The Athlete Way

I knew the greatest man whoever lived. He was a simple, humble man with a common name. Joe. And as common as his name, was his life. He never lived in a big city. Never tamed wild horses. Never threw a pitch in a major league ballpark. He was a common man, of average height and weight, who played common roles: a soldier, a worker, a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a friend. He was a common man, in common roles, who loved common things: his wife, his children, God, naps, the newspaper, and baseball. The greatest man who ever lived was extraordinarily common. He ate simple foods; smiled a simple smile and lived a simple life. The greatest man who ever lived understood greatness because he understood life, humanity, and simplicity. And most of all, he understood his part in it. To all the common tasks of his life, he applied an uncommon love. Every word and movement was bound with a pure, simple love - a love that transformed. By trade, he was a man of finance, but by pass...

Today, we were warriors. Warriors of the mind engaged in psychological combat. Would the mind prevail over the duress of the body? Or would it crumble, defeated by a five hour torture training inflicted by the Navy Seals. "I will not fail." Those are the last words of the Navy Seals Ethos. "I will not fail." For common men with an uncommon will to succeed, defeat is impossible. Was defeat an option for us today? We laughed in the face of defeat. They threw words. Smiles broke. They threw sand. Chests bellowed. They taunted. Laughter roared. They challenged. We ran. They challenged. We defied. They sought to break us. We proved ourselves. Unbreakable. With focused eyes and parted lips. We ran beside the crashing surf, crowned by the weight of a boat. Our misery tamed by the melody of stupid songs - Macho man, Eye of the Tiger, Big Butts. We sang in unison. We completed the task. The weight pounding upon our necks; the weight placed upon our back. A long, sof...

A good friend shared this with me before we took the field in our final match versus Canada. It relates with the previous post and gets to the heart of why we do what we do. It touches upon the core of greatness, the why factor, that inspires each of us to act. Enjoy and Inspire! http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html

The week has been full of activity; games, trainings, meetings, weight sessions, artic recovery baths and painful release massages. Despite the activity, the residue of cobwebs, the dust of a two-month sabbatical from the competitive demand of our team sport, still remain. A sabbatical, feared by many, due to the lack of a domestic post-college competition, would hinder our development; but in fact, it was a sabbatical that was absolutely necessary to rejuvenate the self, rebalance the life, and re-establish the platform from which we will soon leap. So when we arrived Monday morning for our first practice of 2011 – we awkwardly stuck out our hand, smiled, and re-introduced ourselves to the demands of daily-double team trainings. In our greeting, we realized that, when we take the turf, we are no longer islands living and competing for ourselves; we are members of a team competing for a shared purpose, an Olympic purpose, with a shared passion. With all the promise of the words,...

In the course of five hours, I will travel above the rolling highways and weaving railroads of America; across its lush grasslands, rocky mountains and sandy deserts; I will travel from Philadelphia to San Diego, from work to play, by way of flight; yes, that revolutionary mode of transportation that, in this modern day of convenience has become ingrained in our lifestyle like the preservatives in our diet. You know, come to think of preservatives, I consume a lot of salt, too much actually. Growing up, my mother’s cuisine (by no fault of her own because she attempted to appease the fussy taste buds of 8 stubborn children) was always bland. My involuntary, survival response to such insipidness was salt. Imagine a Colorado avalanche landing on your plate of potatoes. Needless to say, salt became a dietary stable. Nowadays, couple the food dousing with the unconscious consumption of food preservatives, and I don’t even realize the amount of sodium I devour. I wouldn’t be surprised if ...