Florida head coach Billy Napier discusses the Gators' struggles with consistency in 2023 and keeping the team engaged amid frustrations.
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00:00 Consistency has been a real problem.
00:02 How do you coach consistency or is that just something that has to come with experience?
00:06 You know, I talked to the team a little bit yesterday.
00:10 I think when you study elite teams, right, the teams that have had significant success, right,
00:17 one of the things that is a common factor is continuity.
00:21 You know, teams that have played together, players that have played together,
00:25 and ultimately, you know, parts of our team have that element, okay,
00:32 but I don't think that we have a veteran team.
00:35 You know, I think we're gaining valuable experience as we speak.
00:39 So consistency is one of the things that we're seeking.
00:43 You're 100% right, and I just said it earlier.
00:46 I mean, I think if we could take the best performances of some of the position groups,
00:52 some of the units, and put all those together, you know,
00:57 that's what we're trying to get accomplished, right?
00:59 So, you know, at this point in the year, your depth becomes important
01:05 as you get a handful of players banged up.
01:08 We had some players that were playing Saturday that this was their first significant experience
01:13 in their career.
01:15 So continuity is important, you know,
01:19 and I think a veteran team ultimately I think allows you to have an elite team
01:24 and a team that can play with consistency.
01:27 What is kind of the message to keep everyone engaged?
01:33 And you say everyone is, but, you know, it can get frustrating for some people,
01:38 and that's always a challenge.
01:40 Yeah, I mean, I think, look, you've got to remain process-oriented independent of the result.
01:47 You know, it's easy to do when you win, right?
01:49 I mean, but it's hard to do that and keep perspective when you lose, right?
01:54 So trying to remain objective.
01:58 And, look, you know, I go back to no one's more educated
02:03 or more informed than the players and the staff, you know what I mean?
02:07 I think, you know, that's important for everybody to understand, you know,
02:13 and no one cares.
02:14 No one's more committed or worked harder or invested more time or effort or energy than that crew, right?
02:19 So I observe them every day, and I think it's going to benefit us in the end.