Jim Schlossnagle stresses importance of not getting complacent

Texas A&M baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle was adamant about his team not getting complacent no matter the circumstances.

The Aggies are 29-20 through 49 games this season and conclude the regular season with two three game series against Alabama at home and Mississippi State on the road. If the Aggies are to make a late run, it’s up to Schlossnagle to keep his team level-headed.

Basically, it’s the one game at a time mantra.

“I think you always try and keep your team focused on the next thing,” Schlossnagle said. “Bill Parcells said and I’ve used his ‘don’t take the cheese,’ right … And yesterday before the game I said to the team, you know, the old saying, if you’re still thinking about what you did yesterday, you haven’t done much today. I think that’s what the best ones do. We call it get back to the middle when things aren’t going great. Don’t wallow in that. Get back to the middle when you do really well. Awesome. Celebrate it, feel good about it for the night then get back to the middle.”

Schlossnagle made sure to emphasize he enjoyed every part of coaching with the highs and lows.

“What’s funny is that when you interview coaches who have retired, a lot of the coaches that retire they all say the same thing. They say I wish I would have enjoyed the journey more, right they always say things like that. And I can see where they would say that.” 

The Texas A&M baseball coach circled back to the present day and maintained his stance on staying in the middle.

“We’ve lost? Okay, move on,” Schlossnagle said. “We’ve won (X amount in a) row? Alright, what’s next? That’s over with right … The very best players you know, they do the same thing. So you take the confidence from the times that you do well and build on it. But you can’t allow the failure, or the losing, to pull you down because you’re never as good or as bad as you think. But at the end of the season, as coach Parcells says, I believe your record will tell you exactly what you were.”

Texas A&M has a big series with Alabama, beginning Friday at home. The three game home stand could help the Aggies in their postseason goals. 

Texas A&M and Schlossnagle come off an 11-1 win (seven innings) over UTRGV after taking two of three games in a series against Florida.