Here at SportsEddy football camps, Colorado, we know that having talent, training hard, having a great coach, and being on a great team is not enough for success. Do you know the missing ingredient? It's a winning attitude!
How's your attitude? Does it need a bit of adjustment? Do you ever feel a bit down, like you might not be able to reach your goals? Do you compare yourself to others, or blame teammates for your performance? Do you resent others with more talent, who get more attention, or for whom great football seems to come so much easier? The issue is not your teammates, your talent or lack of it, it's your attitude! A great attitude compensates for so much...
If you play football or any other sport, sometimes you need a bit of attitude adjustment, inspiration, or new motivation to keep going. Attitude is everything when it comes to winning, or even exploring and fulfilling your talent.
TIPS TO CREATING A WINNING ATTITUDE
These tips will help you not just with your football game, but with everything in life.
1. Believe in yourself. You need to be your own best friend. Notice negative self talk and ask yourself what you can do to combat it. Can you simply stop believing in your fears and doubts, or do you need a bit of help? Self help books, friends who see you objectively, or even your coach can help you.
2. Surround yourself with people who believe in you, and more importantly, believe in themselves. They already have a winning attitude.
3. Set challenging goals: Have something you are working towards, something that keeps you motivated. Only you know what matters to you. It's hard to stay motivated if you are working towards someone elses goals, but easy if your goals are things that really excite you.
4. Learn to be pragmatic. Your team will not win every game. You cannot physically be at your peak in every practice or every game. This doesn't mean you are a failure... it's just life. Learn to roll with the punches, see what you can learn from the experience, and keep right on going. Those who try to learn from every experience are winners!
Here are some videos that might just inspire you to train a little harder, keep going long after you want to quit, and reach your goals.
Enjoy!
This video deals directly with "attitude." Check it out:
Impossible is NOTHING! (Featuring David Beckham)
If you've never seen the All Black's do the Haka, brace yourselves!
SportsEddy youth football camps are no contact camps, where kids can learn the game and brush up on their skills in a highly supervised and safe arena, while having a fantastic time. But the sport of football is a contact sport, which makes many parents nervous.
It’s a fact: parents who love to watch football are likely to have kids who love it too, and want to play it. But the sport that adults love to watch is rife with injuries, so many parents who would be delighted to see their kids play baseball or tennis are reluctant to allow them to play football.
Take heart, parents! There are many things you can do to assure that your kids have a great, safe experience with the game. The Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma actually did a study, showing that the injury rate for youth football (younger than the high school level) is substantially lower, ranging from only 1/3 to 1/9 of the rate at higher levels.
For parents of kids who are clamoring to be allowed to play football, here are some things to consider before you make your decision:
Children mature at very different speeds. According to the National Alliance for Youth Sports, by five to seven years of age kids already have the necessary motor skills to learn the skills necessary for football. But does that mean they have the emotional skills?
Know your own child. Football is both aggressive and competitive, with physical contact that can hurt or scare children if they aren’t ready for it! What one six year old can handle and find fun might take another child until junior high to be ready for. Fun is the key, if your child isn’t having it—he or she is either too young for the sport, or it’s just not the right sport.
Have your child learn flag football first. This is a fantastic way to prepare kids for tackle ball.
Before signing children up for any organized team sport, make sure they understand the level of commitment involved: how many practices a week, how many games, how long is the season; let your kids know what they are really getting into. (Many football leagues require practice at least four times a week, not including the actual game.) By the age of nine or ten, many kids are old enough to understand and make this type of commitment.
Talk to the coaches, and find out their philosophy. Is it to make the experience as fun for the kids as possible, to teach them teamwork and perseverance, or is it to rack up wins and “toughen them up?” Most experts agree that for young children, competition should not be emphasized, but rather learning the fundamentals and necessary skills of the game in a way that is the most fun possible.
According to former NFL head coach Tony Dungy. "Coaches who make the experience enjoyable have the best results with their players. Coaches are there to teach players the fundamentals of the game. Fun is a big part of fundamentals."
Fall is in the air here in Denver, and although our youth football camps are over for the season, our players are back in school and training with their junior and senior high football teams. Here at SportsEddy camps, we'd like to extend a round of thanks to everyone who made our camps so successful and so much fun.
And we'd also like to hear from you!
If you attended any of the Ed McCaffrey football camps or the Chad Brown defense clinic, we'd like to hear just how your experience has changed your game. As the football season gets underway at your school, if you notice that you've learned something at our camps that has really helped your attitude, upped your game, impressed your coach, made you stronger... well, you get the idea.
Please post a comment about your experience here, or you can put it on our Facebook Page or Tweet us! Tell us what you learned, how you are putting it into practice, and what your favorite part of the camp was.
Although professional football and college football grab most of the headlines, high school football is also all over the news. Many teams are already in motion and others are preparing to kickoff the season in style within the next couple of weeks.
In fact, 26 high school teams from 15 different states, including 12 defending state champions, will compete in ESPN's third annual High School Football Kickoff happening August 24 to 26. This exciting showdown will start out with a match between two top Illinois teams. Read more information and see the complete schedule on ESPN's blog.
Can't get enough football, even between your own team, college games and the NFL games?
Well, for football junkies like you, why not check out the network of the best high school teams in Colorado on Altitude Sports and Entertainment: http://footballcolorado.tv/. Altitude is in it's sixth year of showing high school football. They recently announced that seven local high school football teams would be featured this year: Cherry Creek, Grandview, Pomona, Bear Creek, Broomfield, Fountain-Fort Carson, Highlands Ranch and ThunderRidge.
The first game, Broomfield vs. Pomona, is coming right up on August 31! Check out the upcoming schedule in the Denver Post.
The Colorado Prep Report has updated the Class of 2013 player rankings on their site, check it out here: http://bit.ly/NMMQ4q
And if you've ever heard the expression "dumb jock", well we're here to tell you that it just isn't so. Check out this fantastic article in the Wall Street Journal, of all places: Economists Link Athletics to Success in School, Job Markets. The article concludes with the line, "Maybe athletics should be added to reading, writing and arithmetic." We strongly agree! In our experience, playing team sports doesn't just keep kids fit and give them something to do after school -- it provides important life lessons such as the importance of teamwork, hard work, perseverance, sportsmanship and more.
To all of Colorado's young athletes -- we're proud of you! Keep up the good work, and keep us posted on your accomplishments.
Although our SportsEddy youth football camp season for summer 2012 has come to an end, the world of sports marches on. We've been avidly enjoying the London Olympics, and particularly admiring the spirit of the amazing athletes on the US Olympic team. Whether they win or lose, get silver or gold, when interviewed they are always gracious, grateful, and honest about their feelings -- even if that feeling is major disappointment.
Of course, attitude is as important as training when it comes to becoming an elite athlete. It is one of the life lessons stressed at every SportsEddy football camp. The right attitude, along with the right training, can take you from your high school football team straight into the college of your choice, or perhaps even the NFL. No, it can't make you into a great player if you don't have the talent, but it can make up for a lot!
After all, if you give up, doubt yourself, or let setbacks define your experience in your favorite sport -- you will never be able to go as far as if your attitude is olympian!
Here are some fantastic quotes from Olympic athletes, past and present, showcasing their indomitable spirit:
“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”
- Pierre de Coubertin (Pierre was the main man responsible for the revival of the Olympic Games in 1894)
“You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the further you get.” “I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.” - Michael Phelps (most decorated Olympian of ALL TIME, with 21 medals!!)
"I wasn't in Berlin to compete against any one athlete. The purpose of the Olympics, anyway, was to do your best. As I'd learned long ago from Charles Riley, the only victory that counts is the one over yourself."
- Jesse Owens (Winner of four gold medals in track and field, 1936 Berlin Olympics)
"It is the inspiration of the Olympic Games that drives people not only to compete but to improve, and to bring lasting spiritual and moral benefits to the athlete and inspiration to those lucky enough to witness the athletic dedication."
- Herb Elliott (Australian middle-distance Runner)
Are you inspired by the London Olympics? How about Oscar Pistorius, aka the Blade Runner? That guy is simply inspiration in motion. Born without fibulas, both legs were amputated below the knee before he was one year old. Pistorius became the first double leg amputee ever to participate in the Olympics (for South Africa) when he entered the men's 400 metres race on August 4th. It required a special ruling by the International Olympic Committee to allow him to compete.
Here are some Oscar - isms:
“People ask why I want to run in the Olympics, what am I trying to prove. Well, I just want to prove to myself that I am the best I can be."
