Do you have a mentor? I explain how to find a mentor without having to ask someone, “Hey, will you be my mentor?”
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Do you have a mentor? I explain how to find a mentor without having to ask someone, “Hey, will you be my mentor?”
Read MoreHello from McKinney, Texas! Welcome back to my “Bobsled Updates” as I work to Go For Gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Opening Ceremony begins in 327 days (February 9, 2018)! For all the new readers to my bobsled updates, I provide in-depth, behind the scenes, bobsled updates periodically. My updates include some of my training protocol, race outlook and competition thoughts, reviews and expectations moving forward! On a side note, please feel welcome to share, forward, cc, bcc any of my bobsled update emails with your family, friends, co-workers, colleagues or with anyone you wish. For the serious bobsled fans, you can send them this link so they can join themselves. I learned early on in media training to not write, tweet, post or share anything that I wouldn’t feel comfortable talking about on the front page of CNN, Fox, Wall Street Journal or other media outlets. My goal with these bobsled updates is to provide a unique perspective as a U.S. Olympian with a dream of winning Olympic Gold! I want you to be on the journey with me and see the steps it takes to make a dream come true! FYI — this bobsled update is a little longer then my normal updates, as I have a lot to catch you up on since the 2014 Winter Olympics… OK, lets get to the good stuff, in a 10-point order to catch you up to speed: 1. After the 2014 Olympics, I needed a break — physically and mentally from the grind it took to make the U.S. Olympic Team. There is no question it took a ton of physical effort, but mentally speaking, it was the toughest challenge I have faced to this point of my life. 2. In order to stay physically fit and mentally sharp I started doing CrossFit…
Read MoreCharlie Strong is gone. UT football players are upset. I don’t know any of the current UT football players personally, but their tweets and media coverage show they have a pretty strong bond with their head coach. I know the feeling. Here’s how you keep your coach = WIN. Sounds simple, but it’s incredibly tough. Many think you win games in-season on Saturdays, but the truth of the matter is, you win as a team in the off-season. Your off-season preparation determines your in-season success. Every time, every year. I played football at the University of North Texas (2002-06). We won our conference championship and played in bowl games ’02, ’03 and ’04. Winning was awesome! It even made food taste better. In ’05 and ’06 we went 2-9 and 3-9 and lost our coach. The same coach we won with in ’02-04. I have experienced both sides and as I look back on our success and failure, it boils down to how we prepared in the off-season. That’s it. You’re either all in, or you’re all out. There is no in between. To all the current UT football players, or anyone else in a similar spot: it’s time to recommit, re-dedicate and re-purpose your off-season preparation. When you do this over time, you will experience the success you want and get to keep your coach.
Read MoreIt was an absolute honor to represent the United States of America and compete on the world’s greatest athletic stage. I want to do my best to share with you (in pictures and in words) what it is like to walk in Opening Ceremonies at the Olympic Games! This picture is of the U.S. Men’s Bobsled Team lined up for a team photo in the Olympic Village. Steve Langton (far right) clearly has the best hair. Ralph Lauren provided our gear for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The U.S. sent two bobsled teams (USA-1 and USA-2) to the Sochi Olympics in the 4-man bobsled event. I was on USA-2 sled and here is our team picture. Side note, take a look at our shoe laces and socks. Ralph Lauren had an Opening Ceremonies app on our phone to show us how to dress properly in order to walk. The shoe laces had to be tied in the back and we had to have three folds in our socks. It was simple: follow the dress code in the app, or don’t walk in Opening Ceremonies. You decide. A few of us bobsledders found snowboarding legend Shaun White and asked for a team picture. He happily obliged and we all became best friends. We made it to the Olympic stadium and each country is instructed to line up in alphabetical order, according the the host country’s dialect. No one on our team spoke Russian so it took awhile to find where the “U” (United States) is located in the Russian alphabet. Out of 230 U.S. Olympians, only four were from the great state of Texas, therefore, we had to take a “Team Texas” picture. Your 2014 Texas Olympians consisted of two bobsledders and two speed skaters. Jordan is from Denton, TX, Jonathan…
Read MoreAn Open Letter To The Athlete We Must Stop Recruiting Becky Carlson, the Women’s Rugby Coach at Quinnipiac University, wrote the following open letter to the type of athlete who, although very talented, she no longer recruits. Coach Carlson’s letter is enlightening for athletes of all sports (and their parents and coaches). Dear Prospective Student-Athlete, I received your introductory two-line email and read through it. I must say your first sentence was painfully familiar as you introduced yourself by first name only. I assumed if you were trying to make an impression that you would have paid more attention to punctuation, but my assumption appears incorrect. While your opening email failed to identify your last name, what year in school you are, where you are from, or what position you play, you managed to include your most pressing question as to whether our team is “giving out scholarships”. A week later, I received a second email with full color resume attachment including your action photos, and a variety of links to related newspaper articles. Each of these items were compiled in an orderly fashion and sent out directly from both your parents’ emails. While it took a bit to thumb through the long list of your impressive extracurricular activities, please thank your parents for putting this packet together and understand that it would have been far more beneficial for our staff to speak to you personally by way of an old school phone call. As my staff sent correspondence to your personal email, we have received only a return from your parents apologizing and explaining that you are simply “too busy to answer”. As a word of advice, while many college coaches support parental enthusiasm, initiative taken by the athlete is crucial if you are serious about connecting with a quality program. Our staff explained to your parents that…
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I am a professional speaker delivering thought-provoking and action-packed messages to businesses, schools and organizations across the globe. I am a United States Olympian (Bobsled) and former Professional Football Player. Only three people have played in the NFL and competed in the Winter Olympics. I am also the Founder of The Athlete Watch an online pro-active leadership course that helps student-athletes and their families search for scholarships.
