Deserve It

5 min warm up
Stretch
2-0-2 tempo
4x 8 burpee push ups
4x 8 squat to overhead press

4-2-1 tempo
2x 20 chest press on stab. ball
2x 20 bent rows

1-1-1 tempo
6x 30 sec. mountain climbers
2x 10 jackknifes
25 negative crunches
5 min cool down
Stretch

No one I have ever met has wanted to lose. This doesn't stop it from happening to all of us from time to time though. I have spent a significant amount of time in locker rooms right before a game and it is funny the number of times I could tell the outcome of a game before the first whistle blew, even after seeing only one side that was competing. Now I am no fortune teller and I certainly am not a big fan of reveling in someone else's loss, unless the other team happens to be Ohio State of course, but without almost without fail I am proven correct by the final score. Why? The best way that I can sum it up is to say that a team that deserves victory based on their efforts prior to the competition behaves much differently than a team that doesn't. Now before I get to far, let me define deserving victory. I am not suggesting that any team is entitled to win or should be treated any differently because they are a so-called dynasty. I am suggesting that more often than not the team that is best prepared will come out on top. Preparation means coming early and staying late, not skipping practices, always being ready and willing to dig a little deeper especially when it hurts, being able to work as a team whether you like each other off the track or not, and finally having the ability to get shit done. When you walk into a locker room of a team that has prepared themselves to deserve to win you almost always find the same qualities. The players are their early, they all have what they need, they already have a game plan and have memorized it, they are confident, typically very up beat but not in a way that promotes a lot of bravado. The players have a look in their eye that can only be forged with the hours of practice, intense effort, and study of their strengths, their teammates strengths, and those of their opponents. Teams that deserve their wins focus on little things like the way they line up, the way that they encourage each other, and how they can help each other maximize their strengths. These teams know each other inside and out. Every so often you see a team that hasn't put in the effort pull out a win and you can see it on their faces. These are the teams that look shocked, over celebrate, and generally win with no class whatsoever.

The choice of which team you want to be is not made in the locker room though. It is made in every inch that you move against resistance; every inch that you skate or run when the rest have already gone home. At this point all that is left is the decision as to whether you want to deserve victory or not.

Good Luck!

J