Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh shares message on 'the team, the team, the team,' to Sound Mind Sound Body campers

DETROIT — Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh spoke with campers at the Sound Mind Sound Body National College Showcase, hosted by Wayne State. Watch the video of his speech below and read what he said.

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“I came to Ann Arbor in 1973. My brother John, my younger sister … my dad was hired by Bo Schembechler to coach at Michigan. He was the secondary coach,” Harbaugh began.

“The thing that stood out about my time as a coach’s son, being around the Michigan program was this mantra that they had, ‘the team, the team, the team.’ And that really was the cornerstone of the Michigan football program.

“In 1982, I came back to Michigan as a football player, a student athlete. And with numbing repetition, I heard, ‘the team, the team, the team’ my entire time playing at the University of Michigan. It never failed to challenge me to compete, to contribute to the football team.

“I came back to Michigan as the football coach in 2015. Immediately, I got that mantra right up there, right in our team room in Schembechler Hall — ‘the team, the team, the team.’

“As I’ve gone through life, as a brother, as a son, a nephew, grandson, I was taught all those things at home, the same things at home. You’re part of the team, you’re part of the Harbaugh team. It’s the most important team that you’ll ever be on, and they instilled those values into us.

“And I thank [my parents] so much, because they never did anything for us that we could do for ourselves. And they always stressed never to take your athletic ability and think that, that overarched what we did in school, your studies. So I really appreciate them for that.”

The Michigan coach then related his experience to the campers.

“When it’s all said and done, you guys will probably go through the same path that I did. You’re a son, you’re a brother. Some day, you’ll be a husband, you’ll be a father, you’ll be a grandfather. And that team, that family team is going to define your legacy.

“And you’re on a team now. The advice I would give you is to learn the value of being on a team, that thing that challenges you to compete, to contribute to the team that you’re on. Let that drive you, let that motivate you every day, to be better today than yesterday, better tomorrow than today.

“I say this to you, keep doing you. It’s working! Keep doing you. You’re eligible, you’re on teams, you’re making contributions. Keep doing you.

“But, if you want to get a little bit better at something, just work a little harder at it. Think about it — whatever you work at, you’re going to get better. It’s important to you to get better at something, you want to get better at something, it’s worth working harder at it.

“Whatever you do, don’t get a big head. That’s a trap. That’s a deep, dark, lonely trap. Avoid that like the plague.

Continued the Michigan coach: “A piece of advice, if I may. So you’re on teams right now. You may be the best player on the team, you may be aspiring to be the best player on the team. I see some of those faces — I know that you already are. Take whoever is on your team right now who’s really doing stuff right, really excelling as a football player, and also they’re doing really good in school. They’re getting scholarship offers, everyone knows their name. Take that person, whoever it is, and watch ’em. Evaluate them. Study them. And emulate them. Copy them. And then, see if you can go make them proud of you, or surpass them. That’ll make them proud.

“Some of you guys are already in that position, you’re already in that position where your teammates are looking at you. They watch you every single day. Not just today, not just when you’re on the football field. But when you’re in the classroom, the supermarket. Wherever you go, you know they’re watching you. There are guys in this room, younger players, they’re watching you.

Added Michigan’s head man: “That’s a simple formula. Get the best guy on your team — ‘I really want to be like him.’ Evaluate him, copy them, then go make them proud. That’s how you’re going to leave a lasting legacy on the teams you’re on right now. And then always — always — be working to leave a lasting legacy for that team at home, that family team.

“Thanks for your time. Appreciate it.”

Harbaugh is entering his ninth season at Michigan. The Wolverines begin the season Sept. 2 against East Carolina.