Editor’s Note: Justin Fuente is not a self-promoter in any way, shape or form, which is why I believe today’s article is very important for the TSL readership.  You’ll never get this kind of information from a press conference, or even a one-on-one interview with Fuente.  I hope it helps everyone understand a little bit more about Fuente’s thought process when he makes his decisions, and a little more about what goes on behind the scenes in the Virginia Tech program. – CC

Here at the halfway point of a season that’s been by turns trying and exhilarating, I thought it’d be appropriate to look at the mindset and structure that’s being relied on to keep this season together. When the dust had settled from Coach Fuente’s arrival, the headlines were all about schematic changes on offense, Frank Beamer’s shadow, and retaining Bud Foster. This was mainly because they were the newsworthy items, but also because they were the evident items.

Not as reported on were the cultural changes he envisioned (and later implemented) to develop players mentally and to prepare them for greater levels of success in every aspect of collegiate and post-collegiate life. It’s not something he spends a great deal of time tooting his horn over, as some coaches do, but it’s real and it’s important to him. Spend enough time tracking down his public appearances and you’ll see the same messages and axioms appearing over and over, as he’s gotten his thinking and presentation on the topic honed to a stump speech.

It goes beyond the more public messages like “Hard. Smart. Tough.”, which are driven as much by marketing as anything. Two sets of less-publicized ideas inform Coach Fuente’s decisions. The first consists of concepts for how a coach can improve a team:

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