Greatness

Yo,
     Been MIA for a couple weeks, my bad, been busy with yadayada...no excuses. But none the less I got something for ya.

     Recently, more than usual anyways, I have been thinking about what makes people great; and simply put it is their attitude. Those who are champions have changed the way they think. There is no room in their minds and in their actions to settle for something less than great.

     My head coach Joe Heskett, a 4 time all American 3Xfinalist and national champion; was 5th in the world before he found out he had to get his heart replaced because of a bad ticker. Not only is he an incredible worker/athlete, but his attitude is so champion driven that’s its almost annoying. His positivity integrated with his champions mindset/attitude drives his will to win.



     Take Deon Sanders for another example, the guy was an animal and was known for his work ethic. He was also known for being obnoxious, loud, and boisterous about how good he was on and off the field. Although I don’t feel like talking about yourself all the time is the only way to become great, his performance backed up his words, and his attitude was full of swag. One of his quotes: "You look good, you feel good. You feel good, you play good." PRIME! That's confidence and that's SWAG.

     This attitude that I repetitively describe including swag, champions mindset, positivity, confidence, are all driven by one moving force: HARD WORK. My dad would always always always tell me that actions speak louder than words, and I can’t argue with him. We can sit here all day writing wishing hoping we were great but in order to do so we must put in the time, the effort, the sacrifice, the work. We must be willing to work harder than our opponents to gain the confidence and mental strength we need to develop a habitual champions attitude. An attitude/mindset is not always innate and are less likley decided over night; they are developed overtime. Aristotle said this...

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”.

     To me, that also applies to a mindset as well. Next time you do an extra workout, or even while your working your but off in practice, think to yourself that you are a champion, and that you are working harder than your opponent. Eventually you wont have to think about thinking about it, You will just be a champion (winning), and thus your will to win has become habit.

How Great Am I?

Learn from the Best

Yo,
     This weekend I went down to see my  buddy Will Fejes play at the Delaware Lacrosse tournament in Newark. I talked to him briefly about how he gets himself in the "winner's mindset" before a game and how well he thinks his effort and attention in practice affects his performance in the games. That interview will be coming soon.

     I saw some things that I will definitely try and do in my games and practice, and going to these games reinforced something that is really key in becoming a better athlete. That key is to watch other players. Give yourself a role model that you can watch and learn from. This not only drives you to be like them but it will also help you become a more versitile player as you become a "hybrid" of your model's style and your original style.
   
     For now, enjoy my first shot at making some sweet highlights. the song is More and More :by At Dawn We Rage. Let me know what you think!

No Mistakes

Yo,
     The worst part about being an athlete is that somewhere along the line in practice, games, or your life you will make mistakes. My buddy Garrett Thul (Army Lacrosse #9) sent me a video about how Superbike racers think about making mistakes.

      In this video, they say that Champions don't make mistakes, basically because in Superbike Racing making a mistake means that your life is on the line. Well, I know that if I make a mistake on the field, my life is not on the line, and I'm going to end up O.K. So what's the point of this video?

     The point is that every mistake has a cost and benefit. So lets say you make a mistake on the field. Well now you feel like your backtracking in your skills and abilities. But rather than let the mistake takeover your game, you work hard to make sure that it doesn't happen again. The end result is that you end up playing at a higher level than you did before.

    The PROBLEM with making mistakes comes from when you make the same mistake more than once, and you don't learn from it. So today, I'll just leave you with an idea about how to think when you DO make a mistake. Word.

Never Be Satisfied With Your Game If You Are Making Mistakes

     Continue to work hard and don't get discouraged when you make mistakes, but don't let those mistakes happen over again. All that will show you is that you are not working hard enough to get better.

Ideas

Yo,
        So it just hit me this past week, and it's a feeling that is indescribable with words. I started this week with a SMALL idea in my head about what I wanted to do as a personal project. And by today, I am diagraming an entire design and layout for what I think will work. And the reason that I finally came up with a tangeble idea and outline for this project is because of teamwork.

        Basically, I JUST learned this week why peer review, discussion, and open conversation are important for molding an idea. I couldn't see it when my teachers told me to edit my papers, my coachs told me to listen to what they said, and I definitely didn't want to ASK for help. No way, not now, not never.

        BUT because of my friends, my roommate, and some side people, I molded an idea that could be amazing and awesome and fufilling. So today, I just want to say this so that people realize this idea of peer review and observation is a sign of YOUR strength, not a sign of your weakness.

It's OK to Get Help. That is How You Get Better

Its Just that Easy. 

Inspired

Yo,
      So life's getting rough up at school. These blogs might be short sometimes but I found a solution that is gonna offer more wide spread, but still narrowly tailored advice. I think it's getting too narrowed down to only athletes and not enough to just the general mind state of a "winner".

      Yeah, we are gonna continue to add advice about on the field attributes that can help improve you psyche. But we are also gonna expand sometime in the next week with the hopes of making our advice on "Winning" more applicable to every day life.

Get Your Minds Right



     My buddy Bob Doyle sent me a great poem that I hung up behind my desk. You may be thinking, "Poetry?".

   
     Well, 

Sorry I'm Not Sorry.

Whether you think you can or you can’t you’re probably right!

If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you like to win, but you think you can't, It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,

For out in the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow's will.

It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are, You've got to think high to rise, You've got to be sure of yourself before You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man.

But soon or late the man who wins,

Is the man who thinks he can.

Thirsty Thursday

Yo,
        So I had a rough night. All nighter doing an Info Tech project. I also started two classes, swimming and combatatives. So basically my schedule is packed now. So if I miss a Blog here or there.... Sorry I'm not sorry. Only kidding, and since it's THIRSTY THURSDAY, lets just take the night off. Kick back, go out, do what you want. Watch a movie. But. Really. Go out. Do something fun. THIRSTY THURSDAY is all about

                                                                    MENTAL HEALTH



AND by the way... Everyone should come watch some good lacrosse on Saturday at the Episcopal School in Northern Virginia. Event is called the Play for Parkinson's. Teams are mens and womens teams from 

Army (Me)

Hopkins

UVA

Penn State

Princeton

Georgetown

Here's a jam to get your party started. A throwback. Word.

Fight For Your Right To Party- The Beastie Boys

In The Zone

Pats computer is down so he asked that I post and add some insight. Just more food for thought, enjoy.

Remember the best day of your life? Remember the best game, match, or play of your life? I know I do. The real question is do you remember how you FELT during the event. You felt like nothing could go wrong. Wait, in reality, you really weren’t thinking. You just played. Well that feeling isn’t a one time occurrence. It is possible to put yourself “In The Zone” before every practice and game. Before class. Before you go out at night. In reality, being in the zone is about accepting what comes at you and adjusting without becoming flustered. And it’s when you play your best.

Think back to those practices, those games, that you absolutely crushed it. What did you do? Did you not think about anything, did you listen to a certain song, did you joke around a bit more. To get into the zone you must first find that zone. Every person/athlete is different and know, in every aspect of their sport, what works for them. For Pat its pre-game/practice jams that help him get rid of any stress. I like to taking a few deep breaths to help me release everything else that happened that day. Then i think about all the hard work and time spent in order to win. This gives me confidence.

If you look at all the pros, they each do something unique before they play to help them win. Lebron throws chalk up in the air, Ray Lewis does a crazy dance, Michael Jordan would always kiss his necklace, countless athletes take knees to pray before they step out. Do YOU!

Here are some tips to get you in “The Zone”:

Music

Few deep breaths

Routine dress/warm-up

Taking a knee

Crack jokes during warm ups to relax the nerves

FIND OUT WHAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU!

CAN'T SEE ME