INFLUENCE

The off season is one of our most valuable opportunities to grow individually. What an opportunity to look around and grab ahold of all the factors that can be a great influence on our personal development. Take advantage of your location. Growing up in Colorado was one of the best things that could have happened to me as a kid since Carbondale was over 6,000 feet in elevation. My game was based on speed and endurance and I think that impacted my sustainability in my playing career. Look at Katie Bussey, former Bobcat, who plays like the Energizer Bunny but grew up in Alamosa, Colorado which is even higher at over 7500 feet. Coaches watch prospects for what they CAN do. Just think if you could make your best move, crash the glass, sprint the floo, defend at your highest intestity EVERY possession. Wow, that would be fun! Take advantage of your support, find someone better to compete against. Being the youngest of three I would say I took advantage of playing against my brother ALL the time. Some of the greatest improvements are based upon the toughest competition. I ran the 400 in high school and my fastest split is when I ran it in a relay because I had to "catch" the opponent in front of me. Jasmine Hommes had a break out year for the CATS and she also competed against Rachel Semansky the last two years. Take advantage of your resources. One of my favorite sports movies is "Rocky" especially when the theme song "Eye of the Tiger" comes on and you know Rocky is now going to get to work. I think it's Rocky IV when he goes to Russia and doesn't have a gym to train in so he uses everything in the barn out to the foothills and snow. If you are an opportunist, a competitor, you will find what's around you and make it work for you to get better. This past spring we took our team to the climbing wall to strengthen our bodies in a totally different way. Sometimes changing it up can be a great motivator. Take some time this week and make a list of people you know that can provide great wisdom as well as the resources you have at your fingertips that you can utilize to get better. Today is an opportunity and one we all should take advantage of to move forward. Coach Bin