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UConn coach Geno Auriemma wants to see the competitive fire from Huskies players daily. From every drill and practice, he wants the team — from freshmen to the senior players — to excel in every trivial thing.
This is what the 11-time national champion bench tactician wants to instill in his players as revealed in an SNY special titled "Geno & CD: 40 Years of Excellence." The video was posted on YouTube on New Year's Day.
The 70-year-old coach, who broke Tara VanDerveer's all-time college basketball wins this season, is a stern motivator who wants to see his players accomplish little achievements as it adds confidence to them while building on their collegiate career.
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"You compete like really compete. You want to win every drill. You want to win every board game, you want to win it, every single thing that you do," Auriemma said (1:44).
The veteran coach tries to instill a winning mentality in his team in every training session as he wants them to know that they made it happen through hard work and perseverance.
"It's not hard to play here, whatever you accomplish here. It's because you accomplish whatever you didn't accomplish here. It's because you're one good enough to do it," he added. (1:53)
Former UConn star vouches for Geno Auriemma's 'work hard all the time' approach
Former UConn player and Atlanta Dream center Tina Charles vouched for coach Geno Auriemma's motivational approach during practices.
Charles, who played for UConn from 2006-2010 shared her insights about Auriemma's coaching mentality in the SNY special. She also talked about the qualities a player needs to excel under him.
Charles noted that a player must have the maturity to cope with Auriemma's approaches as he wants to see them perform at their optimum level every game.
"I don't think it's hard to play for Coach Auriemma. He just wants you to work hard all the time," Charles said (0:53)
"The maturity that you have to have but he doesn't give up on you especially when he knows who you want to be and how you want to reflect," she added (1:09)
Charles was part of the Huskies' champion teams in 2009 and 2010 and was adjudged the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament in 2009.
No. 7-ranked UConn (10-3, 2-0 in Big East) looks to win its third straight conference game when it takes on Marquette (9-3, 1-0 in Big East) at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
The Huskies are coming off a 67-41 victory against Providence on Sunday while the Golden Eagles outplayed DePaul 78-59 in their season opener.
What can you say about Geno Auriemma's competitive approach during practices? Let us know your insights in the comments section below.
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