and embracing the grind that comes with single-elimination volleyball.