KICKS FOR YA DOGS!

I know it's early... VERY early to be looking for some team kicks for next season, but for the next few months, I will occasionally drop some info on here for those that are interested.  

This LINK is to a recent review on the new Chris Paul CP3.II which appears to be a sweet hoops shoe.

Priced at $117 for adult sizes (sz 7.5+) and $89 (youth sz 5.0-7.0) they are right in-line with what we've paid in the past.

4:13

THE MOST IMPORTANT KEY

"Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitude toward life.  The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.  I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of an attitude. 

It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances or my position.  Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress.  It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope.  When my attitudes are right, there’s no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me."

-Pastor Chuck Swindoll

READY FOR THE GAME & LECRAE 6/26

The Grace girls will be in town on June 26th for the Ready For The Game Camp.  Their coach was talking about maybe having the two teams hang out on Friday night and do something together.  

Well... it just so happens that Lecrae will be in PC for a show on that same day.  Hmmmm..... wonder what the two teams can find to do together?

4:13

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR TEAM

Key #1: Disown Your Helplessness

Can-do people aggressively pursue solutions, and in the process, uncover creative solutions others never even try to find.  Can-do people take responsibility for the future, whereas lesser people blame circumstances or other people when facing roadblocks. Rather than wallowing in helplessness, can-do people search diligently to overcome the obstacles in front of them.

Key #2: Take the Bull By the Horns.

Can-do people are fearless.  They go straight to the source of their solution.  Their very effort commands attention as they wrestle a problem to the ground with expediency. People with a can-do attitude have an aggressiveness about them.  They take the bull by the horns.  When they enter into the arena of action, they don’t wait, they initiate.

Key #3: Enter the No Whining Zone.

Can-do people rarely complain.  They recognize its futility and guard their minds and mouths

against indulging in this time-wasting activity.  As George Washington Carver observed, “Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses.”

Key #4: Put On Another’s Pair of Shoes.

Can-do people empathize with others.  They attempt to see any predicament from the other person’s perspective in order to make the best decisions.  Can-do people see the world from their perspective and others’ perspectives.  They use their own perspective to give direction, and they use others’ perspectives to forge relational connections.  Both direction and connection are indispensable to taking the team on a successful journey.

Key #5: Nurture Your Passion.

Can-do people are immune to burnout.  They love what they do because they’ve learned how to fuel the fire that keeps them moving.  In leadership, the prize is not given to the person who’s the smartest, nor to the person with the advantages in resources and position, but the prize goes to the person with passion.

Key #6: Walk the Second Mile.

Can-do people exceed expectations.  While others settle for an acceptable solution, they aren’t satisfied until they have achieved the unimagined.  They set expectations for themselves higher than what is dictated by the people or situations around them.

Key #7: Quit Stewing and Start Doing.

Can-do people take action.  While others are crippled by worry, fear, and anxiety, they have the fortitude to press forward.  The perfect moment when all is safe and assured may never arrive, so why wait for it?  Can-do people take risks.

Key #8: Go With the Flow.

Can-do people can adjust to change.  They don’t get caught griping about an unexpected curve in the road.  They accept transition with an optimistic outlook.  They realize it’s less important what happens TO them, than it is what happens IN them.

Key #9: Follow Through to the End.

Can-do people not only initiate, they finish.  They are self-starters with the capacity to achieve their goal.

Key #10: Expect a Return as a Result of Your Commitment.

If you make an all out commitment with a can-do attitude, expect to succeed.  Passionate commitment is contagious, and resources follow resolve.  Committed people will reap rewards and find open doors as others are drawn to the excitement and energy emanating from them.

4:13

A PERFECT SEASON 39-0

Geno Auriemma and thewomen of the University of Connecticut's basketball team are used to dream seasons.  But when the Lady Huskies captured their sixth NCAA title last week, they achieved perfection -- capping off a historic season with 39 wins.

"At Connecticut, there is no next time, there's only this time, there's only this time," Auriemma said.  "Every single game was won by double digits.  That's never been done before in the history of college basketball, men's or women's."

The Connecticut Huskies may be the greatest college team ever, and with Auriemma on the court, they're unstoppable.  He's won 32 Big East championships and six NCAA titles -- five since 2000.  So, what's his coaching secret? Respect and focus behind a tough exterior.

Auriemma said he doesn't treat the team like girls, but like players -- or perhaps something akin to soldiers at a boot camp.

"I don't think people feel a sense of urgency when you have someone sugar coating, and patting your back and giving you lollipops every day," said Kalana Greene, a Huskies guard.

Tina Charles, the Huskies' starting center, was chosen as 2009's most outstanding player in the Final Four this year.  But even this star athlete has faced the brunt of Auriemma's criticism for her inconsistent play.

When the Huskies lost to Stanford last year, knocking the team out of the semifinals, Auriemma came right out and said they had no "inside game," singling out Charles' performance.

"I felt kind of distraught," she said.  "I take a lot of things personal that coach says, because I know what he wants from me and he knows what I want from this game."

But Auriemma said it's easy to see the method behind his tough-love approach when watching Charles' growth on the court.

"That's not criticism.  That's a fact.  So, if Tina says, 'Well, I take that personally?'  You should, that's part of the plan here," Auriemma said.  "It's not, you know, anything other than the cold stone truth.  And now Tina understands."

The irritable Auriemma may be mellowing -- something the team takes credit for.

"He's transformed into a different coach than I've seen.  And I think the reason he's transformed is because he has 13 committed girls," Greene said.  "It's down the line on the roster, one to 13.  Everyone has the same goals, the same commitment and giving the same effort every day."

Maybe that’s why they went 39-0.

4:13

PLAYING WITHOUT FEAR

Read an interesting article recently about why some high school football players are so successful in basketball – even though few have well-developed basketball skills.  The over-all thought was that they played with an aggressive, football-like mentality.

High school success depends less on skill and more on athleticism and attitude or mindset, and oftentimes football players have the aggressive mindset that leads to high school success.  Coaches often favor the aggressive player regardless of success, often violating John Wooden’s popular phrase, “Don’t mistake activity with achievement.”

What can a non-football player learn from the football players?  First, from a playing time perspective, it is important to understand the different things that the coach values. Often, he values different things than those that he says that he values.  Actions speak louder than words.  What things do the players who play the most bring to the team?  How do they play?  Does the coach play the smart players who do not turn over the ball or the aggressive players who make things happen – good or bad?  Does he prefer the skilled players or the stronger, more athletic players?

Second, football players playing basketball often play with a lack of fear.  They are not 100% invested in basketball, so they do not fear failure.  Many players develop a fear of failure.  The Achievement Goal Theory states that people are motivated by one of two things: (1) the desire for success or (2) the fear of failure.  Players motivated by a desire for success have a better opportunity to play well because they focus on the positive result rather than trying to avoid a negative result.

When a player shoots, he can make the shot or miss it.  A player motivated by a fear of failure hopes that he does not miss the shot; a player motivated by a desire for success wants to make the shot.  The positive approach leads to better performance because the player focuses on his goal (making the shot).

Players motivated by the desire to succeed often play more aggressively because they want to make plays. Their goal is to make something happen.  Players motivated by the fear of failure often try to avoid mistakes.  However, by avoiding mistakes, they are less likely to make positive plays.  2009 Hall of Fame inductee John Stockton is the NBA’s all-time leader in assists and turnovers; future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre is the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdown passes and interceptions.

Sure, Favre and Stockton would probably like a redo on some of their bad passes.  However, they also know that they never would have made all the positive plays without risking failure. Rather than play it safe, they went for it, which resulted in the good and the bad.  Fortunately for them, they had far more success than failure, but even when they made a mistake, they did not allow it to affect their approach. They maintained a positive approach.

It is important for players to develop this approach.  If a player is afraid to shoot because she wants to avoid a mistake, can she ever really become a good shooter?  

4:13

SEEMING BUSY vs. BEING BUSY

“Being busy does not always mean real work.  The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration.  Seeming to do is not doing.”

- Thomas Edison

Mr. Edison's words apply to basketball as well.  Practicing with a sense of purpose means that you have identified what it is you need improvement on and have formulated a plan on how to achieve the result you seek.

Too often athletes spend valuable practice time just going through the motions of casually shooting around rather than practicing for a particular scenario they will likely face in a game.  You should always practice at game-like speed and take game-like shots in order to be adequately prepared once you find yourself under defensive pressure in a game.

4:13

STOP WASTING TIME

“The longer you wait to decide what you want to do, the more time you’re wasting.  It’s up to you to want something so badly that your passion shows through.  Your actions, not your words, will do the shouting for you.”

- Derek Jeter

Future Hall of Fame

Baseball Player

DON'T BE AFRAID TO DREAM

For thousands of years, mankind traveled along the ground: by foot, by horse & buggy, by locomotive, and eventually by automobile.  Thanks to the dreams of Orville and Wilbur Wright, we now hop across oceans in a matter of hours.  The imaginative brothers overcame ridicule and doubt to pioneer human flight, and the world has never been the same.

Many of us play small because we do not allow ourselves to dream.  We trap ourselves in reality and never dare to go beyond what we can see with our eyes.

Imagination lifts us beyond average by giving us a vision of life that surpasses what we are experiencing currently.  Dreams infuse our spirit with energy and spur us on to greatness.

Don't be content with being average.  What you can imagine... you can accomplish.

4:13

"I promise to keep on living as though I expect to live forever.  Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years.  People grow old by deserting their ideals.  Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up.... that wrinkles the soul."

- Douglas MacArthur

JUNE SCRIMMAGE

As I have already mentioned in a previous email, a team from Knoxville, TN (Webb School) will be in town the first week of June to play a game against Arnold and Rutherford, and they have asked to play us on Thursday June 4th at our gym.  

I have told the coach that we will gladly play them if we have enough to put a team together.  He doesn’t care if we pick up a couple of players from other schools, use former players (graduates), or even dress out in uniforms.

He is a first-year coach at the school and wants to put his team in game-like situations to see what he has to work with next season and what areas need improvement before the season starts.  Sounds like a smart coach.

I’ve only heard from four of you that are interested in participating in the scrimmage.  Please confirm that you either will…or will not be participating in the scrimmage.  If I can get a head count, I’ll know how many other players I’ll need to contact to fill our roster.

4:13

L stands for something other than lucky...

It’s a safe bet to assume that I never-ever want to participate in another all-star game.  On paper, the East should have had a distinct advantage being that the News Herald writers are able to select players from an eight County region (versus the West’s three Counties) yet once again… the West dominated the East (in every facet of the game).  

They looked like a team that had played together all season long.  

2009 READY FOR THE GAME CAMP

Feel free to pass along the Camp link to any of your friends that may be interested in attending.

2009 FREEDOM ALL-STAR CLASSIC

From a coaches point of view, the past few weeks leading up to Saturday's Freedom Classic game have been filled with total chaos. Trying to get 12 athletes living across the Panhandle (Chipley, Bonifay, Cottondale, Graceville, Port St. Joe, Panama City, Marianna) together for practices has been next to impossible.

But as shown in the pictures, they are having a great time.  Tara from Bethlehem has been a total riot!  (as shown in the picture... she's sending the West All-Stars a message).

The News herald was kind enough to give us SIX point guards and only ONE post player.  So Haley will have a chance to play down low on Saturday.  The West has a much bigger team and they appear to be far more aggressive than the East girls... keep your fingers crossed!

4:13

"The gem cannot be polished without friction."

- Chinese Proverb

"May there be enough clouds in your 

life to make a beautiful sunset."

- Rebecca Gregory

"Birds sing after a storm. 

Why shouldn't we?"

- Rose Kennedy

"Wherever we look upon this earth, 

the opportunities take shape within the problems."

- Nelson A. Rockefeller

WHEN PREPARATION PAYS OFF

“For 42 years, I’ve made small, regular deposits of education, training, and experience. And the experience balance was sufficient that on January 15, I could make a sudden large withdrawal.”

Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger

Pilot of US Airways flight 1549

“The Hero of the Hudson

IT'S A STATE OF MIND

If you believe that something is impossible, your mind will go to work for you to prove why. But, if you believe… really believe, that something is possible, your mind will go to work for you, to show you how to do it!

4:13

TURN DISAPPOINTMENT INTO MOTIVATION

In the movie Top Gun, Tom Cruise plays Maverick, a young, talented, and cocky aviator who dreams of being the premier pilot in the U.S. navy.  In the film's opening scenes, Maverick showcases his flying ability but also displays a knack for pushing the envelope with regards to safety.  Midway through the movie, Maverick's characteristic aggression spells disaster.  His plane crashes, killing his best friend and co-pilot.

Although cleared of wrongdoing, the painful memory of the accident haunts Maverick.  He quits taking risks and loses his edge. Struggling to regain his poise, he considers giving up on his dream. Although the incident nearly wrecks Maverick's career, he eventually reaches deep within to find the strength to return to the sky.

Like Maverick, many of us live with the memory of failure embedded in our psyche.  Perhaps a class that we failed or struggled with, or a relationship that went terribly wrong.  Disappointment is the gap that exists between expectation and reality, and all of us have encountered that gap. Failure is a necessary and natural part of life, but if we're going to attain our dreams, then, like Maverick, we have to summon the courage deal with past hurts and disappointments.

Don’t allow past hurts or disappointments to prevent you from reaching for your dreams.  Let them serve as guideposts on your journey toward your future.

4:13

DOING THE RIGHT THING

“Choose always the way that seems the best, however rough it may be. Custom will soon render it easy and agreeable.”

- Pythagoras

Greek philosopher

TOMORROW WILL BE BETTER THAN TODAY

"It's a never-ending struggle, which is great.  You can always get better!  You can never get there.  It's a journey with no arrival.  And that's the beauty of it -- that you can always become better the next day.  It's pretty cool to think about it in that sense.  Tomorrow I will be a better player than I was today."

-Tiger Woods

The same holds true in our daily lives.  Let your tomorrow always be better than your today.

4:13

Take responsibility for your actions:

Tough players make no excuses.  They take responsibility for their actions.  

Take James Johnson for example.  With 17 seconds to go in Wake's game against Duke earlier this season, Jon Scheyer missed a 3-pointer that bounced right to Johnson.  But instead of aggressively pursuing the ball with a sense of urgency, Johnson stood there and waited for the ball to come to him.  

It never did.  Scheyer grabbed it, called a timeout and the Blue Devils hit a game-tying shot on a possession they never should've had.  

Going after the loose ball is toughness -- and Johnson didn't show it on that play. But what happened next?  He re-focused, slipped a screen for the winning basket, and after the game -- when he could've been basking only in the glow of victory -- manned up to the mistake that could've cost his team the win.  "That was my responsibility -- I should have had that," Johnson said of the goof.  No excuses. Shouldering the responsibility.  

That's toughness.

THE DECISION TO ACT

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.  The fears are paper tigers.  You can do anything you decide to do.  With courage, you can act to change and control your life.  And the procedure, the process of change, is its own reward."

- Amelia Earhart (1897-1939)

American aviation pioneer

REFUSING TO LOSE

“I’ve never seen anyone like Michael Jordan who would fight so hard not to lose,” said Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin.  “I’ve never seen anything like his drive.”

When Rex Chapman scored forty on him, Jordan responded in their next meeting with fifty.  When Jerry Stackhouse scored nineteen points in the first half, Jordan held him scoreless in the second half — and scored forty-five points.  “MJ might have a bad game,” said veteran pro Sam Cassell, “but never bad back-to-back games.”

Former NBA player Kenny Smith remembered, “When I played at North Carolina, all the NBA guys would come back to play in the summer.  During the scrimmages, Michael would never leave the court.  Not even for a drink of water.  Between games, he’d stand out at mid court.  I asked him why and he said, ‘I don’t need water. I don’t need anything. I’m not leaving the whole time’.”

“He knew that to get faster, he had to run against faster people,” said UNC teammate Joe Wolf.

From "How To Be Like Mike"

By Pat Williams