Build Your Attention Span for Hard Work
Below is the link for Chapter 2. We will discuss this on Friday 8/12 at Practice chapter_2_consistency_is_key.pdf
0 Comments
Remember that Talent and Excellence are not the Same Thing
We will be reading together chapters out of the book Consistency is Key by Jay Johnson. They are SUPER short EASY to read chapters. The link to the first one is below. We will discuss after practice on Thurs. 8/11 chapter_1_consistency_is_key.pdf This past summer while at Hilton Head, I read the book "What Made Maddy Run". It defiantly was not a light hearted easy beach read. However, this book had been on my must read list for a long time. I knew this was something that needed my attention. So on our first day on the beach I opened the pages to get a small glimpse into an all-american girl, Maddy Holleran's "perfect" life.
Maddy was your typical "high flyer", (my term for the highly motivated), intelligent, popular, athletic young lady with an amazing family and friend group. Maddy had the athletic and academic ability that led her to be able to attend and run at Penn. Attending an "Ivy" was her dream. Maddy however struggled with depression/mental illness. Ultimately Maddy made the unfortunate decision to end her battle with depression on her on. This book paints a picture of mental illness and the fact that it does not discriminate based on gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. I found this book to really hit home because, let's be honest, these are the type of kids that I coach at LCS. The kids that have a lot of friends, the ones that excel in the class room with 4.0's , the kids that are great athletes, the kids that have been given every advantage. I would venture to say that if we looked at our young people's Insta, Snap Chat or whatever social medial platform, we would see teens that appear to have the world by the tail, smiling with friends, "happy". I just wonder though, do we really know what is going in with our young people? I challenge you as parents, teammates, friends to spend more time with each other. Spend time in conversation. Don't ignore signs of a person that has had enough or all of a sudden changed. If we don't work together to get this under control Maddy's story will become more common. We must discuss these issues because ignoring them will not make them go away. Friday night I sat down and started watching "Training Days Rolling with the Tide" on ESPN. I have long been a big fan of Nick Saban as a coach. I think he exudes what it means to be a leader and prepare his team for the rigors of a long football season.
On this episode you are taken to the first time he meets with his team as a whole for the season. Saban begins to address his team and asks them the question "what does it take to break you?" Saban is referring to mental toughness. As cross country runners, mental toughness and discipline are two essential skills to make it through the grind of a cross country season. Saban tells his team we all have our breaking point but we must work on our mental toughness to overcome that point. Circumstances should not matter. We should not loose focus because we are frustrated, because we are tired, because it's too hot, because you don't feel like giving effort, because you are sore/hurting, etc. "It's not our goal to try and break you...it's just the way it is..." said Saban. That is true with our cross country staff. There are going to be things that arise that will push you to your breaking point. How will you respond? If you want to perform at a high level, you have to have a lot of mental toughness. To paraphrase Saban into XC language, "just because you got beat at the last race or passed by someone, that can't effect next practice, next race, etc...if that is happening, frustration is breaking you..." Saban then moves on to talk about what he is know for, Discipline. There is no easy way. More on "having toughness"... "What breaks you helps maintain the discipline you do what you're suppose to do, when you're suppose to do it and the way its suppose to get done. because you minimize the circumstances that can effect your ability to do that" - Nick Saban So on this hot August afternoon, ask yourself...what does it take to break you? & how will that make you overcome? Those of you who have know me for any amount of time can attest to how I feel about cross country athletes. I have long stood up for this group of young people as a voice and advocate to make sure they get the respect they deserve no matter how much I got on others nerves.
I feel that the type of kid that chooses this sport is wired just a little different than the typical high school kid. They have to be. I mean who would for their sport subject themselves to 90 plus degree heat, running workouts that would send other sports, well, back inside to an air conditioned gym? These are the kids that get up before dawn on Saturday mornings in the fall to run in a meet. These are kids that with all the demands of practice and competition still load their schedules with honors, AP and online classes. These are the kids that offer help and work with teammates that struggle academically to make sure they are completing work. These are the kids that cheer on their competition because they ultimately know they are all in this together. These kids display and show on a daily basis how we should all treat each other. It's amazing to me how these kids get the big picture and understand that there are things in this world that are bigger than winning, PR's, championships, etc. This is why cross country runners rule! The following was posted to SCRunners. This sums it all up. Greer Middle College senior Morgan Summey said the following on her Facebook page tonight, "Although I didn't know Samantha Davis personally, I feel the need to spread the word. one thing I love most about running is the community. Whether you wear a red uniform or blue, whether you run for N.C. or S.C., everyone is in the sport together. we all build each other up and support one another. Not once have I run in a meet without hearing a "good luck" or "good job" from a complete stranger. It's strength truly showed yesterday at McAlpine Park. Samantha, I never got the chance to meet you. Maybe we briefly said hi or maybe a wave at the start, but I know you are in God's hands now. It breaks my heart knowing that it happened so quickly. Never take anyone for granted and always remember to tell your close ones you love them. You never know how much time you have." Welcome to the new LCS XC/T&F website. This will be replacing the good ol' blog...So you will now hear "did you check the website?!?" instead of "check the blog!" I will be keeping the blog around bc there is a lot of history on there. I have all of the main important information on here as of right now so you can start using this. I will make minor changes as I use this more. I will be adding a blog/journal area to this site as well to recap meets/major events. I don't want to loose that personal touch. I hope this will be as an even better and helpful tool as we move forward.
|
AuthorCoach Williams ArchivesCategories |