Bad is easy. Good is hard.
Losing is easy. Winning is hard.
Talking is easy. Listening is hard.
Watching TV is easy. Reading is hard.
Giving advice is easy. Taking advice is hard. 
To Take is easy. To Give is hard.
Stop is easy. Go is hard.
Dream is easy. Think is hard.
Lying is easy. Truth is hard.
Holding a grudge is easy. Forgiving is hard.
Telling a secret is easy. Keeping one is hard.
Play is easy. Work is hard.
Fall is easy. Getting up is hard.
Spending is easy. Saving is hard.
Doubt is easy. Faith is hard.
Laughter is easy. Tears are hard.
Criticizing is easy. Taking criticism is hard.
Going to the glass is easy. Blocking out is hard.
Letting go is easy. Hanging on is hard.
Pride is easy. Humility is hard.
Excusing oneself is easy. Excusing others is hard.
Borrowing is easy. Paying back is hard.
Posting up is easy. Holding the seal is hard. 
Cowardice is easy. Bravery is hard.
Cutting off a screen is easy. Shoulder to shoulder is hard. 
Sarcasm is easy. Sincerity is hard.
An F is easy. An A is hard.
Defending the ball is easy. Getting a hand up on the shot is hard. 
Reaction is easy. Action is hard.
Can’t do is easy. Can do is hard. 
Following is easy. Leading is hard.
Having friends is easy. Being a friend is hard.
Dying is easy. Living is hard.

Like everyone who is involved in the basketball world, I was stunned  yesterday to hear of Coach Summitt’s diagnosis of early onset dementia – the Alzheimer’s type.

Her place in history and accomplishments are well known and documented – including the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, eight national championships, the winningest record in Division I basketball – but it is her mentorship and inspiration to coaches everywhere, the teaching, coaching and caring she has provided to countless athletes under her direction and her relentless promotion of the sport of women’s basketball that endears her to so many.

Like countless others, I feel so blessed to have learned from her, and been inspired by her, and continue to be inspired by her. The first time I met Pat Summit was at one of my games. We stood at the end of the court during the JV game talking about everything from skiing to places to eat. I was thrilled and impressed that a coaching legend would take the time to talk to a high school coach before the game. I am saddened that Pat Summitt has received this diagnosis and pray that with her determination, competitive spirit, medical assistance and support of family and friends, she will be able to continue to stay involved in the game and impact it with her presence for many years to come.

She will provide leadership to all of us in battling this unfair illness, just as she has led the way in defining success.

I believe in the power of prayer and ask everyone who reads this to spend some time in prayer for Pat, her son Tyler and the entire Lady Vol nation.

This is what pre-season conditioning is all about. Click the link
for a brief view of a college team's training.  Love it!!

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2144622689735&oid=266782580228&comments

Hard work now, pays off during conference play!

The pre-season is time for players to work on skills and improving areas of their game that are not yet strengths. After all your hard work and improvements over the summer don't let the fall and start of a new school year keep you from gaining more improvement.


First, make a plan to become a little bit better every single day. Learn and work on a weaker skill or move each day to help you improve.

Second, be patient. Don't expect overnight changes or instant results. Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. Become a little bit better each day and your future will take care of itself.

What does it take to be the best teammate any has ever had?

EMPOWER--uplift, Encourage..Spoken and Unspoken words. 

OUTWORK--maximum effort every day. Higher up the chain of significance, the harder you must work. Jordan, Walter Payton and Jerry Rice were never outworked.

CONSISTENT WITH ATTITUDE --Especially in practice. Team should never have to worry about what kind of mood you are in you in etc. Don't be a "chirper".

BE A CHARACTER PERSON--demonstrate class. On display 24/7. Coaches shouldn't have to worry about character of the team. Be a character person daily.

RESPONSIBLE--No Whining, No Complaining, No Excuses.

BE A LEADER ON/OFF COURT, IN THE LOCKER ROOM & IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE--Don't wait to be appointed. You don't have to be invited to be a leader. Be prepared for the opportunity to lead when it comes.

BE TEACHABLE--Be a sponge. Soak up all the experiences. Then, become a teacher to other players. Have a teachable spirit.

HIT THE BOOKS--Sports end quickly. Your sport is a tool, it's a platform. Others can't learn for you.

BE FULLY PREPARED--Rest, Nutrition, Game Plan

TOTAL COMMITMENT TO EACH OTHER--Pride in excellence.

DON'T QUIT--Persevere through the tough times. Determination and Dedication.

ENTHUSIASM & PASSION--Flows to everyone

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TEAM--Privilege of being on a team

This week and the next few weeks mark the beginning of a new chapter in the lives of our newest Fury Alumni. Our class of 2011 has left or will be leaving for their school of choice. College is a blast! Learn as many things as you can and enjoy the whole experience. Take with you your memories and experiences the Fury provided you. Aspire to be the best and work diligently at it. Make sure to remember where you've come from and give back to that which has given so much to you and provided so much for you. We are very proud of you and excited to see where college takes you. The Fury is better because of your contributions. Good luck Davi, Desiree, Jenelle, Kalah, Kiah, Leigha, Nichelle, Olivia, Sheridan, Tessa.

Great players and teams work hard in daily practices.
It's not that weaker playrs and teams should not be worked less hard; however great players and teams need a little extra push. No individual or team can achieve its full potential with less than a total effort in daily practice and games. Thinking otherwise inevitably leads to falling short of one's goals regardless of how high those aspirations may be.

Psychologically, the difference between weak and great players and teams is that while weak players focus on the effort involved and its physical discomfort, great players focus on the rewards. Vince Lombardi once said, "Each Sunday after the battle, one group savors victory, another lives the bitterness of defeat. The practice and the hard work of the season seam a small price for having won. But there are no reasons that are adequate for having lost."

Great players and teams respond to great challenges.
Great players and teams need a challenging schedule. Challenges are the life's blood of great teams and players. Without sufficient challenges, they grow stale and listless in their performance, and their attitude toward playing suffers accordingly. Worse, they cease to grow and develop and they lose the competitive sharpness that otherwise characterizes their play. From a coaching standpoint, the thrill of watching players respond to great challenges can't be matched.

by Williams Warren

What some people don't realize is that champions do lose from time to time. Many fans think champions should be perfect -- they should win them all. Lose a game or two and many go into the "sky is falling" mentality.

One thing I have learned from playing at a championship level on the collegiate and professional level is that a big difference between champions and average teams is that champions learn from their defeat. And each defeat can teach a different lesson. The course of a basketball season is a long process with many opportunities along the way for us to grow.
 
On the professional level, you must be able to quickly move from one possession to the next. The same holds true for victory and defeat. You have very little time to linger on either unless you want it to allow you to effect you negatively in your next game. On the professional level, we play the best of the best each night. You must be constantly moving forward. At LSU, we were taught to be "NBA" players -- meaning NEXT BEST ACTION. Possession by possession...game by game!
Temeka Johnson

Here are a few of my favorite quotes regarding defeat and adversity:

"What is defeat? Nothing but education, nothing but the first step to something better."
-Wendell Phillips

"Failure is success if we learn from it."
-Malcolm S. Forbes

"Problems are only opportunities in work clothes."
-Henry Kaiser

"Opportunity...often it comes in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat."
-Napoleon Hill

""Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
-Confucius

""Success...seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes but they don’t quit."
-Conrad Hilton

""The glory is in being knocked to your knees and then rising again."
-Vince Lombardi

"Fall down 7 times...get up 8."
-Chinese Proverb