Mid-Season Report: Good to Great

Hard to believe we are halfway through our season.

Our record does not reflect how good we are,
and how great our potential is,
but we need to win the close game.


1. Take note of Paul Carcaterra's compliments of these great players - and young players that have acclimated to the college game.



2. Listen to Coach Pietramala's words at the start of this documentary on Hopkins;
he talks about 3 goals:

1. Play (physically and mentally) tough,
2. Play smart,
3. And play together as a team.

(While the season started hot for Johns Hopkins,
it has not been the one they had hoped for... watch Part II.)




3. Over this long weekend, consider the choices that you make off the field.

Read this article about Coach Starsia and the University of Virginia - and how after losing to Princeton in overtime in 1994 and 1996, the 1999 Men's Lacrosse team made a dramatic choice as players - to change the culture of their team - leading to a National Championship.

Starsia says he was not tortured by those thoughts. In fact, he welcomed them. “There is value in the self-examination that comes with losing,” he said. 

In the end, he did change, although both he and Van Arsdale say the alterations have been more subtle than precipitous. But if there is one event to point to as a catalyst, it may have come before that first championship season.

Here's (the beginning of a speech) from 2007 by Coach Starsia talking about UVa transformation from Good to Great in 1999.



In an article by Jim Collins about his book, Good to Great, he writes;

Disciplined action: The “stop doing” list 

Take a look at your desk. If you’re like most hard-charging leaders, you’ve got a well-articulated to-do list.  

Now take another look: Where’s your stop-doing list? We've all been told that leaders make things happen—and that's true: Pushing that flywheel takes a lot of concerted effort. But it’s also true that good-to-great leaders distinguish themselves by their unyielding discipline to stop doing anything and everything that doesn't fit tightly within their Hedgehog Concept.

What to do on a Snow Day? Food for Mind, Body, and Spirit.

Well, I figure why not start another blog to share some insights...

From the article on the Super Bowl Champs Seattle Seahawks: ESPN The Magazine:

The big idea is that happy players make for better players. Everyone in the facility, from coaches and players to personal assistants and valets, is expected to follow Carroll's mantras regarding positivity of thought, words and actions. "Do your job better than it has ever been done before," he tells them.

"We do imagery work and talk about having that innovative mindset of being special," Wilson says. "We talk about being in the moment and increasing chaos throughout practice, so when I go into the game, everything is relaxed."

Then he repeats what Carroll says all the time, what everyone around here says: "I talk to guys on other teams, and other teams aren't like this. We do stuff different here."

Let's innovate and do things differently at EA Lacrosse. 
Below I offer some mental training 
and fitness ideas for today 
plus perhaps most importantly: 
practice your breath work.


I. MIND

A component of mental training is visualization; 
You must see it in your mind's eye first.

Watch these clips: then, close your eyes
and imagine what it feels like
in your feet, in your hands,  in your entire body.
Be a student of the game.

For Goalies:


Find more goalie highlights; then, close your eyes
and use your imagination as you make the game changing saves look easy and feel natural.
No big deal.
Visualize the outlet to the fast break too.

For Defense: 
Sorry to go with the professionals, Coach Gibbs.

D-Dogs, we are not encouraging over-the-head checks etc.
But rather the fact that D-men today have to handle
and even shoot like attackmen - plus groundballs lead to fastbreak goals!


 Note: the backhand flip among other sweet plays.



Note: At 1:15, the look-back fake to the left sets up big overhand rip!
Shooting over the top with a D-pole - the release point is 10 feet high - makes it tough for the goalie to gauge.

For Midfield:
I'm not so interested in Paul Rabil's crib or his closet,
but the man knows how to shoot.




For Attack:
Last but not least, what I love about this trio of UNC Attackmen:

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, 

it's the size of the fight in the dog."

Captain Marcus Holman #1 was 5'11 185 in his senior year;
meanwhile this year as Juniors they only weigh in at...

4

Bitter, Jimmy

Attackman

5-9

165

Jr.

Stowe, Vt. (Deerfield Academy)

11

Sankey, Joey

Attackman

5-5

150

Jr.

Warminster, Pa. (William Penn Charter)

The starting attack for North Carolina in 2013. Sophomore Jimmy Bitter, Sophomore Joey Sankey, and Senior Marcus Holman. Highlights from the 2012 season - when Bitter and Sankey were freshmen!

• 
  

Lacrosse IQ, speed, quickness, and mental toughness 

are the keys to this game. 

Don't think for a second because you can't bench 300 pounds
and you're not 6'3" 220
that you can't play this game at the highest level.

Hard work pays off. 

Why mental training? 
I can cite countless articles and will do so throughout the year,
but for now...
Watch this TED Talk:




II. BODY

Run, hike, walk - in the snow;
then warm up with a yoga workout:

Find one on YouTube

Move for 30-45 minutes. 

Or even hit a studio if you can later today - you're looking for power/vinyasa/flow yoga.

Or do your best with this... some of it is advanced so modify accordingly.



DID YOU KNOW:

From STACK Magazine: 10 Athletes and Teams You Might Not Think Would Practice Yoga

From NY TIMES: Title for the Seahawks Is a Triumph for the Profile of Yoga

III. SPIRIT

5 Minute Breathing Meditation
Don't over think it.
Simply sit in stillness.
Bring awareness to the inhale and the exhale.