Clemson Mantra 'No Shine Without the Grind' Has Even Greater Importance
CLEMSON—For the Clemson Tigers there are many sayings that head coach Dabo Swinney has made famous.
Whether it is “all In”, “best is the standard” or “the next game is the biggest game of the season”, but the one that rings true for the Tigers this summer is “there is no shine without the grind.”
That “grind” is part of four distinct seasons or phases for the football team.
“The first part of our journey was January to April and that was getting ready,” head coach Dabo Swinney said. “And then May to July was transformation- transforming our minds, our bodies, everything. We had a lot of guys transform this summer. And, (August) starts primetime. From (the start of the season) until October is primetime. If we do the things we want to do, then hopefully we can enter into that championship phase. It’s one step at a time as we go through this journey. You really have to focus on where you are.”
The reason that Swinney believes that the time spent during the summer months, in the transformation phase, when no one is watching and the stands are empty and no coaches, except for the strength staff, can have contact with players is so important to building a championship-caliber program is so important is easy—it shows who put in the work.
The transformation phase was shifted ahead by two months with the announcement from the ACC that spring practices, games and championships would be canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Swinney, that means that the summer months will be even more important this year.
“To me, this is the time of year where your team makes the biggest strides or loses the most ground. I think that’s just a part of the journey for every team, the chemistry, the leadership, the discipline, the commitment,” Swinney said. “Those are all the things that I think the summer brings about, good or bad. I love this team, the leadership. It’s the most veteran team that I’ve had since I’ve been the head coach. So I’m excited about that, and I think they’ll do a great job leading us through the summer.”
It is not only an important time for leaders to emerge and the journey to August, and the next phase to begin, it is also an important time for the freshmen—those who have been on campus since January and those who just joined the program this summer to begin to work to improve themselves, especially since it appears they will not be allowed to conduct any organized gatherings..
“There’s several guys that have been exposed a little bit out here this spring, that if they’re who I think they are, they’ll be much better for fall camp. It’s just part of the process,” Swinney said. “It’s so much fun for me, every year, the guys who put the work in. Truly, guys from the end of spring until you get them into camp, and you go, ‘Dang, who’s this guy? Man has he improved.’
“So it’s great to see the guys that put the work in, because that’s usually what happens. So all those young guys, I don’t have any doubt will make big leaps. Some of them, it’s going to be more mental. Some of them, it’s going to be physical. We’ve got a few of them that really need to make some strides physically, but they’ve all got to get better mentally.”
While the Tiger fanbase is busy with summer vacations and the students are taking a break from classes, the Tiger football team will be busy sweating and working hard to make sure that they are ready in the hopes that they open camp at the start of August.
“Biggest thing for summer expectations is having the same intensity when coaches aren't there,” offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said. “Best teams are led from within, and it’s an opportunity for players to develop accountability and leadership. Setting the expectations and plan on how we want to execute practices later on.”’
