A Final Word on the Academic Team and other thoughts

I was at the women's basketball game reporting when the University honored all of the fall semester athletes who had a 3.0 or higher.

I know that Coach Auriemma was not only proud of his players who achieved a 3.0 or higher, but also that the rest of the student athletes could be recognized in front of 10,000 people at a game. I remember him saying that he wished athletes were recognized for their hard work in the classroom more.

I know Maya Moore takes pride in her classwork. She is extremely smart and extremely hard working. She is making the most of out college both in the classroom and on the court.

I interviewed Tahriah Williams once and she said that her favorite part of being on the women's basketball team was being a role model. She mentioned that above all other things. She didn't mention the chartered flights, she was just happy to be a role model. She was happy to be someone that little girls could look up to. She specifically mentioned how her and her teammates were successful in the classroom.

What's even more unfortunate is that this part of my interview was cut out of the TV segment. I thought that Tahirah's answer to that question was the best answer of all the questions I asked to the different players I talked too.

I do think that the academic part of athletics is important and I don't think that people make it important enough. It is very impressive to be able to do well in school and play at a high level athletically.

I also believe that what you do to prepare for a game can be applied to anything in life, whether it be your job or your school work.

I also believe that one of the best things that sports can teach someone is that the impossible is nothing. If you set a seemingly impossible goal and achieve it you begin to realize that you CAN do anything you can set your mind to in sports and in life. Often times those impossible goals are set in athletics. Before a season a seemingly endless supply of sprints, workouts, practices, film sessions, 5:30am runs, stadium stairs, injuries, bad breaks, exams, and opponents are thrown at a student athlete. When you work hard, complete those tasks, and overcome adversity you beat opponents. When you beat opponents you win championships and you acheive the seemingly impossible.

It's also important to focus on every task with an eye towards your goal. You're not running stadium steps because your coach told you to. You're running stadium steps because it's what's going to make you win a championship. You should think of every workout and every practice as if its what's going to make the difference between you beating your rival for the National Championship. When you feel like giving up or not going all out ask yourself if you want to lose the championship game in the last minute. That ought to movitate you.

I believe that when you do something you didn't think you could do you gain the ability to do remarkable things.