Bo's Mental life Part 3

A lack of perfection occurred when Michigan had a punt blocked while playing Missouri in 1969. The following week, in practice, Bo had his players perform numerous punting drills. In fact, he boasted that he would pay a player who could block a punt. Then, the unforgivable happened, and a punt got blocked. Coach Schembechler believed that Jim Brandstatter made the mistake allowing the punt to be blocked. Bo, ran after Brandstatter and caught up to him, yelling, spitting and berating his player. Even though Coach Jerry Hanlon, told Bo that Jim was not at fault, Bo told him that Jim needed it anyway. Once again we see the power of the emotional need for perfection and the fear of failure reality. In other words, the unrealistic drive for perfection and fear of failure go hand-in-hand. Another example of the identification and introjection was illustrated by Bo’s father was when the senior Schembechler was taking a civil service exam for a job promotion. He found out that his competition had the test questions prior. The senior Schembechler went into a rage about how unfair that was. However, playing by the rules were modeled and Incorporated in Bo’s psyche. While Michigan’s head coach, Bo was told of an alumni booster who paid a player to cut his mother’s grass in Buffalo. At the time, the NCAA would have penalized the Wolverines for violating one of their rules. Schembechler told Fritz Seyferth working in the Ad’s office to take away the boosters football tickets, and to that overzealous booster from the football program. The ground floor for Identification, introjection, ego ideal, conscience and self-begin early in the development of one’s mental life. It’s like the standard is set and we add to it with the identification of numerous idols, celebrities, literary figures, stars and so forth throughout a lifetime of experiences. For Bo, there was nothing greater than the roar of the crowd; the adulation; the team; the mastery -satisfaction and all the positive feelings fulfilling his personal ambitions. The losses and all the accompanying negative feelings like guilt, unworthiness, disappointments and shame fueled his fear of failure and drove him in an attempt to obtain perfection. His teams became his family. At times, being human, he was unjust to himself as well. For more about Bo Schembechler and his Wolverines, check out Bo’s Warriors Bo Schembechler and the Transformation of Michigan Football.