Let’s try and make a difference in youth sports instead of ruining it.

Prior to his formal retirement announcement, the Colts were playing an NFL preseason game.  During the game, the word leaked that Luck was likely to announce his intention to retire. Luck, on the sidelines in street clothes at the conclusion of the game, walked off the field to boos from the woolly ruminants mouth breathing in the stands.  

Stop. Look around you. How many people in your immediate vicinity are looking at some sort of screen? Most of them? All? Now think of the last time you went out to eat. When did it become normal to see people sitting on their phones at the table and not interacting with the person sitting to their side or across from them?

The FIFA World Cup is by far one of the most significant global events other than the Olympics.  The meeting of 32 teams of different ethnicities, backgrounds, and training reminds the world of their love for soccer: the competition, the upsets, and the sense of nationality that brings people together as nothing else can.  The World Cup also acts as a distraction from the pressing world issues we face today. For example, the Saudi Arabian attack on Yemen. With so many countries competing in this tournament, one would think the conflicts between nations or situations impacting the athletes would be brought into the spotlight along with the teams.  But with the 2018 World Cup entering its final weeks, have the athletes and fans taken advantage of this global platform the World Cup provides to promote the global issues that need to be addressed?

“You can't understand what the World Cup means to our country,” said Brazilian superstar, Ronaldinho. “Not just the fans and players, but everybody in Brazil lets us know that they expect it. Our president, people in politics, all tell us to come back with the World Cup.”

Working regularly with professional athletes, I am constantly amazed at the diversity of interests, skills, and ambitions these athletes have outside of their sport. For me, these experiences put the proverbial nail in the coffin of the old stigma that athletes are dumb, uneducated, and one-dimensional.

More than ever athletes are diversifying both their personal and professional interests.  That approach pays huge dividends to both their current careers and life beyond the game, which is a great thing.

It’s 6:00 AM. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Time to train. 12:00 PM - eat again. Talk to trainers and coaches. 3:00 PM - Go to class. 5:00 PM - Eat dinner. Do homework. Sleep. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Routine; it’s something every successful athlete needs. Constantly planning out every minute of every day helps keep someone on track to where you want to go. What happens if you never get off the endless cycle of routine? 

When I was a sophomore at the University of Illinois (UIUC) my Men’s Gymnastics team coach and mentor, Justin Spring, gathered the team and asked, “What’s a belief?” Following minutes of consideration and several incorrect answers he divulged “A belief, is nothing more than a recurring thought.” This quote stuck with me for my entire collegiate career and thus began my fascination with the simple concept which forever changed my perspective.

There's no secret to how the most successful athletes get to where they are. They work hard. Discipline is what turns talent into ability. Yes, talent, opportunity, perhaps luck, all help on their journey to success, but in the end, athletes who make it to the elite level have all done the hard work required.

If an athlete’s social media profile or CV is based solely on athletic accomplishments, they are missing a massive opportunity by only having what I call a ‘fan brand.’  Yes, similar to George Costanza claiming that he coined the phrase ‘pardon my french,’ I am claiming the phrase ‘Fan Brand.’

Professional sport as we know it does not exist without fans.  If no one cared, there would be no market for tickets, t-shirts, news, blogs, and those awesome thundersticks.

It dawns on players (in most cases) that spending all their downtime watching movies, shopping at the mall, playing video games, going to the mall, playing cards, hanging out at the mall or just driving around isn't necessarily the most productive use of one's time.  As one player once noted, 'There really are only so many times you can go to the mall or watch Sports Center."

Athlete development seeks to address the development of the athlete as a holistic person. The objective with athlete development is to not only better prepare the individual athlete to compete but also assist the athlete in addressing the other areas of his life which can impact athletic performance and personal self-efficacy. We did a Q & A with our two resident athletes, Jay and Dan, to discuss athlete development topics both narrow and broad.

Finding time within an athlete’s schedule may seem like a challenge but the results can be worth it. For athlete’s such as Humana-Paredes it can be just a minute or two a day. Other people may prefer a longer practice. There are many resources out there to guide you through the meditation process, you just have to look! Discover some mental practices compatible to you, a quiet place and a few spare minutes to get started.