Practice and Games

"You always have to be on edge.  You always have to take every practice, every game, like it is your last."


-Kobe Bryant

"It is the simple fact that I have had to scratch and claw for everything to get where I'm at.  Even though I was a first round pick and a Pro-Bowler I never feel like I've arrived.  I don't think I'd be in a position I'm at today if it weren't for all the setbacks and people telling me I couldn't do it.  It is what drives me to be great."


  -Clay Matthews Jr.

The Story of the 4 Minute Mile

    Until 1954, the four minute mile was something beyond human comprehension, and thus beyond human achievement. It was believed to be a real physical limit for a human being to run a mile in four minutes or less. “The four minute mile was the goal that athletes and sportsmen had talked of and dreamt about for so many years,” wrote British runner, Roger Bannister. Like climbing Mount Everest before Hillary, Bannister wrote, runners “used to think it was quite impossible, and beyond the reach of any runner.” It seemed to be as absolute a limit as the waterfalls cascading off the edge of the Earth were to early mariners. And it proved to be just as much a mirage.

    In May 1954, on an Oxford track, Bannister shattered this barrier, running the mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds. Two months later, in Finland, Bannister’s “miracle mile” was again broken by Australian rival John Landy, who achieved a time of 3 minutes 56 seconds. Within three years, 16 other runners had also broken this record.

    What happened in those three years? Was there a sudden growth spurt in human evolution? Was there a genetic engineering experiment that created a new race of super runners? No, the basic human equipment was the same. What changed was the mental model. The runners of the past had been held back by a mindset that said they could not surpass the four minute mile. When that limit was broken, the others saw that they could do something they had previously thought impossible.

    Transforming our world begins with changing the way we think about it. The more we understand the role of mental models in this process, and the better able we are to recognize these models, the better we can examine the strengths of our models and their limitations. We can sustain the models that allow us to act effectively in the world and get ride of those that constrain us unnecessarily. 

    If Roger Bannister had accepted the barrier of the four-minute mile as a real, physical limitation, he might never have tried to surpass it. As Bannister writes, “No one can say, ‘You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.’ The human spirit is indomitable.”

–Yoram Wind and Colin Crook

"We're just a bunch of resilient guys...Some people gave us a chance, some people didn't, but the guys in this locker room stayed together and believed, and here we are, going to the Super Bowl."




     -Hines Ward

Enthusiasm

“Every memorable act in the history of the world is a triumph of enthusiasm. Nothing great was ever achieved without it because it gives any challenge or any occupation, no matter how frightening or difficult, a new meaning. Without enthusiasm you are doomed to a life of mediocrity but with it you can accomplish miracles."

-- Og Mandino

Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.



-John Wooden

Never Give Up, Never Give In

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"We're playing for 60 minutes, I don't care what the score is."




   -Tom Brady

"The Disease of Me" by Pat Riley

The Disease of Me=The Defeat of Us

6 Danger Signals of the Disease of ME:

1.  Chronic feelings of under appreciation - focus on oneself.
2.  Paranoia over being cheated out of one's rightful share.
3.  Leadership vacuum resulting from formation of cliques and rivalries.
4.  Feelings of frustration even when the team performs successfully.
5.  Personal effort mustered soley to outshine one's teammate.
6.  Resentment of the competence of another.

"The most DIFFICULT thing for individuals to do when they become part of a team is to sacrifice, it is much EASIER to be selfish."

        -Pat Riley

Coach K

I was listening to Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio this morning. They had Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski on the show. Coach Krzyzewski's Duke team won the National Championship last year in the NCAA. He is also the Head Coach for the USA National Team that won the International Title this year as well, first time since 1993 that the U.S. has taken that title home.

He made some very important points in his interview. He talked about the importance of team building. Players making the effort to build each other up on a daily basis.  Making each other richer one day at a time.  Rome was not built in a day.  You can slowly tear a team down, day by day, with a negative attitude, or you can build an empire with a positive attitude!

“There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”

-Ken Blanchard

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"The main thing is focusing on the team and worrying about myself second."


 -Kevin Durant

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"Basketball is a privilege. There is no negotiation with behavior." 

-Mike Dunlap

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"I don't have to search for motivation or anything like that...You don't have to search for anything.  The motivation is there.  We're here to win.  Simple as that."


-Kobe Bryant

VERY IMPRESSIVE PERSON

He greets everyone with a smile

And a hearty handshake;

And makes you feel he means it

When he says he’s glad to meet you.

And he makes you glad to meet him.

He walks with a sprightly step

And speaks with a laugh in his voice.

He listens with interest

And speaks with conviction,

And makes you feel you’ve known him all your life.

He doesn’t seem to try to impress,

Yet he’s most impressive.

He never tries pressing to persuade,

Yet you always come away convinced.

He’s the kind of guy we enjoy being around

Because he is what we all secretly would like to be;

Someone who enjoys being himself.

“I have decided to let my life be my argument.”

                                               -Albert Schweitzer

“Intensity of effort is the 


difference between success and


failure.” -Dr. Jack Ramsey

THE GOAL OF NEVER ENDING IMPROVEMENT

THE GOAL OF NEVER ENDING IMPROVEMENT

“We have an innate desire to endlessly learn, grow, and develop. We want to become more than what we already are. Once we yield to this inclination for continuous and never-ending improvement, we lead a life of endless accomplishments and satisfaction."