Tag Archives: competition

Chase Perfection … 100%

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When it comes to effort, 100% is IT…. it is the gold standard…. perfect… perfection… totally and completely spent…. nothing more to give…. everything…

Sorry, but there is no such thing as “giving 110%“

The whole concept behind the phrase, the concept that drives this blog, You Can Do More!,  is that most of us don’t approach giving 100%.  When things get tough, physically or mentally, our brain goes into survival mode and we start shutting down and slowing down.  It is our job as coaches to get our athletes (and ourselves!) to ignore that lying brain and start inching closer to that magic 100% mark.

In 1959 during his first meeting with the Packer Quarterback group that included future Hall of Famer, Bart Starr,Coach Vince Lombardi had this to say:

“Gentlemen,  we’re going to relentlessly chase perfection knowing full well we will not catch it, because perfection is not attainable.  But we are going to relentlessly chase it because, in the process, we will catch excellence”

lombardi chalk talk

Chase perfection… chase 100%… inch closer to it by doing more… even a little bit more… achieve excellence!

Remember – You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Improving through “Failure”

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I became a better sailor today…. by “failing”

My cousin has a Hobie 14 catamaran that we have sailed on a small Missouri lake (Lake Tapawingo) for the past two years… probably 20+ times total.

We also sailed a Hobie 14 on Potrero Bay, in the Pacific Ocean of the shores of Costa Rica.  Here is a brief clip of that sail…

 

We have always sailed in conditions that were “comfortable” for us… about 10 knots of wind, both on the lake and ocean… and we have become very good at sailing this small/ quick boat.

We have never gotten into trouble, had any mishaps, and were feeling pretty confident about our skill level.

After our last time sailing in the ocean, we both agreed that we would like to test ourselves by sailing in some more extreme (windy) conditions.

Those conditions presented themselves yesterday (20+ mph winds) so we took to Lake Tapawingo to test our skills.

On our first trip across the lake… maybe 2-3 minutes into the sail we got tested.

The wind picked up and immediately capsized the Hobie. While we had read, and knew how to right the vessel, we had never been forced to do it.

As we gathered ourselves (and gear that was floating everywhere) the Hobie “turtled” on us … went completely upside down… mast pointing down into the water, bottom of the boat up.

turtle

After about 30 minutes of work (and with the help of two other boaters, one of which had experience sailing a Hobie) we were able to get the boat righted and started off.

Learning from our first mistake, we adjusted our weight on the boat to help prevent another capsizing and began sailing again…. and had several minutes of good sailing, putting to use our new knowledge of managing the boat in higher wind.

Then we got tested again…. another big gust and over we went!

This time, though, we got the boat righted immediately and were again on our way.

We had learned from our first “failure” and handled this challenge with relative ease.

A broken part on the rudder prevented us from continuing, or we may have been tested even more. As it was, we licked our wounds, dropped the sail, and ingloriously paddled the boat back to the dock.

At the dock we both debriefed… looking at what we could have done differently (better), what mistakes we made, and what we had learned.

We both agreed that, although we didn’t get a lot of sailing in that day, that we were glad we went out… that we tested ourselves.

It is only by getting out of our “comfort zone” that we can grow. It is only by testing our limits, that we can expand our limits.

I know now that I improved my Hobie sailing skills because of our “failures” that day.

Related Posts:

Remember – You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Do… or do not. There is no try.

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Luke: All right, I’ll give it a try.

Yoda: No. Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try.

True confidence does not come without effort…. It’s not kidding yourself into thinking you can do something you have not worked for.

It is amazing how far a positive attitude, having confidence, will take you in your athletic or career endeavors.  Truly believing you can accomplish something, being able to see it in your minds eye is the first step towards actually achieving it.

YodaThis applies to your daily training, as well your competition.  If you approach each training day with a goal in mind, a positive attitude, and confidence, you are giving yourself a chance to have a great training day.  String enough good training days together and you are putting yourself in position to be successful when it comes time to compete.  Enough successful competitions and you are on your way to a great career.  All of these habits (championship habits) translate not only to your field of athletic competition, but also to life.  You are developing habits (championship habits) that will make you successful no matter what you do in life – in or out of athletics.

Improve your daily training by breaking it down into daily competitions…. it is you against the weight on your last set of your heavy push press day…. it is you against the clock on your final 400m run on a 6 x 400m training day… it is you against that final gasser….  it is you sinking 10 straight free throws in practice.  In each of these scenarios you have to KNOW that you will win… You will get your last set; you will hit your 400m time; you will make your free throws…You have to KNOW this before you ever step under the bar or to the line

When you start winning those daily competitions, then seeing yourself winning the big ones, your games/ matches/ races becomes much easier.  You have paid the daily dues needed to have true confidence.

The name of this blog – You Can DO More – NOT  – You Can TRY More.

“Do … or do not. There is no try.”

Questions and Comments are always appreciated – I WILL respond!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

What Are You Measuring?

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Today I am sharing some additional testing data from our advanced strength and conditioning class for athletes.  Before sharing this data though, I think it is important to discuss the why, what, and frequency of our testing.

The primary reason we test our athletes is to make sure our workout program is accomplishing what we want it to.  If we want our program to make our athletes more explosive, faster, and quicker, then we should design our testing around those factors.  Generally, the battery of tests that we use are:

  • Estimated 1RM Bench
  • Estimated 1RM Squat
  • Estimated 1RM Push Press
  • Estimated 1RM Hang Clean
  • 40 yd dash (Straight Speed)
  • Vertical Leap (Explosion-Leaping Ability)
  • Pro Agility Shuttle (Quickness/ Agility)
  • Body Weight

And from these we can then calculate:

  • Pound for Pound Ratio (Lean Muscle Mass)
  • Power Quotient (Lower Body Power)

As was mentioned is a previous post (Pound for Pound Ratio Data), the Pound for Pound Ratio Takes the athlete’s Total Weight (1RM for the 4 Core lifts) and divides it by their Body Weight.  The Power Quotient multiplies the Square Root of the Vertical Leap by the Square Root of the Body Weight.  An athlete that weights 200 pounds and has a vertical of 25 inches is generating more lower body power than an athlete that weighs 100 pounds and has an identical vertical leap.  As detailed in a previous post (Workout Card Motivation and Efficiency) the workout card automatically calculates both of these numbers.

I also believe testing is a strong motivating factor, and with this variety of tests, most of the athletes can take pride in some aspect of their results.  Beyond just the raw data, the calculated results (Power Quotient and Pound for Pound) are great motivators as well.  The smaller athletes generally can score higher in the Lb/Lb category, and the larger athletes have a chance to score well in the Power Quotient.  All of the results are printed on their workout cards so that they can see it daily, and in the case of their estimated 1RM they can check their progress as well.

2011 NFL Scouting CombineWe typically test our athletes 2-3 times a year, depending on when and how often they take our strength and conditioning class.  Last week we tested the athletes in our class on the vertical leap.  The vertical leap test always gets a great deal of pub this time of year because of the NFL Combine. This increases the interest among our athletes.  We test using a measured tape against the wall.  We mark their reach, then note their jump/ touch mark, and subtract the two.  While not as accurate as using a Vertec (which we do have) we opt for this method because we can test more athletes during a short amount of time using the tape/ wall technique.  We do it this way every time, so when we compare data we are comparing “apples to apples”.  We tell our athletes (and it proves to be true ) that typically they could measure 2”-6” higher testing on a Vertec.

The following results were from student-athletes (both men and women) that were enrolled in our strength and conditioning class.  It includes athletes from all sports, and all grade levels (9-12)

The results for the 76 men we tested ranged from 12” to 31”.  The average jump was 21.26” and the Median was 21” This graph shows the distribution of the results.

Male Vertical Leap

The results for the 40 women we tested ranged from 12” to 22”.  The average jump was 16” and the Median was also 16”.  This graph shows the distribution of the results.

female vertical leap

The calculated Power Quotient for the 76 men ranged from 41.28 to 80.75 (higher number is better).  The average PQ was 59.34 and the Median was 59.23.  This graph shows the distribution of the results.

Male PQ

The calculated Power Quotient for the 40 women ranged from 39.50 to 61.32 (higher number is better).  The average PQ was 47.57 and the Median was 47.36.  This graph shows the distribution of the results.

female PQ

I do believe our testing protocol, in conjunction with the printed workout cards, serves us well in evaluating and motivating our student-athletes.

If you have any questions, please just comment or email!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Good Enough?

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“He is good enough to get us beat.”

One of my good friends and colleagues, Greg Sewell, shared that phrase with me over 20 years ago while evaluating one our high school football players.  Ours was a very good team, and he was a good player.  I did not understand what Coach Sewell meant at the time – they were contradictory phrases – “good enough”  – “get you beat”

What Coach Sewell was saying was that the player was pretty good, and would probably play well most of the time, most of the season.  But, he (the player) had not worked to the point where, when it came to crunch time, “nut cutting” time as my friend Greg would say, he could stand up under the fire and succeed, and help the team succeed.  Coach Sewell was saying that he would be a pretty good player as long as things were going well, that things weren’t tough.  The player was satisfied with just being “good”, and was not willing to do the things necessary to become “great”.

Coach Sewell was prophetic.

smith kapToday is the Super Bowl – The Harbaugh Brothers Bowl.  The 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh made a decision November 18 about a player that he felt was “good enough to get us beat”.   After a concussion sidelined Alex Smith during a November 11 game, Coach Harbaugh made the decision to go with, and then stay with Colin Kaepernick as the starting quarterback, even after Alex Smith was cleared to play. At the time of his injury, Smith was having his best year — 13 touchdowns, five interceptions and a 104.1 passer rating. San Francisco was 6-2-1 in his starts.  He took the 49ers to the NFC championship game last year, losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants.  Harbaugh made the decision because he felt that Kaepernick gave them the best chance of not only being a good team (getting to the divisional playoffs) but also being a GREAT team – winning the Super Bowl.  Kaepernick has proven Harbaughs trust is well placed.

In his best selling business book, “Good to Great“, author Jim Collins says,

“Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”

How do you go beyond being “good enough to get us beat”; beyond being just a good player?

You have to work.  You cannot be satisfied or complacent.  If you settle on just being the best at your school, at your position, you do not have the bar set very high.  Good is the enemy of Great.  You should strive to be the best – the absolute best that you can become.  Strive to be great!  Jim Collins also says,

“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.”

You have the choice.  You can choose to be good; “good enough to get us beat”, or you can choose greatness.  Greatness does not come easy, and has all those pesky things like, commitment, dedication, discipline, sacrifice, and effort, attached to it.  But you can do it.  You can do more!

Enjoy the Super Bowl – who will you be rooting for?

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

The Courage to Compete

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softballIt takes courage to participate in athletics.  You are “putting yourself out there” for everyone… spectators, family, friends and foes alike to watch, judge, critique, etc.  It is easy to sit in the stands and grouse about how your team is lacking, or how your school’s players are “not very good”.  It is much harder to compete, take the risk, do the work, and be a Doer!

It takes courage to be a coach, to put your product (your team) out for evaluation every Friday night or Tuesday or Sunday afternoon.  I chuckle inside when other teachers worry/ complain/ get angry about being “evaluated” once or twice a year.  Coaches not only get evaluated during those two “official” teaching evaluations, but also every Friday night when they put their team on the field.  The evaluation is done not only by school officials, but parents, community members, students, and the media.  In addition to these “evaluations” many of us also get evaluated almost daily by our Activities Director and/ or administration… watching practice, checking grades, monitoring your teams behavior while they are at school.  And it is ALL GOOD!  It comes with the job; it is what we signed up for, and generally keeps us on our toes.  So why do we do it? Why do we decide to compete, to coach?

This is a excerpt from Seth Godin’s blog yesterday about being a spectator as opposed to a Doer:

The spectators foolishly assert that if everyone was a doer, a leader and a maker of ruckuses, then there’d be no one left in the audience. As if those that do require an audience.

The alternative to being a spectator involves failure and apparent risk. It means that you will encounter people who accuse you of hubris and flying too high, people who are eager to point out the loose thread on your jacket or the flaw in your reasoning. The spectators in the stands are happy to boo, happy to walk out when the team is struggling in the third period, happy to switch if the bread or the circuses cease to delight.

Why on earth, they ask, would they want to be anything but a spectator?

And yet, those that have foolishly picked themselves, stood up, stood out and made a difference, can’t help but ask, “and why would I ever want to be a spectator again?“

And yet, those that have foolishly picked themselves, stood up, stood out and made a difference, can’t help but ask “and why would I ever want to be a spectator again?”

Indeed!

Pick Yourself – Be a Doer, Be a Competitor!

Tomorrow – Bench Press video and tips.

Notice that the blog address has changed – simplified!  I have my own domain:

youcandomore.net    (.net NOT .com!)

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com