David Cutcliffe to the Team: Dealing With Adversity is What You Do

Duke coach recalls first post-pandemic team meeting

Like coaches around the country, David Cutcliffe had to deliver an unprecedented message to his team after spring practice, and, for the foreseeable future, the entire sport, were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That first team meeting was somewhat somber,” he said, “because we were really all hit dead in the mouth by this, not knowing anything, and anxiety naturally comes from the unknown and the things we can’t do anything about.”

Cutcliffe decided to keep things short and sweet.

“I reminded them let’s focus on the things we can do,” he said. “I’ve got a pretty simple mind. What I said were two things. I didn’t want to get past two things. We had enough, all of us, had enough on our minds.”

Those two things had very little to do with football.

“We can all pray,” he told the team. “This is an appropriate time, regardless of your faith. We can all pray, and the more we pray, and the more w pray together, the better we’re going to be. We can all be strong. We’re a sport that lends itself to being a strong person. It lends itself to understanding how to deal with adversity. That’s what you’ve grown up doing. That’s what football players do, and you all know that. So be leaders in your community. Be leaders in your home, and be a leader by prayer and a leader by displaying strength. I didn’t know what else you could say, so that was kind of the message.”