“Yeah, so I’m from Deerfield, Illinois, one of the northern suburbs of Chicago. grew up playing just around everything, but really gravitated towards basketball, baseball, and soccer. I always wanted to play more baseball than soccer; baseball and basketball were the major ones. After my sophomore year [at Deerfield High School] I decided to focus more on basketball. [I realized that] I have a lot more fun playing basketball year round; I was more happy playing basketball.”

What does it mean to be a great teammate? It doesn’t just mean being there for the other players on your team. That’s a decent start, but there’s so much more to it than that. So, what qualities go into that magic formula to create “the perfect teammate?”

We won that game by 3 points, thanks to a total team effort. That one little phrase “PUSH.” seems like a silly thing when you think about it at first glance. All I have to say is that you gotta try it for yourself and see what happens. When you get thrown into moments of uncertainty or any kind of stressful situation, acknowledge the fact your uncomfortable (for just a moment), then keep pushing through. Come up with a couple phrases that work for you and test them out! There’s still time to win (and always time for legs, don’t skip out on training them).

If you want to get better at anything, you must first develop a basic understanding of why you need to be practicing. Not just to “get better” at whatever your sport is, but to understand the underlying reason that helps explain why mastering a particular skill will make you a formidable opponent. That being able to hit flop-shots with your 56° wedge can get you out of some tricky situations. By attacking our training sessions head on with consistent effort, we are increasing our chances of success during competition.

If you’re reading this, it means you made it past Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday season – a time when so many individuals begin feeling stressed and overwhelmed. The fact that many of you have finals week to look forward doesn’t necessarily help, either. That’s where we come in! We’re going to explore a few ways to maximize your success both on and off the field – so sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.

As much as it seems like their life is balanced by still managing to get practice and workouts in while going to class, these athletes are all work and no play. While it’s crucial that we all learn how to concentrate on the task at hand, we also need to know how to give ourselves breaks and downtime. When individuals focus exclusively on competition and their performance, they start to lose part of their passion for the sport they compete in.

Everyone’s coaching style is unique. The most successful teams are the ones whose players not only buy into the organization’s culture, but continuously hold each other accountable to achieve the team’s goals. What happens when a team doesn’t work in that same dynamic? When a coach is not as connected to his/her players and is unable to get the necessary level of competitive effort out of them to win? When a coach is too controlling and doesn’t leave any room for a player to be their true self?  

It starts to hit you that this is your last game with some of your best friends. Your mind starts racing- “I’m not ready for it to end, what will I do once it’s all over?” “Being an athlete is my identity- Who am I without sports?” And just like that, the game is over, and you’ve finished out your career.

The trick is getting our minds wired to perform consistently. This can be done by thinking about competition as a process. That is to say that we understand there will be highs and lows which come with competing.

We’ve all heard to practice how you play. This is great advice, especially for young athletes who are establishing their work ethics for competition and academics. No matter what the method of training is, we need to get after it.

Injuries are one of those things we don’t like to think about. As athletes, we try to block the concept of them out of our minds because let’s face it, we’re scared of them. When we become injured, we don’t get to compete for a period of time and we sometimes feel lost. That feeling of facing the unknown can be a harrowing thing

Nelson Mandela said that Ubuntu doesn’t have just one meaning. Instead, it’s a word that represents respect, unselfishness, sharing, and community. That it is a sort of unspoken bond between humans. It makes sense then, that this would translate into the wide world of sports.