The mark of a true champion is how hard they work when nobody is watching.

Some Thoughts On Your Workouts
Work on your basic skills as much as you can. Anything your right hand can do your left hand should also be able to do. Repetition is they key to success in anything in life. As long as you have a ball and a hoop, you can always work on your shooting and moves to the basket. There is no excuse, as far as I am concerned, for not being a great shooter and ball handler! You, of course, have to know how to shoot and be able to correct anything that is wrong with your mechanics (elbow in, shooting with one hand using the other as a guide only, using your legs, squaring your shoulders to the basket, flicking your wrist to follow through, keeping your motion “fluid” and consistent etc.). Remember, “Failing to Prepare is preparing to fail!”

Just Me
From the time I was little, I knew I was great
‘cause the people would tell me, “You’ll make it---just wait.”
But they never did tell me how great I would be
If I ever played someone who was greater than me.

When I’m in the back yard, I’m king with the ball.
To swish all those baskets is no sweat at all.
But all of a sudden there’s a man in my face
Who doesn’t seem to realize that I’m king of this place.

So the pressure gets to me; I rush with the ball.
My passes to teammates could go through the wall.
My jumpers not falling, my dribbles not sure.
My hand is not steady, my eye is not pure.

The fault is my teammates---they don’t understand.
The fault is my coach---what a terrible plan.
The fault is the call by that blind referee.
But the fault is not mine; I’m the greatest, you see.

Then finally it hit me when I started to see
That the face in the mirror looked exactly like me.
It wasn’t my teammates who were dropping the ball,
And it wasn’t my coach shooting bricks at the wall.

The face in the mirror that was always so great
Had some room for improvement instead of just hate.
So I stopped blaming others and I started to grow.
My play got much better and it started to show.

And all of my teammates didn’t seem quite so bad.
I learned to depend on the good friends I had.
Now I like myself better since I started to see
That I was lousy being great---I’m much better being me.

Be the Best YOU Can Be!

10 Thoughts to Help You Avoid Discouragement
1. Look at your life as a journey and enjoy the ride. Get the most of out of the detours and realize they’re sometimes necessary.

2. Do your best, but if what you’ve been doing has caused you discouragement, try a different approach. Be passionate about the process, but don’t be so attached to the outcome.

3. Wish the best for everyone, with no personal strings attached. Applaud someone else’s win as much as you would your own.

4. Trust that there’s a divine plan, that we don’t always know what’s best for us. A disappointment now could mean a victory later, so don’t be disappointed. There is usually a reason.

5. Ask no more of yourself than the best that you can do, and be satisfied with that. Be compassionate toward yourself as well as others. Know your calling, your gift, an do it well.

6. Don’t worry about something after it’s done; it’s out of your hands then, too late, over! Learn the lesson and move on.

7. Have your attitude that no one, except you, owes you anything. Give without expecting a thank-you in return. But when someone does something for you, be appreciative of even the smallest gesture.

8. Choose your thoughts or your thoughts will choose you; they will free you or keep you bound. Educate your spirit and give it authority over your feelings.

9. Judge no one, and disappointment and forgiveness won’t be an issue. No one can let you down if you’re not leaning on them. People can’t hurt you unless you allow them to.

10. Love anyway…for no reason…and give…just because.

Don’t be afraid to fail.

"You can only go as far as you push."
Unknown

"Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it."
George Halas

"Play every game like it's the last one you're going to play."
Joey R. Mendoza

"Failure is not fatal; failing to change will be."
John Wooden

"Everytime you are not practicing, someone else is...when you play them, they will win."
Unknown

"Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play."
Mike Singletary

"You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them."
Michael Jordan

"The best and fastest way to learn a sport is to watch and imitate a champion."
Jean-Claude Killy

"Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan."
Tom Landry

"The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital."
Joe Paterno

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."
John Wooden

"It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog."
Archie Griffen

"One hundred percent of the shots you don't take don't go in."
Wayne Gretzky

"Before you can win, you have to believe you are worthy."
Mike Ditka

"The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion when no one else is watching."
Anson Dorrance

"If you are not big enough to lose, you are not big enough to win."
Walter Reuther

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."
Roger Bannister

"Winning is a habit. Unfortuantely, so is losing."
Vince Lombardi

"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur."
Vince Lombardi

"I don't care how good you play, you can find somebody who can beat you, and I don't care how bad you play, you can find somebody you can beat."
Harvey Penick

"It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it."
John Wooden

"You can't be a winner and be afraid to lose."
Charles Lynch

"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
Thomas Paine

"There is no victory at bargain basement prices."
Dwight David Eisenhower

"Even as a fierce competitor I try to smile."
Magic Johnson

"Most games are lost, not won."
Casey Stengel

"Adversity cause some men to break; others to break records."
William A. Ward

"It's not necessarily the amount of time you spend at practice that counts; it's what you put into the practice."
Eric Lindros

"I love the winning, I can take the losing, but most of all I Love to play."
Boris Becker

"Somebody will always break your records. It is how you live that counts."
Earl Campbell

"I never criticize a player until they are first convinced of my unconditional confidence in their abilities."
John Robinson

"Streetball is the best ball you can play. If you can play streetball, I believe you can play anywhere."

"It's special, and it's a tributee to my coach and my teammates - especially my teammates - because without them I would not be here."

"He deserves it. That shows the type of team we have, the type of organization we have and the type of family we have. He's a big part of the season we've had."

"It would have been better to have a one-point performance and win than having a 40-point game and lose".

"I think I've got a long way to go, I want to be the best point guard in this league".

"It's a joke if you think he's out there getting in my head, I won't let anybody like that get me out of my game. He's going to try to provoke you into doing something."

I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don't do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results."

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. Time tends to disappear, while a dream stays forever."

"My attitude is, if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness. Then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength's

"For every success, there's a million failures. For every court, there's a million players."

"This is respect, this is tradition and this is what I stand for"

"Willing is not enough, you must apply. Knowing is not enough, you must apply."

"If you don't want to get dirty then don't play."

"It's simple, I make everyone around me better."

"Better to have more assists than points."

"Do what ever your going to do out on the court. no one can stop you from doing what you are going to do."

"He can do everything and he's still learning."

"Moves and skills are no use if you don't use them"

"Play ball til you can't play no more"

"Never complain, never explain."

"Do what you can but don't do what you can't."