Aug. 27, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
By Mike Gilbert, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" When a former captain of the Nittany Lions' football team has something to say about teamwork and winning, it's best to listen. That is why Head Coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss was thrilled when the Penn State standout turned motivational speaker Lee Rubin was able to talk to her team.
"He was clear and concise and gave us some great takeaways, including the five components of success for an extraordinary team," said Morett-Curtiss during Tuesday's media day at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Lee was dropping his daughter off at Penn State, and the head coach entering her 29th year seized the moment. Coming off an NCAA quarterfinal appearance a year ago, the squad sat down and listened to the former star defensive back.
Rubin, who played in three bowl games in three seasons while roaming the defensive backfield, listed the five "C's" of success in athletics. The first "C" is competing, and as coach Morett-Curtiss was explaining what that meant outside the green room, both her and senior Haley Kerstetter looked at each other and said "loving to win and hating to lose" in unison, with smiles on their faces.
The second "C" stood for common goal, and the third was communicating on and off the field.
"That's something very important to this team, especially building team chemistry off the field," Kerstetter said.
The fifth "C" was consistency, and as the word came out of Morett-Curtiss's mouth, her smile dissipated, her eyes became locked in, and she went into full-on coach mode.
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