At the Commitment Dinner, I gave a talk to the team about being compelled, being compelled means to give everything you've got for a cause with no excuses. This is how we are supposed to function on a team, but more importantly, in life. Afterwards, I shared with the kids the story of Dennis Byrd, he is former NFL football player who was paralyzed in a football game while playing for the NY Jets in the 90's. After the doctors told him that he would never walk again, through hard work, perseverance, and commitment, he lives a normal life now and he gave a talk to the NY Jets before their playoff game this year. This is what he told them...
A man has a body, a mind and a spirit. There are times in a mans life when his body will tell him it cannot continue on. There are times in a mans life where his mind will tell him, that the task set for him is too hard for him to accomplish. Those two don't matter, it's a mans will, a mans spirit, in those moments and in those times, that will tell him "you can do it". And it will make the mind and the body follow along and it doesn't have a choice. - Dennis Byrd
It's not always easy to be compelled and to give everything you've got but if your heart/spirit wants it, then the body and the mind will follow and you can get the job done. I hope that these kids will remember this story throughout the season and beyond that.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Start of the Season
The official track & field season has started.
Let's be COMPELLED this year and make no excuses.
Let's be COMPELLED this year and make no excuses.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Passion
Today, at our last practice of winter break, I gave a talk to the team about something that we all need to hear, understand, and live out. The talk was about having a passion, being passionate about something in your life that is positive and productive.
Passion - a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything. That is what it says on D in the dictionary and that is true, but I see it as something you are willing to SACRIFICE for, whether it's time, money, effort, and most important, heart. Without sacrifice, it can not be a passion.
Kids at Bernstein need to find a passion for something, whether it's going to college, being the best athlete they can be, playing sports in college, making it out of the neighborhood they grew up in, or whatever it may be. If you don't have a passion for something or somethings, you are going to let anything and everything bring you down and hold you back. When you are passionate about something, you will do whatever it takes to get it and NOT do anything that will stop you from getting it.
I was fortunate enough to have a strong passion for things as a 9th grader in high school; I wanted to go to college, be an All-State football player, and get a football scholarship offer from a University. I held on to these things I was passionate about and never let go of them during high school. Kids wanted me to do drugs, get drunk, ditch classes, and live a life of empty pleasures but because of my goals that I was passionate about, I stayed away from them...I lived in the weight room, I got good grades, I never missed a practice and sacrificed my time, effort, and heart to attain my dreams. Four years after I found out about my passions, I went to college on a football scholarship and was named an All-State Running Back in the state of Washington. I have no regrets whatsoever and I am living a fulfilling life now because of the choices I made in high school.
RIGHT NOW, if you are passionate about something, pursue it and be willing to sacrifice whatever it may be to get it. If you don't know what you're passionate about, think about it and figure it out because if you don't, you will fall for anything (drugs, alcohol, ditching classes, bad relationships with girls/boys, etc). If they can find passion now and learn how to hang on to them, then the ultimate outcome will be them becoming passionate husbands/wives and fathers/mothers. That is my ultimate hope for these kids, that they'll love their wives/husbands and their kids with passion and learn to sacrifice themselves for their future families. If they can do that, I think they can have a healthy marriage, something we're not used to seeing in Bernstein's neighborhood.
To end the talk, I told them that since I'm not in high school anymore, I found a new passion in life. That new passion was THEM, I am and will continue to sacrifice myself and all that I have for them so that they can be successful and live a life that is worthy! As we continue with the preseason workouts and the regular season, I hope and pray that the kids at Bernstein will learn to live life with PASSION.
"Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion" - Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Passion - a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything. That is what it says on D in the dictionary and that is true, but I see it as something you are willing to SACRIFICE for, whether it's time, money, effort, and most important, heart. Without sacrifice, it can not be a passion.
Kids at Bernstein need to find a passion for something, whether it's going to college, being the best athlete they can be, playing sports in college, making it out of the neighborhood they grew up in, or whatever it may be. If you don't have a passion for something or somethings, you are going to let anything and everything bring you down and hold you back. When you are passionate about something, you will do whatever it takes to get it and NOT do anything that will stop you from getting it.
I was fortunate enough to have a strong passion for things as a 9th grader in high school; I wanted to go to college, be an All-State football player, and get a football scholarship offer from a University. I held on to these things I was passionate about and never let go of them during high school. Kids wanted me to do drugs, get drunk, ditch classes, and live a life of empty pleasures but because of my goals that I was passionate about, I stayed away from them...I lived in the weight room, I got good grades, I never missed a practice and sacrificed my time, effort, and heart to attain my dreams. Four years after I found out about my passions, I went to college on a football scholarship and was named an All-State Running Back in the state of Washington. I have no regrets whatsoever and I am living a fulfilling life now because of the choices I made in high school.
RIGHT NOW, if you are passionate about something, pursue it and be willing to sacrifice whatever it may be to get it. If you don't know what you're passionate about, think about it and figure it out because if you don't, you will fall for anything (drugs, alcohol, ditching classes, bad relationships with girls/boys, etc). If they can find passion now and learn how to hang on to them, then the ultimate outcome will be them becoming passionate husbands/wives and fathers/mothers. That is my ultimate hope for these kids, that they'll love their wives/husbands and their kids with passion and learn to sacrifice themselves for their future families. If they can do that, I think they can have a healthy marriage, something we're not used to seeing in Bernstein's neighborhood.
To end the talk, I told them that since I'm not in high school anymore, I found a new passion in life. That new passion was THEM, I am and will continue to sacrifice myself and all that I have for them so that they can be successful and live a life that is worthy! As we continue with the preseason workouts and the regular season, I hope and pray that the kids at Bernstein will learn to live life with PASSION.
"Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion" - Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Monday, December 27, 2010
Winter Practices
12/20 - 12/30
"Optional Optional" Practice
Mon - Thur @ 10:30am
1/3-1/6
Counts for the T-Shirt
Mon - Thur @ 10:30am
Hope to see many of you.
"Optional Optional" Practice
Mon - Thur @ 10:30am
1/3-1/6
Counts for the T-Shirt
Mon - Thur @ 10:30am
Hope to see many of you.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Story About Investment
At our first track and field meeting this past Thursday, I encouraged our kids to come out to the winter practices that are optional to prepare for the upcoming season. This is the story that I read to them and afterwards, we discussed it's not about the the talent that you were given, but what you do with that talent and how much you can build on that talent.
"A man was going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master's investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master's money.
"After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'
"The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'
"The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.'
"The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.
“Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this coward who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.’
Don’t be scared to work hard or to succeed. If you do, you will be worthless like Servant #3 and be thrown out into utter darkness of society.
"A man was going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master's investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master's money.
"After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'
"The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'
"The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.'
"The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.
“Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this coward who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.’
Don’t be scared to work hard or to succeed. If you do, you will be worthless like Servant #3 and be thrown out into utter darkness of society.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Winter Track
Winter track conditioning starts on Monday, 12/6 and it will go until Thursday, 1/27. There will be 23 practices in all which are all optional.
- 20/23 practices will get you an "EXCELLENCE" shirt.
- 17/23 practices will get you a "GREATNESS" shirt.
"The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare"
- 20/23 practices will get you an "EXCELLENCE" shirt.
- 17/23 practices will get you a "GREATNESS" shirt.
"The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare"
Monday, August 16, 2010
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