Perspective

There is this old man that sits in the park every day, and just takes it all in. He doesn’t watch anything in particular just the big picture of what is going on around him. He watches the birds, trees, nature, and all the people that pass him every single day!

One day he was sitting on his bench and this man walks up to him and says “Excuse me sir, I am new to the city, but I was just curious if you can tell me about the people in this city”. The old man simply replies “tell me what the people are like from your city”. The man says to him “they are the most hateful, mean, and rude people you will ever meet”. The old man replies by simply telling him “You will find those people here”, and then the man walks away kind of frustrated.

About an hour later the old man is still sitting on his bench taking it in, when all of a sudden, a lady comes up to him and says the same thing to him….  “Excuse me sir, I am new to the city, but I was just curious if you can tell me about the people in this city”. Once again, the old man replies “tell me what the people are like from your city”. The lady says to him “the are the nicest, most caring, and genuine people you will ever meet”. The old man just smiles and replies to her by say “You will find those people here”.

The moral of the story is that you will find whatever you are looking for in life. Our perspective in life is something that sounds so simple and easy to control but sometimes we let our environment control what we find.

I was brought up believing that everything happens for a reason and life can always be worse. Sometimes we will never get that reason or it may take time till it presents itself but as long as we control our perspective and continue to operate off our values, principles, and standards we will be able to attract the things we want in life.

I know in this profession there will always be moments where we are challenged to have negative thoughts and beliefs because of the things that happen around us. This isn’t just because of the profession but the world we live in at this time, its not always pretty and roses, and I think we all understand that. 

I believe as a professional, employee, staff, athlete, and more importantly family, we need to know what is important to us. We all live in reality and never fool yourself of that but I also believe in keeping an optimistic view on life! There is so much hate and negative things out there in this world but I just want to remind everyone, that for every hateful and negative belief there is a positive one to follow. It is up to us as humans to decided what we want to attract and find in life.

I encourage everyone out there to write down what values, principles, and standards are important to you. When you do this start on the individual level, you, then move to your family, and finally the work environment. Once you do this then the next thing to do is uphold your end of the bargain and operate off these things!!

I do and will continue to challenge you to not let your environment dictate what you will be and how you will operate, but more importantly, FIGHT BACK! You control your thoughts and actions, and a lot of that will come from your overall perspective on life!

Nick Savage

Director of Strength and Conditioning

University of Florida

Always Remember Those Who Serve You

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished his ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies.

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

FOCUS DEFINED AS...

Focus is an intimate concentration on a specific task, which requires total body, wind,
spirit, cohesion and control.

To want something but nothing will get in your way; sickness, a bad day, class, etc. To want something so much, nothing else matters and only doing things that will help one reach a goal. For example, not going out but getting the rest you really need to help you.

Focus is when your mental attention is centered on what you need to do. Nothing else
can get into your head. You are focused.

To concentrate on everything and everyone around you. To know your job as well as the
other players around you. To absorb the teachings from your coach and know it. To
remain humble, to learn, to know your job. To learn from your mistakes. All of this to
me reflects focus.

I think focus is best defined by knowing what you want and knowing the proper way to
get it. One does not let anything distract then when they focused.

One must first determine a vision in which to focus on. Focus is the attention to detail
and determination to make our vision, our reality.

The ability to concentrate on something by ignoring outside, important forces that can
interfere with the task at hand. Taking advantage of all opportunities that facilitate the
task that increase the chances of success.

When someone can resist a temptation in the present to further pursue a goal in the
future.

To concentrate with full attention or energy on one specific task/project.

When you devote your full work ethic — be it mental and physical — to the achievement
of a goal or number of goals.

Concentrating on your responsibility.
It is setting your mind to achieve a specific course or action.
Concentrate at all times on what needs to be done.

Focus is devotion to a particular idea or action. When you are focused on something,
you must be completely dedicated to that task.

By concentrating on what I need to do personally and forgetting about things that stand
in my way. I also think being a leader will help others focus.

• As defined by Past Players

WHAT IT TAKES.....

This week for sure you need a pen and paper! Re-read and take some notes, Thanks Coach Folino for giving us a great perspective on what it takes…. Now is the time!

SUCCESS:

Success is  defined as The accomplishment of an aim or purpose. There are many different paths that can be taken in order to achieve your perceived success. In the world of Strength and Conditioning there is a common saying that is thrown around when talking about success and that phrase is “ there are a million ways to skin a cat”. In the case of success, the path to reaching your goals/ purpose is ever changing and infinite. When  thinking about success and how it can be achieved, there are a few things that come to mind: goal setting, persistence, work ethic, enthusiasm and never ever forgetting where you came from and who helped you get to where you are today. These are the attributes I believe help coaches and other professionals achieve success in their occupation and in life.

Goal setting-

You have to set goals. Period. If you do not set goals you are sabotaging yourself from the get go. Setting your goals is the blueprint for your success. Your goals have to be visible and readily available to you, not written down and locked away. There needs to be a constant reminder of what you are working for and what you're willing to do to get there. Your goals need to be clear, concise and lofty- short and long term alike. Your goals will change over time, but as long as you are constantly evaluating yourself and where you want to go,  you have taken the first step toward achieving success.

Persistence-

More often than not things aren't always going to go your way, especially in the field of strength and conditioning. You learn really fast that you have to have a certain toughness about you in order to keep pushing through all of the small day to day and big life obstacles thrown your way. YOU HAVE TO BE A FIGHTER. Don't back down from any challenge. Stay focused on what and who is important. 

Work ethic- 

Your work ethic is the driving force to achieving success. Be a GRINDER. If you're not willing to work then you're not ready to handle the success you want to achieve. Work in a holistic manner and finish every job with maximal effort. If you do a half ass job, you should expect half ass results. Everything in strength and conditioning and most avenues of life is earned and never given. Consistently working on your personal development, your duties at work and your duties at home/ in life will set you up to achieve your goals and successes.

Energy and enthusiasm-

Working hard is one thing. Being able to work hard with contagious enthusiasm and energy is another. Of the attributes that make a great strength and conditioning coach, energy and enthusiasm is important for the student athletes you train as well as your colleagues. I don't have to sit here and say how hard being a strength coach is, but I can't imagine how much harder it would be to work with a bunch of energy vampires. I am fortunate enough to have people around me that bring contagious energy to work every day and through that contagious energy we make each other better. Energy and enthusiasm changes moods, changes momentum and changes games. Consistent, contagious energy and enthusiasm day after day makes taking those steps toward your goals more attainable.

Don't forget who helped you-

Last but certainly not least is making sure to never forget about the people that helped you get to where you are today. All the mentors, friends, family and people that you encounter are in your life for a reason. Make sure to recognize the people who made an impression or impact on you or helped you along your journey to success. You didn't get there by yourself. I had a coach that always used to say if you want to go far , you can't go alone, you have to go together. Never forget who helped you along your journey, recognize those individuals AND NEVER FORGET WHERE YOU CAME FROM.

Everyone has their own path to success and ways to get there. These are the steps I am currently taking to find my own success in strength and conditioning and life. I’m thankful for people  who have encouraged me and made me better thus far.  By setting goals, being persistent, working my ass off, attacking every day with enthusiasm and energy and never forgetting where I came from, I think I have a good shot at achieving something special.   

I would like to thank a number of people-

My Mother ,Father and 7 siblings, my wife , Coach Ken Mannie , Coach Mike Vorkapich,Coach Tommy Hoke,Coach Lorenzo Guess, Coach Bill Burghardt, Coach Rick Court, Coach Zach Higgins , Coach Niko Palazeti, Coach Brady Collins Coach Parker Showers , Coach Dustin Tripp, Coach Austin Stephan,  Coach Dre Ward , Coach Jeremiah Ortiz, Coach Jimmy Rodenberg and Coach Bill Feraco.

You all have made me a better coach and better person, THANK YOU. 

Danny Folino

Assistant Director of Football Sports Performance 

University of Cincinnati

Amazon Leadership Principles

Below are Amazon Leadership Principles… In honor of this weeks Amazon Prime Day, Read below and Enjoy! A great day for your won checks and balances!

Leadership Principles

We use our Leadership Principles every day, whether we're discussing ideas for new projects or deciding on the best approach to solving a problem. It is just one of the things that makes Amazon peculiar.

Customer Obsession

Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.

Ownership

Leaders are owners. They think long term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say “that’s not my job."

Invent and Simplify

Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by “not invented here." As we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.

Are Right, A Lot

Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.

Learn and Be Curious

Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and act to explore them.

Hire and Develop the Best

Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent, and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others. We work on behalf of our people to invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.

Insist on the Highest Standards

Leaders have relentlessly high standards — many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and drive their teams to deliver high quality products, services, and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.

Think Big

Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.

Bias for Action

Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk taking. 

Frugality

Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention. There are no extra points for growing headcount, budget size, or fixed expense.

Earn Trust

Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.

Dive Deep

Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdote differ. No task is beneath them.

Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit

Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.

Deliver Results

Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.

Training for “The Moment”

On June 6th, 2021 in Eagan Minnesota, I became a CrossFit games athlete. A moment that has been at the forefront of my athletic aspirations for the past decade had finally come to fruition. Even while writing this blog, I still have difficulty accepting this dream as reality. But how did I get to this point? How did such an outlandish dream of mine planted over 10 years ago actually come true? Was I just simply in the right place at the right time? Was it all luck? I don’t think so – but I have some information to fill you in on first.

I began my “real” athletic career during my sophomore year of college. I don’t like to include high school athletics in this timeline only because I really didn’t take them very seriously. To be honest, I didn’t know what “serious” athletics really were. Passion, direction, a dream, and directed hard work dedicated to a sport is how I differentiate “fun athletics” from my “real” athletic career. It wasn’t until college that changed the way I prepared, ate, slept, and recovered based around my sport schedule. That sport was lacrosse. It was the first time that I really started to train, and not just workout. I ate to perform, and not to just to consume. I slept to recover, and not just crashed at the end of a late night hoping for a good night’s rest. These habits eventually caught on, joined my daily routine, and my unhealthy high school habits eventually faded. Repeat these consistency’s over and over for as long as it takes. I promise you, they will pay off.

This “moment” referenced is the acute opportunity to reach for and grasp the dream in mind. The ability to jump, leap, and attain the goal that has been the rabbit you’ve chased for years and years. Something that once seemed so far away is now somehow within reach, and your moment finally comes to take it. Day by day, month by month, year by year – the habits, consistency’s, training sessions, and recovery sessions have accumulated into a well-oiled machine “ready” for the taking of the moment. Just like a skyscraper is built – brick by brick – one small inch of progress at a time.

This “moment” is different from sport to sport, passion to passion, and goal to goal – but the same ideology remains the same. Tackling a task or dream does not come easy. This is obvious. There is no luck when chasing a dream; especially one of this size and difficulty. You have to create your own luck, and that’s exactly what we did as a team for the past 10 years of hard work and consistency. As the 5-time fittest man on earth, Mat Fraser, say: “Hard work pays off”. Period.

Ryan Schafer

CrossFit Games Team Athlete

Strength and Performance Coach

8th Day Gym

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM AN INTERNSHIP

This is the time of year that prospective strength coaches start an internship. When done right it can be the greatest experience you ever have that can set you up for a great future. Below is a great run down on what can be expected at a GREAT internship program! Get ready to take notes!!

The goal of our internship program is to prepare young men and women to be the future of the Sports Performance profession. Our staff takes great pride in the development of each and every individual that is accepted into our program. Our vision is to leave the Sports Performance profession better than it was when we first arrived. Collectively as a staff, this is our way to give back to the profession we love and cherish so much and is why this is THE BEST internship opportunity in the country.

MEETINGS

 We do the best job possible to eliminate confusion in every aspect of our program. The meetings that do occur will always be in the best interest & development of the intern even if not understood immediately. Our staff will go over all workouts, exercises (which includes proper execution of the exercises), teach interns how to coach all athletes, intern education, spotting, cleaning, safety, motivation etc. Interns can expect to have honest feedback on any particular topic. Our staff will always have clear concise and direct communication with the interns.

           Our interns are seen as a very integral piece to the daily operations of our sports performance staff. It is our cohesion and flow that allows us to operate at extremely high levels. Every intern will have built a significant relationship with the full-time coaches on staff. This will be discussed in detail later.

CURRICULUM

           Our interns will go through a vary rigorous internship curriculum throughout their duration with our staff. The curriculum will vary in content but will be sure to challenge every intern both mentally and physically! One piece that we value very highly as a part of our program are our weekly intern education classes. Typically, these meetings happen every Wednesday where a member of our staff will go over and discuss topics with the group. Topics range from article discussion, programming, excel workshops, resumes, cover letters, mock interviews etc. We also go over CSCCa exam prep. This prep course will provide interns with the knowledge to be able to sit and pass the CSCCa-SCCC exam. Our staff will put each intern in the exact scenario that will be required of them come test day so they will know what to expect and there will be no confusion.

RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE STAFF

           Staff cohesion is something we take very seriously. The relations we cultivate are ones meant to last a lifetime. Past interns can confirm that the mentoring process does not end once your time with us is done. Former interns should keep in touch with us even after their time because we genuinely care about each individual that steps foot into our program. Our staff will exhaust every resource available to help interns no matter where they currently sit, where it be to help with a programming question, help getting a job or even just when times get tough and they need someone to talk to. Our intern cookout is a hit every year and is a great end of the semester reward for all of our interns. A member from the sports performance staff invites the intern group over to their house where we grill out and commemorate the semester! This is a great reward for our interns for all their hard work throughout the semester.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The last piece is the ultimate reward for every intern that EARNS it! Again, this something that is EARNED not given and ultimately the power is in your hands. If you work hard, have great attention to detail, and show up to work everyday with a smile on your face ready to attack any and everything that may come your way, then this should be no issue for you. Our staff will do everything in our power to help you reach every goal you have for yourself and in some cases help push you beyond goals you never knew you could reach!

Ultimately, we want the best for every person that accepts the challenge of interning with our staff and will do everything possible to advance them in this profession.

Antonio Turner (aka:AT)

Director of Football Sports Performance

UMASS

Comprehensive Warm Up And Drills to Jump Start Your Summer

Stick to the Basics in Coaching

Today we have a REPOST… as many coaches start the summer programs. Below are great things to remember and go over with your staff.

As we strive to keep things simple in our training programs it is imperative that we understand our coaching needs to be just as simple. Here is a quick rundown to keep us on track while coaching our athletes.

COACHING

TEACHING: Clear, Clean, Concise and Direct. YOU MUST BE A GREAT TEACHER!

CLEAR - speaking or watching what you want.

CLEAN - exercise cues, graphics or video

CONCISE - break everything down. Fundamentals. TO THE POINT

DIRECT - direct your teaching at an individual or individuals

-Be specific and organized when critiquing players.

-Be specific with your exercises and drills.

-Demand they do exercise correctly / finish drills. If not do it again or teach better.

FINALLY

• Correct one thing at a time = 85% SUCCESS RATE

• Correct two things at a time = 35% SUCCESS RATE

• Correct three things at a time = Good Luck!

• No training Program is good or bad unless its not prepared, layout, comprehensive and coached

• If you are bored, your athletes have already been for a while.

• YOUR ATTITUDE, PREPAREDNESS AND ENERGY ARE CONTAGIOUS!

• Give the players your all!!

You are at the top when...

1.   You have made friends with your past, and you are focused on the present and optimistic about your future.

2.   You have the love of friends and the respect of your enemies.

3.   You are filled with faith, hope and love and you live without anger, greed, guilt, envy or thoughts of revenge.

4.   You know that failure to stand for what is morally right is the prelude to being the victim of what is criminally wrong.

5.     You are mature enough to delay gratification and shift your focus from your rights to your responsibilities.

6.   You love the unlovable, give hope to the hopeless, friendship to the friendless, and encouragement to the discouraged.

7.   You know that success (a win) doesn't make you, and failure (a loss) doesn't break you.

8.      You can look back in forgiveness, forward in hope, down in compassion and up with gratitude.

9.     You are secure in who (and whose) you are so you are at peace with God and in fellowship with man.

10. You clearly understand that yesterday ended last night, that today is a brand-new day and it is yours!

11. You know that "he who would be the greatest among you must become the servant of all."

12. You are please to the grouch, courteous to the rude, and generous to the needy because you know that the long term benefits of giving and forgiving far outweigh the short-term benefits of receiving.

13.  You recognize, confess, develop and use your God-given physical, mental and spiritual abilities to the glory of God and for the benefit of mankind.

14.  You stand in front of the Creator of the universe, and He says to you, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."