The Race
attributed to Dr. D.H. "Dee" Groberg

Whenever I start to hang my head in front of failure’s face,
my downward fall is broken by the memory of a race.
A children’s race, young boys, young men; how I remember well,
excitement sure, but also fear, it wasn’t hard to tell.
They all lined up so full of hope, each thought to win that race
or tie for first, or if not that, at least take second place.
Their parents watched from off the side, each cheering for their son,
and each boy hoped to show his folks that he would be the one.

The whistle blew and off they flew, like chariots of fire,
to win, to be the hero there, was each young boy’s desire.
One boy in particular, whose dad was in the crowd,
was running in the lead and thought “My dad will be so proud.”
But as he speeded down the field and crossed a shallow dip,
the little boy who thought he’d win, lost his step and slipped.
Trying hard to catch himself, his arms flew everyplace,
and midst the laughter of the crowd he fell flat on his face.
As he fell, his hope fell too; he couldn’t win it now.
Humiliated, he just wished to disappear somehow.

But as he fell his dad stood up and showed his anxious face,
which to the boy so clearly said, “Get up and win that race!”
He quickly rose, no damage done, behind a bit that’s all,
and ran with all his mind and might to make up for his fall.
So anxious to restore himself, to catch up and to win,
his mind went faster than his legs. He slipped and fell again.
He wished that he had quit before with only one disgrace.
“I’m hopeless as a runner now, I shouldn’t try to race.”

But through the laughing crowd he searched and found his father’s face
with a steady look that said again, “Get up and win that race!”
So he jumped up to try again, ten yards behind the last.
“If I’m to gain those yards,” he thought, “I’ve got to run real fast!”
Exceeding everything he had, he regained eight, then ten...
but trying hard to catch the lead, he slipped and fell again.
Defeat! He lay there silently. A tear dropped from his eye.
“There’s no sense running anymore! Three strikes I’m out! Why try?
I’ve lost, so what’s the use?” he thought. “I’ll live with my disgrace.”
But then he thought about his dad, who soon he’d have to face.

“Get up,” an echo sounded low, “you haven’t lost at all,
for all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
Get up!” the echo urged him on, “Get up and take your place!
You were not meant for failure here! Get up and win that race!”
So, up he rose to run once more, refusing to forfeit,
and he resolved that win or lose, at least he wouldn’t quit.
So far behind the others now, the most he’d ever been,
still he gave it all he had and ran like he could win.
Three times he’d fallen stumbling, three times he rose again.
Too far behind to hope to win, he still ran to the end.

They cheered another boy who crossed the line and won first place,
head high and proud and happy -- no falling, no disgrace.
But, when the fallen youngster crossed the line, in last place,
the crowd gave him a greater cheer for finishing the race.
And even though he came in last with head bowed low, unproud,
you would have thought he’d won the race, to listen to the crowd.
And to his dad he sadly said, “I didn’t do so well.”
“To me, you won,” his father said. “You rose each time you fell.”

And now when things seem dark and bleak and difficult to face,
the memory of that little boy helps me in my own race.
For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all.
And all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.
And when depression and despair shout loudly in my face,
another voice within me says, “Get up and win that race!”


CoachFree Asks: Whose voice do you hear? To this day, Close to 50 years later, I can still hear his voice - Coach Redding was my football coach and I can still pick his name out of a crowd. If he calls on the phone which he does from time to time, he does not have to tell me who it is; I already know. It's distinctive. Memorable, and yes, the memories come flooding back. Good memories. Fond memories. He did all he could to not only help us win the race but put us on the path to a better life. Thanks Coach Redding - You're the best.

The Road to 325 Bench 450 Squat 300 Power Clean

Have you heard of the 10,000 hour – 10 year rule? Simply put, Malcom Caldwell states that if you want you kids to be the best athletes they can be as an 18 year old Senior, they have to get started with athletic fitness at age 8. That’s middle school.

Paul Gagne, a headhunter for the NHL and BFS Consultant, roams North America looking for future hockey players. Recently in a meeting at the Salt Lake Home Offices, he told us that if a kid does not have certain athletic traits by age 14, he will never make the list.

As a high school football coach, you do not even see the kids till they are 14 making what happens in middle and junior high school a vital factor in your success with them in high school. BFS Readiness Program is perfect for teaching and developing the fitness traits necessary to be more athletic in high school. The following slide from our Clinic illustrates the progress that is possible when the Readiness program is followed in the JHS and the regular BFS Total Program in high school.








What would it do for your program to have a veteran line that averages a 325 pound bench press; a 450 pound squat; and a 300 pound clean? Can you say domination?

This is what our CEO and Founder Dr Greg Shepard calls “The Secret.” It is available for you and your Junior High School staff.

The following slide also from our BFS Certification Clinic presentation shows the difference that is created when the program is followed for 4 years.

This is what our CEO and Founder Dr Greg Shepard calls “The Secret.” It is available for you and your Junior High School staff.

Sehedule a BFS Inservice Certification Clinic for your district at: http://biggerfasterstronger.com/home/InServiceRegister.asp

Hear what Shakopee MN Coach Jody Stone says about his recent Certification Clinic Experience on the BFS Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=305032103582&ref=mf and also hear what his JHS Principal has to say about the Readiness program at his school: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=301888753582&ref=mf.

LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM LEWIS & CLARK (PART 1)

By Dr. John C. Maxwell

Before beginning, I'd like to thank my friend Ed Rowell. His research and thoughts played a major role in this study.

On May 21, 2004, Americans celebrated the beginning of perhaps the most amazing journey in American history. Two hundred years prior, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark left St. Louis, Missouri at 3:30 in the afternoon heading upstream on the Missouri River.

Their expedition, dubbed the Corps of Discovery, had been commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to find the mythical "Northwest Passage," an all-water trade route across the continent to the Pacific Ocean that explorers had searched for almost 300 years. At stake was the fur trade, the continent's most easy exploitable natural resource.

Lewis and Clark had never seen the Pacific Ocean, nor did they have an accurate sense of how far west the continent stretched. Once they were a few days west of St. Lewis, their opportunities for communication with home were nonexistent.
When they returned to St. Louis down the same river, they'd covered more than 8,000 miles and been gone for 28 months. Long feared dead, they came home as national heroes. Even today, their journey overland across the continent is among the most courageous journeys ever conceived and attempted.

Along the way they were to develop an accurate map of the Missouri River basin, record all available information about natural history and geology, and report on and begin building relationships with native tribes they encountered.
They discovered 120 new species of animals and 178 new species of plants. They were the first Europeans to cross the Continental Divide. They were the first to see herds of buffalo, numbering in the thousands, grazing on the largest grassland in the world, and they were the first white men that most of the tribes they met had ever seen.

One of the most remarkable accomplishments is that in spite of the brutal grind of moving people, boats and tons of gear upstream, serious accidents, life-threatening weather, and less than peaceful contact with some of the continent's earliest residents, the Corps of Discovery experienced just one casualty.

It was a grand journey that still inspires and awes after two hundred years. But there are no great journeys without great leadership. And the journey across the American Continent is a case study in leading where no one has gone before.
Without trust, the journey is over before it begins.

When asked to lead the expedition, Meriwether Lewis immediately contacted a man that he had served under in the army, William Clark. Lewis was a self-aware man, and he recognized that Clark's strengths would counter each of his own weaknesses. Four years older, Clark had a strong leadership resume, having served as a company commander. He was a popular, tough, and a fearless woodsman. Clark had been raised in Kentucky, was an accomplished river explorer who was usually with the fleet.

Lewis, on the other hand, was of Virginia aristocracy, having lived much of his life among the educated, successful gentry of the day. Lewis loved to walk and was often out front, days ahead, scouting out the route. And when it came time to buy horses to get across the mountains, he knew a good animal when he saw it. Lewis was the camp doctor, Clark the camp counselor.

Most importantly, Clark offered a stability that Lewis was unable to give. Lewis suffered, as his father had, from a "melancholic spirit," or "depressions of the mind." Most modern scholars look at the evidence and believe that he was bi-polar, or manic-depressive. The journey gave him reason to shove back the darkness, and his ability to keep going is a testimony to his sheer strength and will.

Lewis' offer to Clark was to be an equal leader in every conceivable way, including rank and pay. Because the army bureaucracy refused to recognize a co-commander, Clark did not receive his promised captain's commission. The two leaders never mentioned it to the men, and for the next seven years, only Lewis Clark, and Jefferson, and a clerk or two at the War Department knew the truth. When asked as an old man to describe their relationship, Clark replied, "Equal in every point of view."

"Most of all, Lewis knew that Clark was competent to the task, that his word was his bond, and that his back was steel. And Clark knew the same about Lewis. Their trust in each other was complete, even before they took the first step west together. How this closeness came about cannot be known in any detail, but that it clearly was a long time before the expedition—that cannot be doubted."

Our true self-awareness forces us to place trust in others.

Lewis knew his limitations, and he sought a leader with abilities to complement his strengths and weaknesses. In selecting Clark, Lewis showed maturity in realizing he could not lead the way alone. In allowing Clark equal rank and an equal share of the credit, Lewis demonstrated remarkable security.

Competence is essential if trust is to be continued.

Lewis and Clark had differing skills, but each was a greatly talented man. From their diaries, it is obvious that as the journey progressed, their trust in each other deepened. They had a sense of great security because of the mutual confidence they placed in each other. Trust is not unfounded. Trust must be built upon competence.

Trust is strengthened when trust is proven.

The two officers would have one opportunity after another in which they literally put their lives into the hands of others on the expedition. Surmounting each challenge, their trust increased as they proved their merit.

The highest level of trust is expressed in obedience and submission, even when there is a lack of understanding or agreement.

At one point on the journey, the explorers came to two rivers and had to decide which one was the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark's choice went against the general consensus of their men. Even while disagreeing, the men were willing to trust the judgment of their leadership. The submission of the team at such a critical juncture demonstrates their absolute faith in their leaders.

The reward of trust is an intimate relationship that few ever experience.

There is an intimacy when proven by time and experience and competence, that only people that have gone through that trusting experience ever realize. The attitude of the men displayed their intimacy: "they would triumph together or they would die together".

Question of the Week?
Are you getting your 8-9 hours of required sleep?

Sleep Deprivation and Sports Performance

Are your players playing "drunk?" Studies suggest that performance degrades after 16 hours awake, and 20 hours awake was equivalent to a blood alcohol content of .08 percent, legally drunk in most states.

All humans are biologically programmed to require sleep, as essential as air, food, and water. The demands of sports training and competition make good, regular, and restful sleep even more important. No athlete can ever realize his or her true sport potential unless their sleep is as vigorously pursued as all other aspects of the athletic life.

Sleep deprivation is not one or two nights of inadequate rest. Sleep deprivation is also referred to as a cumulative sleep debt, the product of ingrained sleep habits. Adolescents who normally require over nine hours of sleep per night to accommodate the growth processes ongoing in their bodies will often desire even more sleep if they are participating in sports. Athletic adults of all ages require more sleep than the general requirement for inactive persons of between seven and nine hours of sleep per night.

The physical effects of sleep deprivation have been the subject of considerable scientific study, particularly as the condition might affect shift workers, or doctors and nurses working very long shifts in an environment when an error due to fatigue might have fatal consequences. As a general rule, when a person has remained awake for periods of 24 hours, the ability to perform relatively basic mathematic problem solving and memory skills will diminish by over 20%. Another comparison is the condition of a sleep-deprived person and someone whose motor skills are significantly impaired by the consumption of alcohol; sleep deprivation is similar to a blood alcohol level reading that will support the criminal offense of impaired operation of a motor vehicle in most countries of the world.

The physiological effects of sleep deprivation on athletic performance are profound. They include an impairment of the athlete's motor function. The inability of the athlete to control all aspects of muscular movement will result almost invariably in substandard sports performance. Examples include races such as the hurdles, which depends on the fluid combination of power and the striding over each hurdle, or sports where the athlete must coordinate a series of movements in rapid succession, a drive to the basket in basketball or the pole vault. As a consequence, the risk of injury to the sleep-deprived athlete is significantly greater than normal.

Another effect is an impairment of the athlete's visual reaction time. In sports where the athlete must react to an object, such as a hockey goaltender or a cricket batsman, this impairment will mean the difference between success and failure. Until 2005, major league baseball turned a blind eye to the widespread use by its players of stimulants such as amphetamines. These drugs were a preferred method through which players could combat the sleep deprivation and fatigue caused by back-to-back games and extensive travel, that would otherwise impair reaction time.

Sleep deprivation also causes delays in an athlete's auditory reaction, such as the reaction to a starter's pistol or a teammate calling out information during a game. There is general impairment of an athlete's tactical and decision-making capabilities. As for aerobic performance and endurance, the storage, conversion and metabolism of glucose as an energy source are decreased through sleep deprivation. It is estimated that glucose metabolism will deteriorate in a period of seven to 10 days of limited sleep by as much as 30% to 40%. In addition to the limitations that sleep deprivation will impose on physical performance, this condition will impair the ability of the body to properly store the glycogen necessary to provide the body with reserves to use during vigorous training or competition.

The psychological effects of sleep deprivation on an athlete are as profound as its impacts on the body. A sleep-deprived athlete will often believe he or she is even more fatigued than they actually demonstrate, with all of the usual symptoms of fatigue exaggerated in the mind of the athlete. Absence of sleep will also trigger the endocrine system to produce greater levels of cortisol, the hormone sometime referred to as the stress hormone, an adverse effect on mood. With cortisol, and the other physiological consequences of sleep deprivation, the athlete will often feel irritable and short-tempered.

Overtraining is a well-known athletic condition where an athlete overreaches in the training objectives for a period of time, either through excessive training volume, intensity, or both. If an athlete is deprived of proper sleep, the overtraining syndrome may occur on a much smaller work volume or intensity, because the body's lack of proper sleep reduces the maximum that it can safely endure.

When sleep deprivation has affected an athlete, the remedy is not so simple as one or two good sleeps, although such a development is a start. The athlete must incorporate sleep in properly defined measures into the training program as with any other training component. In typical cases, sleep deprivation can be completely addressed within a few weeks of proper attention.

FreebNote: I talked with a coach who discovered that his athlete had a whole separate life till three in the morning he knew nothing about: A TEXTING life going on in the athlete's bedroom behind closed doors. What rules do you have with your athlete RE nightime Texting?

Change the Attitude in Order to Change the Performance
by CoachFree


John Maxwell opens his book The Winning Attitude with the following story:

It was a beautiful day in San Diego, and my friend Paul wanted to take me for a ride in his airplane. Being new to Southern California, I decided to see our home territory from a different perspective. We sat in the cockpit as Paul completed his instrument checks. Everything was A-okay, so Paul revved the engines and we headed down the runway. As the plane lifted off, I noticed the nose was higher than the rest of the airplane. I also noticed that while the countryside was truly magnificent, Paul continually watched the instrument panel.

Since I am not a pilot, I decided to turn the pleasure ride into a learning experience. “All those gadgets,” I began, “what do they tell you? I notice you keep looking at that one instrument more than the others. What is it?”

“That’s the attitude indicator,” he replied.

“How can a plane have an attitude?”

“In flying, the attitude of the airplane is what we call the position of the aircraft in relation to the horizon.”

By now my curiosity had been aroused, so I asked him to explain more.

“When the airplane is climbing,” he said, “it has a nose-high attitude because the nose of the airplane is pointed above the horizon.”

So,” I jumped in, “when the aircraft is diving, you would call that a nose-down attitude.”

“That’s right,” My instructor continued. “Pilots are concerned about attitude of the airplane because that indicates its performance.”

“Now I understand why the attitude indicator is in such a prominent place on the panel,” I replied.

Paul sensing I was an eager student continued, “Since the performance of the airplane depends on its attitude, it is necessary to change the attitude in order to change the performance.”

He demonstrated this by bringing the aircraft into a nose-high attitude. Sure enough, the plane began to climb and speed decreased. He changed the attitude, and that changed the performance.

This story relates to point number four of our BFS Magic Formula for Winning: 1.) Decide exactly what you want; 2.) Plan, in detail, how you are going to get it; 3.) engage in massive action; 4.) Evaluate the feedback; 5.) Change your approach till you get what you want. Maxwell’s story focuses on the fact that if you change your attitude, you change the performance. Everyone is involved in a performance everyday. All of us are totally successful all day, every day. Each of us has successfully lived each day all day, every day, every minute, every hour, successfully lived. We have always produced a set of behaviors that have gotten us through the each day, week, month, year till this moment in time.

Now all behavior has consequences. If the consequences of your behaviors are not what you want, planned or desired, why is that? You need to evaluate the feedback, i.e., to study the consequences of your behavior. If you are not getting desired results, then simply change your approach until you get what you want. And it all begins with attitude. When you change the attitude, you change the performance.

Let’s say that you have studied and prepared for a test. You take it and do not score near what you wanted. Let’s say it is the SAT or ACT test. Your score is low. What are you going to do?

To raise your score you would need to change your approach, take SAT prep classes, but some SAT prep materials, hone your skills to better prepare yourself, take and retake the sample tests. Then, better prepared, you take the test again to post a better score.

Most people are unaware of the fact that the military academies each have a preparatory school that exists to elevate the scores of potential candidates so that they would be better prepared for the academia of the academies. Part of the program is to keep retaking the SAT test during the year to attain the required score for appointment to the regular academy. Change your approach till you get what you want.

Very often it all begins with attitude. When exercising the BFS Magic Formula for Winning perhaps the first feedback check should be on our attitude. If your change your attitude, you change your performance.

Motivationalist Zig Ziglar says the most debilitating illness is “Stink’in think’in that leads to a hardening of the attitudes requiring a checkup from the neck-up.” Keep in mind that if you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got. Change your attitude and you’ll change your performance. You can do everything wrong and still succeed if you have the right mental attitude.

Very often people are not going where they truly want to go, not doing what they truly want to do, are not being what they want to be or have what they want to have. They get caught up in the current most happen’in thing. They get caught up in the job trap:

“Coach, can’t go out for the team this year.”

“Why’s that?”

“Got a job.”

“Why did you get a job?”

“To pay for my car.”

“Why do you have a car?”

“So I can get to my job.”

Vicious cycle, snared, entrapped in behaviors they never intended. They have lost sight of their intended result. They take their eyes off the goal and suddenly see the obstacles. They forgot that the major reason for failure in life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment.

Is what you are doing taking you closer to or farther away from what you truly desire? Evaluate the results you are getting. If you do not have what you truly desire, change your approach to get what you want and that initial change usually deals with attitude.

Did I mention there is a shortcut to the formula? Simply copy the successful behaviors of those who have already achieved what you wish to achieve.

Do what they do. People do what people see. This is where BFS can really help. BFS has helped hundreds of programs achieve state championship performance levels. Thousands upon thousands of athletes have elevated their performance with the BFS Total Strength and Conditioning Program and the Be An 11 Seminars. The program is in place; the planning has been done. Get yourself to take action then follow through and perform at levels previously thought to be impossible. Astound those around you.

Like in the story of David and Goliath. With Goliath standing over nine feet tall, David’s friends, relatives and countrymen thought Goliath was too big to hit. He might become angrier and take it out on everyone. David’s attitude? Goliath was too big to miss! By the way, ever wonder why David picked up five stones? Goliath had four oversized brothers who might have come to Goliath’s aid. Now that’s going into the fray with the right mental attitude, one stone for each Philistine.

To get more of what you want use Power Axiom #3: Focus on the desired outcome and then change your approach, beginning with your attitude till you get what you want. Do not allow yourself to be anything less than you are truly capable of being.

In all that you do --- Be An 11!

D E S T I N Y

Saints QB Drew Brees was named MVP of Super Bowl XLIV after leading his team to a 31-17 win against the Colts.

Sometimes things happen. We do not know why and making sense out of it seems impossible. Know that everything
happens for a reason and that if we keep the faith, reasons are revealed as we progress on our journey.

The Chargers were playing against the Broncos in 2005 when Drew Brees suffered the worst shoulder injury that the
famous Doctor James Andrews had ever seen. His arm bone actually came out of his shoulder socket and the chance
of him returning to the NFL as a top performer was about 1%.

Surgery was performed and rehab was started. The only two teams that showed interest were the Miami Dolphins and
the New Orleans Saints. The Saints were coming off a dismal 3 – 13. They had just signed a new head coach Sean
Payton and the city was still trying to recover from hurricane Katrina.

Brees looked at this as a blessing. He felt that this could be God sent and that he and his family could do more in
New Orleans than just play football. They could make a difference to the city of New Orleans and be involved with
something bigger than football itself.

Ask Drew if God has a plan.