OH MYLANTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Liz' first day with the GCCC Girls Basketball Team was quite a memorable experience. It seems that a couple of the girls decided to welcome Liz with a little razzing (which Liz has been good about dishing out for a long time now) by approaching her to ask who she was and what she would be doing with the team.

As the conversation progressed, one of the girls asked Liz how old she was and if she had a boyfriend. Liz answered and told the girl that she didn't have a boyfriend. Then the girl asked "why not?" Liz told her that she honestly didn't think she had enough time for school, sports and a boy. The girl then asked Liz "do you have time for a girlfriend?"

The "deer in the headlights" look on Liz' face must have gotten the reaction that they were after, because they all started laughing (everyone except Liz) and one of them then slapped Liz on the back and said "she's just kidding you".

The Top 3 Challenge

We have all seen the amazing feat of someone spinning multiple plates at one time. One, then 3, then 10 porcelain plates spinning around the top of a thin pole. What looks amazing at the time, can quickly become a disaster when the ability to manage all 10 plates becomes impossible. This example points to a common mistake made by players (and sometimes basketball coaches) as they attempt to accomplish the impossible by trying to keep all of their “basketball” plates spinning at once.

Not all basketball skills can be learned & mastered by the average player without some serious commitment to improvement over an extended period of time. Skills must be emphasized day after day through practice and repetition.

So rather than try to "spin" 10 basketball skills at one time, let's concentrate on something a little more manageable, like maybe just three. If I were to ask you, "What are the Top 3 basketball skills that you believe you need to improve on the most?" How would you answer that?

This challenge is about asking you to take a serious look at your game, your insecurities and strengths, and to establish those Top 3 things that you need to get better at. Once you take the challenge and decide to make changes, you are set to make huge strides in your game and become the player you are capable of becoming.

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The Most Valuable 8 Minutes on YouTube

I came across this tonight (by accident) and thought this is the one clip that every aspiring athlete absolutely NEEDS to watch in order to maximize their ability to succeed (regardless of their chosen sport). There are pearls of wisdom here for those that are wise enough to understand.

The downside to this clip is that Charles Barkley lets loose of a couple of words that although we can live without, I think the over all content of the clip is too valuable to ignore. The sound isn't synchronized with the video, but it's still good stuff.


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Are You a Team Leader?

On team leaders: "In a lot of cases, our best players are our best leaders and our hardest workers. They set a better example, to be as good as they can possibly be. That's an awesome situation -- that's really what you want. You want your best players to really set the pace. That's a great environment for everyone else to emulate and try to keep up with."

- Bill Belichick, Coach New England Patriots (3 time Super Bowl Champions)

Step Out From The Shadows.

Came across a good article this week on a Blog about Matt Stafford, the QB for the nation’s No. 1 ranked college football team. Only a junior, he's started 21 games for the Bulldogs, but says he "deferred to upperclassmen" when it came to leadership the past few seasons.

Now, after staying in the shadows, he's stepped out to take on the role:

"You don't want to step on any toes," Stafford said. "You've got guys that are seniors that have been doing it for a long time here. I wasn't playing good enough to be (the leader). I was just trying to go out there and play as hard as I could. Just get out there and show the guys I'm giving everything I've got."

According to Georgia QB coach Mike Bobo, simply being the starting QB doesn't mean you're considered a leader among your teammates:

"Just because you're the quarterback, you're not going to gain everybody's respect as soon as you step under center. You grow it through the way you work and way you perform out there at practice."

Stafford earned the respect of his teammates by "putting the good of the team before individual glory last season. He gained more respect with the way he led the team through Sugar Bowl practices last season and his dedication this offseason with getting in the best condition of his life." Said Bobo:

"Here's a guy that was five star, had every award given coming into college and at a time of a lot of teams in college throwing it every down, throwing for a bunch of yards and a bunch of TDS, we've asked this guy to step into this role and give us the best chance to win."

This past spring, when Georgia head coach Mark Richt asked his team to write down who they'd follow into battle.

"Stafford was on probably all but one or two," Richt said. "That's 105 to 130 guys. The players believe he's the leader of this football team. That's crucial when your quarterback does that. Matthew knows that's his role now."

7 Traits of a Good Leader

 Leaders relentlessly upgrade their team, using every encounter as an opportunity to evaluate, instruct and build self-confidence into those who have earned it. Use ample praise, the more specific the better.

 Leaders make sure teammates not only see the vision, but they live and breathe it.

 Leaders get into everyone’s psyche, exuding positive energy and optimism. Unhappy teams have a tough time winning.

 Leaders establish trust with candor, transparency, and most importantly, credit for a job well done.

 Leaders have the courage to make unpopular decisions and gut calls.

 Leaders inspire risk taking and learning by setting the example.

 Leaders celebrate the accomplishments of others. Celebrating makes people feel like winners.

USA Sisterhood Aces Chemistry Test

By Erik Brady, USA TODAY
BEIJING — The USA enters Thursday's semifinals against Russia (MSNBC, live, 8 a.m. ET) as the most powerful basketball team in the women's Olympic tournament. Talent is a big part of that.

So is this: The Americans play with genuine joy.

On their WNBA teams they are stars. Here they are role players. They say they accept this as the price of greatness. Do we believe them? Their smiles swear it's so.

Watch them in warmups, smiling and slapping hands and basking in the chemistry and camaraderie that come with winning. Watch them during games, leaping off the bench to cheer a teammate's wicked crossover dribble. "This team has the best chemistry of any Olympic team I've been on," four-time Olympian Lisa Leslie says. "And I worried about that because we only had a few days together" before leaving for China.

They play passionately against one another in the WNBA. Some played at rival colleges that despised one another. Can they really put all that aside for sake of team?

Heck, no. Sometimes team chemistry is best measured in gibes.

No rivalry burns hotter than Connecticut and Tennessee. Team USA has two starters from UConn and three top reserves from UT. How's that working out? "We put that behind us once we wear red, white and blue," UConn's Diana Taurasi says. She could leave it there, but that wouldn't be Taurasi. "We have the most national championships out of the group, so we don't bring it up," Taurasi says, bringing it up just as loudly as she can.

The team's Lady Vols — Candace Parker, Kara Lawson and Tamika Catchings — are not within earshot, so Southern Cal grad Tina Thompson returns fire. "Let's talk championships," she demands. "USC doesn't equate to anything," Taurasi scoffs. "What, Elite Eight?" "Let's talk championships at the next level," Thompson says, leaning in for full effect. (She has four WNBA rings with the Houston Comets from 1997 to 2000.)

"We got rings," chimes in Sue Bird, the other UConn grad. (Bird won hers with the Seattle Storm in 2004, Taurasi hers with the Phoenix Mercury last year.) "Not four you don't," Thompson counters. "Doesn't count when there's only four teams in the league," Taurasi razzes. "Hah! Whooh!"

This is what makes Team USA go: Chemistry, camaraderie and constant catcalls. "The secret is we really like each other," DeLisha Milton-Jones says. "We have no choice. You may have had a run-in with someone in a WNBA season. It doesn't matter at this point. It's a sisterhood. That's what it's all about.

"We're a band of sisters fighting for our country. You have to have some type of passion about it for yourself and for each other. Every minute you're out on the court, it's not that we're doing it for me we're doing it for we. And when you do it that way things work out."

Every minute, as Milton-Jones puts it, is precisely on point. Thompson leads Team USA in minutes played with a touch less than 20 per game — 16 fewer than she gets with the Comets. Milton-Jones plays the fewest at nearly 11 per game — 22 fewer than she gets with the Los Angeles Sparks.

The 12 players left their WNBA teams on July 27 and blended as one at a quickie-camp at Stanford for three days before flying to China.

"I asked them to go from their WNBA jersey one day to a USA Basketball jersey the next — and then kick it up a notch," coach Anne Donovan says. "And they have done everything I've asked."

Women's basketball gold-medal game
(Saturday: 10 p.m.)
The women will play for their fourth consecutive gold medal and their third consecutive against Australia and Lauren Jackson.

The Annual Pilgrammage to Mikatos

Had a great time at Mikatos last night celebrating Liz & Rebecca's birthday's. It still amazes me that they continue to let us come back each year! The after-dinner spank-fest at the front door probably scared away most of the late night customers driving by. And of course, the "highlight" of the night happened in the parking lot when Sheff & Hannah gave Liz & Rebecca some conditioner for their hair!

Refuel Immediately AFTER a Workout

With Soccer season just about ready to get cranked up, I thought I'd go ahead and include this in the Blog rather than save it for our first newsletter of the season (just for you soccer players on the team). In any physical sport, "refueling" is extremely important, especially in a tournament or in back-to-back game situations.

You can gain an advantage over your opponents, according to research by Dr. John Ivy at the University of Texas, “Drinking or eating carbohydrates immediately after a strenuous workout, at a level of at least one gram per kilogram of body weight, is therefore essential to restoring the glycogen you’ve burned.

Wait even a few hours and your ability to replenish that fuel drops by half.” Exercise makes your body more responsive to insulin which primes the body to absorb more fuel or glycogen, but the window lasts only 30 to 45 minutes.

Of course, protein is also important to help the body recover. “Protein co-ingestion can accelerate muscle glycogen repletion by stimulating endogenous insulin release,” says Luc van Loon, an associate professor of human movement sciences at Maastricht University in the Netherlands and the author of several important studies about recovery.

The need for immediate carbohydrate and protein intake is one of the reasons why the chocolate milk story has made news lately. A glass of chocolate milk supplies simple sugars and protein and recent studies have confirmed that it is just as good, or better, than sports drinks for recovery after a workout. Of course, smoothies with yogurt and fruit combine the same principles, if they are easily accessible immediately following a game or workout.

Next, “have a real meal within two hours. ‘You can maintain increased insulin levels and accelerated rates of recovery for about four to six hours if you continue eating,’ Ivy says. Of course, you can also get by without such diet timing. ‘But you won’t recover as well,’ Ivy continues. ‘You probably won’t be able to work out as hard on a daily basis.’ The old guy who chugs his milk and Hershey’s syrup will not only pass you — he’ll lap you.”

During tournaments, players struggle to eat real meals and often wait until after 9:00PM to have a solid meal. But, as the researchers suggest, this leads to players wearing down. Smart teams do not rely on the tournament snack bar or fast food. They pack their food and eat between games to assist with recovery. If eating before a game, stay away from fats because they take longer to digest, which is another reason why fast food eating in the middle of tournaments negatively affects performance.

The latest issue of the NSCA Performance Training Journal (Volume 7, Issue 3) has an article by Debra Wein titled, “Post-Exercise Nutrition: Recommendations for Resistance and Endurance Training.” The article echoes much of the science contained in Reynolds’ article, but also has some meal suggestions:
 Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich on whole wheat bread: 12g of protein, 11g of fat and 36g of carbohydrates.
 Tuna sandwich on wheat: 25g protein, 23g fat and 24g carbohydrates.
 Chicken Sandwich on white w/low fat cheese: 22g protein, 7g fat and 72g carbohydrates.
 Large Vanilla Milkshake: 12g protein, 13g fat and 86g carbohydrate.
 8oz. yogurt smoothie: 6g protein, 3g fat and 43g carbohydrate.
 12oz low fat chocolate milk: 10g protein, 3g fat and 33g carbohydrate.

Knee Stuff

In the September 2008 Men’s Health (David Beckham on the cover), a study suggests that neoprene sleeves help protect against knee injury because they “significantly boost joint stability.”

“According to Damien Van Tiggelen, P.T., the study’s lead author, injuries often occur when knee stability breaks down due to fatigue. He suggests reaching for the sleeves before the fourth quarter of a basketball game. The brace provides additional support, but doesn’t impair muscle function, so there’s no detrimental effect,’ he says, adding that the proprioception (sense of balance) can potentially smooth your movements.”

Men’s Health suggests McDavid’s Level I knee support.

Beach Sleep Over

Lesson Learned?

This time around, it appears the men’s USA Basketball Team may have learned it’s lesson regarding the importance that team chemistry plays in achieving success.

In 2004, Team USA earned the nickname “LeBronze” after failing to beat Puerto Rico, Argentina and Lithuania and earned only a Bronze Medal, despite being loaded with talented players like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dewayne Wade and Allen Iverson.

Great teams are not made of talent alone. Ask the 2004 Puerto Rican team with no stars but lots of chemistry that embarrassed Team USA on world-wide television with a 19-point thrashing.

A team that likes each other, interacts well with each other, and trusts each other will be cooperative, communicative, and honest. They will be willing to play for each other in order to accomplish the team goals.

A team that has personality clashes will be ineffective. Every member of the team might be talented... but because a few players on the team rub each other the wrong way they will accomplish little if anything at a group level. Each player alone might be dynamite, but as a team they will fail without commitment to each other.

There will be no synergy, no trust, and no loyalty within the team even if these individuals want to win. Panama City Christian’s team two seasons ago was a perfect example of this. On paper, they were the favorite to win the conference title. They had four experienced senior starters and they had size…but they couldn’t play together as a team. On the other hand, Covenant had nine new girls (three of which were eighth-graders) and they played for each other.

When there is great chemistry, these brilliant talents will explode with excellence. Their commitment to one another will empower the group to excel beyond expectations.

It is how the individual players intersect and interact that distinguishes a good team from a collection of good players. Modern sports history proves it. From the New England Patriots, to the San Antonio Spurs, to the Chicago White Sox – teammates that are committed to each other win championships.

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8 Rules of Understanding

I came across an article about a High School cross-country running coach named Joe Newton. Coach Newton has won 26 state championships, been named as the manager in charge of marathon runners for the 1988 Olympic Team, been named National Cross Country Coach of the Year four times and has written four books on the link between concentration and training with regard to athletic success.

Coach Newton listed 8 Rules of Understanding that athletes MUST follow to become a champion.

1. You must learn to compete. Competition is basic to human life. Life is not easy, competing against the best brings out the best. You must learn to compete against the best as you will be doing it all your life.

2. You must be able to think under pressure. You need to maintain your style and efficiency. You must have a plan and a strategy. You must concentrate on what you are doing.

3. You must learn to go through pain and agony. Dr James Councilman says no athlete ever became a champion without going through hurt, pain, and agony. You must learn to live with pain and keep going when the body is hurting.

4. You must get a goal and follow through. Life is only meaningful if you have a goal. If you have a goal it will pull out every-single ability that you have.

5. You must aim for the top. This is the most important one of all. No matter what the record is, you must think you can break it. You can do the impossible with the proper state of mind. You can get the job done, regardless of the odds.

6. You will be frustrated. You must learn to deal with the frustrations you will encounter. Sometimes we give everything we have and we still lose. In striving for victory, you will learn about life. You must bounce back after each fall. You must pick yourself up and try again.

7. You must never give up. Hang on by even a thread of desire. When all else is lost, there is always hope.

8. You must reach for character and morality. If you are spiritually oriented, you will discipline yourself to be better. You will work harder because you understand a commitment. With faith you can accomplish your goal.

"A person can have some talent and some character and have the chance to succeed. But, if she has tons of talent and no character, she will fail."
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Six Lessons On Team Leadership

Came across a great article about team leadership on a Blog tonight and included most of it. It is a good story about San Francisco Giants outfielder Aaron Rowand (in the picture), who is "the leader" of the team according to teammates.

Rowand has earned it. The currency of his respect is a World Series ring, the image of his bloodied face after crashing into that wall in Philadelphia, playing in 107 of 112 games in 2008 despite busting a rib or two in the second game of the season and his demeanor as the Giants' clubhouse leader.

Here is the link to the full article for those that may want to read it. (Can't get the link to work, so you may have to cut & paste it).
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/08/SPLF126N03.DTL&feed=rss.sports

Six lessons from the article:

1. Players recognize other players who've paid the price: "Nobody in this game deserves respect," Rowand said. "You have to earn it." Said one of Rowand's teammates: "He talks the talk, but then he does it on the field." Rowand arrived early to training camp and helped establish the clubhouse rules for the season. Said Rowand: "I wouldn't do or say anything that I wouldn't do to myself," he said. "I'm not better than anybody else in this clubhouse. I don't think anybody else puts himself on a pedestal. We're all equals."

2. By nature of their experience, veterans should lead: "All the veterans lead. Either you're a vocal leader or you lead by example or you do a little bit of both. At some point in the season, you need everybody to step up and pull his own weight. It's up to the older guys on the team to help the younger guys out, to mentor, to police, to be the guys who are responsible for bringing everyone together for one common goal, to win ballgames together as a unit."

3. Leaders aren't necessarily the most popular players on the team: "I think being a leader, you've got to not be afraid to call people out, not be afraid to ruffle some feathers," said Giants pitcher Jack Taschner. "A good leader isn't somebody whom everybody likes, but somebody everyone respects. Everybody does like Rowand because he's got a good personality and he will talk to you. But he's not a guy who's going to beat around the bush. If he doesn't like something, he's going to speak his mind."

4. Coaches rely on players who can "lead from within": "On every club, you need guys to take on that role because we're the ones spending the majority of the time with each other. It's not the manager's job to baby-sit."

5. With leadership, comes responsibility: "Barry [Bonds] just didn't do it very well," according to one of Bonds' former teammates. "It was his clubhouse, but he didn't want that role. He wanted the title. He wanted it to be his clubhouse, but he didn't want to do the team-building stuff, so we kind of worked around that. We didn't have one leader."

6. The ability to manage strong emotions is important for a leader: "Rowand said he tried to maintain a consistent personality. Panic and anger are not good examples to set for someone who views himself as a leader."

Dream BIG!

Whatever it is, you have to get excited and enthusiastic about your dream. It's got to be like a forest fire...you have to be able to smell it, taste it, and see it from a mile away. Then, and only then, are you capable of reaching it.

The size of your success will be determined by the size of your belief!
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How High Is YOUR Bar?

There is a bar representing the standard of behavior by which we all live our lives. Anything above it is acceptable behavior. They are the things we do that make us proud, that we would not be ashamed to talk about to anyone. However, transgressions below the bar simply shouldn’t be tolerated.

The bar itself represents something. It represents EXPECTATIONS. It represents what we expect of ourselves. How high we place the bar represents how high we wish to aspire. For many people the bar is too low. It's so low, they can reach it while sitting down.

No one sets the level of "your bar" -- your standards -- but you.

You Gotta Love Pressure to Get Better

I came across an article on a Coaching Blog this weekend that was taken from the Harvard Business Review. The article is by a former professor of Elite Performance Psychology.

According to the author:

"The real key to excellence in both sports and business is not the ability to swim fast or do quantitative analyses quickly in your head; rather, it is mental toughness. Elite performers in both arenas thrive on pressure; they excel when the heat is turned up. Their rise to the top is the result of very careful planning—of setting and hitting hundreds of small goals. Elite performers use competition to hone their skills, and they reinvent themselves continually to stay ahead of the pack. Finally, whenever they score big wins, top performers take time to celebrate their victories."

Based on his work with elite athletes, he outlines how the "best of the best get better and better."

1. Learn to love the pressure. "Top sports performers don’t allow themselves to be distracted by the victories or failures of others. They concentrate on what they can control and forget the rest."

2. Set long-term goals, then outline short-term objectives and action steps. "Much of star athletes’ ability to rebound from defeat comes from an intense focus on long-term goals and aspirations. At the same time, both sports stars and their coaches are keenly aware that the road to long-term success is paved with small achievements. The trick here is to meticulously plan short-term goals so that performance will peak at major, rather than minor, events."

3. Compete against the best in order to improve. "If you hope to make it to the very top...make sure you train with the people who will push you the hardest."

4. Seek constructive criticism, feedback, and advice. "How do you motivate yourself to embark on another cycle of building the mental and physical endurance required to win the next time, especially now that you have become the benchmark? [Elite performers have] an insatiable appetite for feedback. They have a particularly strong need for instant, in the moment feedback."

5. Work hard; play hard. "Elite performers...put almost as much effort into their celebrations as they do into their accomplishments. Celebration is more than an emotional release. Done effectively, it involves a deep level of analysis and enhanced awareness. The very best performers do not move on before they have scrutinized and understood thoroughly the factors underpinning their success. Dwelling on success for too long is a distraction and, worse, leads to complacency. Celebrate—but push on."

6. An intense desire to compete. "What drives all elite performers is a fierce desire to compete—and win. That’s what truly separates elite performers from ordinary high achievers. It takes supreme, almost unimaginable grit and courage to get back into the ring and fight to the bitter end."

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