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Randy Gardner on Sports: Missing the Deadline . . .
Prompts Need to Stress Accountability
By Randy Gardner
It has been awhile since I have been able to put my thoughts down. The last issue, I missed my deadline; completely my fault. I bring this up because one of the things that I teach my kids and all of the players I coach is that honesty and taking accountability for yourself and your actions should be your greatest attribute.
There is nobody to blame for your actions but yourself. There are certain situations that are out of your control but for the most part your results are formed by your actions. This is why athletes perform at different levels.
This past week I had a chance to sit down with Armon Watts, a newly drafted NFL player for the Minnesota Vikings. His story can be a learning experience for many of the youth out there. He was a standout here in town at CBC High School. He then went on to play at Arkansas, where for the first 3 years he saw sparingly low amounts of playing time.
Watts said that he knew going into his senior year that if he did not change his work habits he would never make it on the field. He went to his dorm and on the wall wrote out his goals for the day , week, month and year.
By the end of the year, he had outpaced his goals in all his categories and had become a leader on and off the field. He won awards for his efforts off the field and was also so much a leader on the field that players were emulating him. It eventually paid off and he was drafted in the sixth round.
He was back in town before heading to rookie camp and it was a great experience for me to get to sit down with him. My point of this story is that everyday we face challenges and then we blame others for everything.
If you want to get in shape or lose a few pounds, get up and do it! Do you want to compete at the next level? Get a better job? Then do it! It is all a mindset. Marta, the outstanding woman soccer player for Brazil, said after she lost, one of the greatest quotes ever (I am paraphrasing now); Cry now so you can smile at the end. Wow, words to live by esecially if you are trying to reach a goal.
ON THE STANLEY CUP AND SOCCER
Now on to a story that fits that mold exactly… the St. Louis Blues. I haven’t had a chance to write after they won the Stanley Cup and pretty much everything has been said about the big win. But from a life long Blues fan and growing up here in St. Louis, it could not have been any more fun.
The only thing for me personally was that my wife and boys were not home that evening to experience it with me. Half the fun for me is experiencing the ups and downs with my kids. Either way though, the whole experience was one not to be forgotten ever.
Right now for soccer fans, everything is great. There is soccer all day everyday both on the men’s side and the women’s side. It is exciting that both the men and the women’s teams are moving rapidly through the tournament. But I will say both teams have not looked sharp as of late. I think both teams can go all the way but they have to play with more of a chip on their shoulders.
The women’s team, ranked number one in the world, has to play with that intensity. Every team is out to get them. It is the same on the men’s side in the Gold Cup. Being the defending champions of this tournament opens the door for a team to get national notoriety for beating them. Best of luck to both teams and sit back and enjoy some great soccer over the next few weeks!
