Category Archives: Motivational
The Big 3!!!
As a young athlete, I wasn’t always perfect in obeying the law of the big 3! The one item of the big 3 (food) that my father/mother always made sure of was that I had food on the table. My dad would work extra jobs and my mother would do secretarial typing for extra money often. Between them we always managed to have access to food!
The second of the three was practice/game time. No matter what sport, my parents instilled in me that practice makes perfect! It didn’t take someone else to make sure I was practicing at a high enough level or intensity, that was the only speed I knew! I was always picked on because of my hustle and had no worry of showing someone else up with my intensity! With this rising basketball star at LSU (Pete Maravich) a baseball star in Cincinnati(Pete Rose) to watch, my early hero’s only knew and lived their sports 1 way…. WITH INTENSITY AND HUSTLE!! They kept their mouth shut and let their on court actions speak for itself!
The third off the big 3 is rest. This, in todays world I believe is the one that is forsaken the most at the athletes expense! My father engrained in me at an early age that only paper boys and policeman were out after midnight! There wasn’t much good going to happen after 12 PM. Funny as it sounds, most of the time he was right! There are exceptions to every rule, but that’s only in a few rare cases. The bottom line is that athletes must have their sleep! As busy as the word gets this reader firmly believes that us humanoids tend to make up excuses for our lack of focused time and bad time management skills!
I guess the bottom line of this article is that if you’re getting enough of the Big 3 on a daily basis, you’ll have enough time to get your homework done and hit the sack for some rest, and you’ll also be moving up the ranking ladder rather quickly!
Until Next Time,
Bigdog
EXCUSES!!!
Sup Ya’ll,
Here I go again digging at the foundation that separates the strong from the weak!!! It’s become one of our countries favorite things to do and one of the sole reasons that everything has gone south!! EXCUSES!!! If I’ve seen and come to a better understanding over half a century is that pretty much every family is dysfunctional in some way!!! We all have to overcome the ups and downs that life throws at us!!! Some go through injuries, operations, the loss of loved ones or friends, murders, wrecks, and so many of life’s ups and downs that my blog won’t list them all! The one thing that I try, as not easy as it is, is to live every day with no regrets!! If I have to miss an appointment I make sure that it effects me more than anyone else!! That way I teach myself to treat others time better then myself! Last but not least I also notice when others treat my time as disposable and I try to EXIT those people out of my life if at all possible!! I do believe in second chances but third ones usually don’t happen!!
Until next time,
Have a Merry Christmas,
BIGDOG
But I Work At My Game!
Every time I hear people, not just teenagers, tell me that they’re working on their game, it kind of makes me wonder! One of my old baseball coaches told me when I was young that if you want to just maintain the level of game you’re currently at then you’ll need to give it 3 days of practice a week. If you really want to improve at any sport you need to work 5-7 days a week!!! Now I totally understand that you can only give a sport or recreational activity 1 or 2 days of practice a week, and that’s all your job/family allows, then getting a lot better fast just isn’t really going to be realistic!!! I or no top level professional is any different in any profession, bar none!! Professionals know in their own mind how much time and effort they have been putting in before an event, and when the event is over they probably are, most of the time, content with the results! I’ve made it a practice when I start scheduling my next years tournaments to also lay out a practice schedule that will help me to be primed for specific events. If I go into the event not as prepared as I desired, for whatever reason, then I’m not as critical of myself when I miss shots that I understandably haven’t practiced enough. I also won’t try a lot of risky shots, but I’ll stick with the solid ones!! So the next time you question why you’re not getting better, maybe it’s just either a result of not practicing enough or a misunderstanding of what you should expect based on the time you’ve put in!!
Until Next Time,
BIGDOG
Are You Kidding Me?
As I watch/have watched hundreds of junior tennis players coming and going during the mere 21 years the DMTA has been in the East Atlanta area, I reflect back to my childhood and wonder what is/was the difference in my childhood and some of the talented kids of today? Even though I have never and will never be one of the tennis players that’s a house hold name( nor do I want to be), I have some accomplishments that I’m quite proud of and the fact that I’ve done most of my winning while in the presence of my family is to be traded for nothing!! But if I can shed some light to some of the players of today then here it goes!! Surround yourself with players and coaches as often as possible that push/motivate you consistently! Trade nothing(Parties, sleepovers, etc.) for your sleep, it’s the recovery that your tired body demands! Work out like there’s no tomorrow. The old saying ” No pain, No Gain” is true!! All the politically correct people on this earth should shut up and move aside!! Ain’t no Champion ever gotten there without severe fatigue in his/her everyday workout! Spend your down time at home icing joints that get a lot of use on a daily basis. Try studying with ice packs on your knees and elbows/shoulders! DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET IT DONE!!! Every time you try to make an excuse of why not to do the right thing, SLAP yourself and get it done!!! If you want to try to get some scholarship money in a sport don’t let your parents tell you that making the High school team is the top priority!!! In some sports that’s embarrassing and won’t help at all!!! Parents, push your kids to workout hard 5 days a week, because their P.E. in school just ain’t cutting it( if they have any)!!! Last but not least getting an athletic scholarship into college is getting harder and harder so get off the couch or better yet use the couch as a place to ice your joints in recovery!! Please understand that I fully understand that kids sometimes give something their all, but in most cases kids don’t really have any idea what “your all” really is!!!
Until next time,
Bigdog
THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS!!!
Below are a few pages from Michael Jordan’s book ”I Can’t Accept Not Trying”, enjoy!!!
Coming out of high school, if I had been any less committed or had any less desire to achieve, I would have taken the easy path and gone to another school. But I went to North Carolina because I realized that a lot of Dean Smith’s players got drafted by NBA teams. People were telling me I should go around the difficult route, but I wasn’t about to do that. I had locked in, committed to my goals. I wanted to find out. I wanted to know where I stood.
I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things halfheartedly. Because I know if I do, I can expect halfhearted results. That’s why I approach practices the same way I approach games. You can’t turn it on and off like a faucet. I couldn’t dog it during practice and then, when I needed that extra push late in the game, expect it to be there.
But that’s how a lot of people approach things. And that’s why a lot of people fail. They sound like they’re committed to being the best they can be. They say all the right things, make all the proper appearances. But when it comes right down to it, they’re lookng for reasons instead of answers.
You see it all the time in professional sports. You can see it in your friends or business associates. There are a million excuses for not paying the price. “If I was only given a particular opportunity” or “if only the coach, teacher or boss liked me better, I could have accomplished this or that.” Nothing but excuses.
Part of this commitment is taking responsibility. That’s not to say there aren’t obstacles or distractions. If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
I got a very good lesson about distractions my junior year at North Carolina. My sophomore season turned out to be my best in college. Because of that, there were all kinds of expectations during my junior year. what I tried to do was come out and live up to those expectations.
I was trying to live up to everyone else’s expectations for me instead of following my own road. I found myself standing around looking for the spectacular dunk, cheating out on the defensive end to get that breakaway situation.
Coach Smith called me in one day and showed me two films, one from the beginning of my sophomore season, the other from the beginning of my junior year. They were totally opposite. I was looking for shortcuts and that wasn’t how I got there. I still had the desire, but I had lost my focus.
You have to stick to your plan. A lot of people try to pull you down to their level because they can’t achieve certain things. But very few people get anywhere by taking shortcuts. Very few people win the lottery to gain their wealth. It happens, but the odds certainly aren’t with them. More people get it the honest way, by setting goals and committing themselves to achieving those goals.
That’s the only way I’d want it anyway.
