Athletes should delete this word from their vocabulary...

One word I cannot stand hearing come out of an athletes mouth is the word try.

I hate that word when an athlete uses it. It drives me crazy. It makes me want to puke and hit my head against a wall. I don't like reading quotes when an athlete says "I'll try, we'll try." If I speak to one and they answer a question like "Are you going to score today?" with "I'll try" I begin to doubt that they will score.

Think about when you use the word "try." You don't try to breathe, unless you have asthma, you don't try to walk, unless you have a broken leg, you don't try to do your homework, unless you plan on not doing it, you don't try to brush your teeth, unless you have no water, or toothpaste. You don't try to win, unless you think you will lose. You don't try to score a goal, unless you think you won't.

The word try indicates to me that you don't think you can do something. At the very least your not sure you can do something. If you don't think you can do something or aren't sure if you can then it's much easier for your mind to cope with the fact that you didn't do something. You'll think to yourself "Oh well, at least I tried." The word try allows you to accept defeat.

Now think about saying "I will score, and We will beat them." That implies that you know you can win. You know you are capable of winning. You expect to win. When you are down with 5 seconds left, you don't give up because you don't expect to lose. You know you can still win and you continue to play hard. When you know you should have won you will work harder in practice because you know what you're capable of and are not happy when you don't do what you know you can do. Your mad that you didn't do what you know you can do so you work hard to make sure that losing doesn't happen again. Knowing you should win makes it very hard to accept defeat.

Someone asked me recently what job I want in sports. I told the guy that I wanted the job of the guy sitting next to me. I wasn't being arrogant, it's what I wanted. I think I am capable of doing it so I'm going to work hard to make sure it happens.

I never want to hear the word try out of an athletes mouth. If the word try has anything to do with your sport it drives me crazy. You will win, you will score, you will stop the other team. I heard an athlete, who will be 3rd on their team in active career points in 2009, use the word try as it related to their sport on several occasions. When your 3rd on a Division 1 team in scoring than your pretty freaking awesome. You've practiced and played enough and you're talented enough to know that you will score. You will be a game changer. You can't just try to be, you have to do it and you will do it because you are good.

Try is a word that tells me that you lack confidence. Tell me when you have used the word try to describe something that you can do.

Try should never ever be uttered by an athlete about themselves or their team as it pertains to their sport. You will win. You will score.

I'll try to end this post.

Maybe I won't because I'm not confident enough that I have explained this well enough.

You did understand this post.

I will end this post.