You Get What You Put In!

To follow-up with the "Thought of the Day" that was included earlier this week,
below is an exerpt from another Blog, titled "Play the Right Way"
(http://playerdevelopment.wordpress.com/). This is a great blog to read on a daily basis that is geared towards players and player development. The exerpt explains how important the summer time is for developing and enhancing your fundamentals....your "game", if you want to take it to the next level. It comes down to one simple little thing...you get back, what you put in! In other words, as legendary coach John Wooden would say, "there is no substitute for hardwork!"
The post talks about a young player who has obviously commited himself to developing his skills over the summer by working out regularly and playing AAU ball, which provides a lot of great competition and exposure.

"While at home this week he said he gets up in the morning and works on his dribbling and shooting. At night he goes to his job for a couple of hours.
I asked him if he is playing too many games?
“No coach, not at all, I wish I was playing more.”
GET OUT THERE AND PLAY!

I think the quote, "you become what you think about most of the time", sums it up best! Everyone wants to be a champion, but not everyone wants to put the time into dedicating themselves to becoming a champion. The difference between winners and losers is that winners are willing to do the things that losers are not willing to do. I get discouraged when I hear about players complaining about the amount of time they have to put in during the summer at open gyms, summer leagues and team camps!

If you approach the summer time with the right attitude and understand that games are won during the season, but champions are built during the summer, those experiences will eventually become great memories with your teammates and coaches. When you put the time in during the summer and you see the end result when you accomplish the ultimate goal of winning a championship or just reaching your team goals, you create a bond between your coaches and fellow teammates because you commited as a group and experienced all of the sweat and hardwork together! That togetherness and bond you create provides a lifetime full of memories and wonderful opportunities.