Q&A: Lindsey Walton, Jen Woods – Texas A&M Athletics

Can you speak to the buy in from the players as a new staff comes on board and how exciting that is for the fall?

“There’s an intentionality to every day, right? There’s a plan, and there’s a process, so that we can fall back on that. And then what we can really invest in is the time to get to know the people…you’ve got to kind of know what makes somebody tick here and there. And I spent some good time with them, not just in between the lines. We have to be able to function at a high level in in really high-stakes moments. And sometimes how someone is there is very different than how they are when we’re on the bus or when we’re in the airport. Or, maybe that’s exactly how they are when they play too. So when they get into camp mode, we all are in this quick learning mode and we only have two weeks to do it right. We implement these processes (in the spring), we get to know each other, then it’s like ‘We’ll see you in August.’ So it’s really on them. 

“I would just speak highly to that—from what I’ve seen, what I’ve known of other places that I’ve been and what I’ve been able to visually see of our group—man, they put in the time when nobody was looking this summer. I’m just really excited. I hope that can pay off for them the best way…to see it happen for this group, because they’ve been tireless about how they’ve been as listeners, as workers, as a players, as culture leaders.

“We’ve put a lot on their plate. No play ever got too heavy. I just have never seen something function as well from day one as what we have experienced. Now, we’re going to have bumps, don’t get me wrong. Everybody does. But it’s how you can manage those bumps and how we can find solutions through those and just focus on the opportunities ahead to just be a little bit better every day. And I think we’re going to sneak up on some people—not surprise people—and that’s going to be really special when that full self gets to come out.”

You’ve talked about the potential of Texas A&M and when you look back at the power you helped build at Kentucky, how excited are you taking the vision that you guys have and building this program into the power you think it can be?

“We talk about the triad around us, Dallas, Austin, Houston…and then everywhere else in the great state of Texas. I read the (hiring) release very clearly. In (Athletics Director) Ross (Bjork)’s words, very clearly, this state is too good. There’s too much talent here to not have that…