It Takes What It Takes

If you want to be the best team in our conference by beating UMD and compete to be the best team in our region, then it takes what it takes. Read the post below to understand that Greatness takes what it takes, and Athletes decide first what they want to be, then proceed to do what is necessary.

Next, read Tim Morrill's insights about the process of becoming an ultimate athlete. It sounds like many of you guys are currently in phase 4: injury. The purpose of this email is to lead you into phase 5: education and give you the momentum to enter phases 6 and 7.

Listen to Fitz. Trust the process - of hydration, stretching, and foam rolling.

Being able to consistently physically perform at a high level requires an abundance of self-care throughout the season - this includes stretching and foam rolling before, during, and after workouts, practices, mini, and especially throughout tournaments. Endurance and staying healthy are vital to your long term success and ability to compete on the field point after point.

As soon as the stress of the 4th game on Saturday is done, you need to switch into rest mode with multiple stretching sessions at the fields/dinner/hotel room, and recovery mode by consuming at least 20 grams of protein within 30 minutes before showering and team dinner. Click here if you need a nutritional lesson on eating during tournament weeks.

Attached is a graphic to teach you how to foam roll each part of your body. Zoom in to see how you can leverage self-myofascial release (SMR) exercises to greatly reduce the risk of injury throughout your ultimate career. Upper body foam rolling is important to reduce the risk of injury when laying out. Lower body foam rolling, especially IT band, hips, hamstring to glutes, outer legs, and inner thighs are the most valuable ones for your body to relieve tension in your legs (often caused by lots of running, lunges, and stepping out on your throws or marks).

If you don't own a foam roller in your dorm room, and you do care about getting or staying healthy to contribute to this team, then order one right now (or call your mom/forward this email to her and tell her to order one for you). There's no excuse to not invest $15 into your long term health and wellness with the ability to stretch and recover from strenuous physical activity. Bring your foam rollers to practice, and absolutely bring them to tournaments to help yourself and your teammates do self-myofascial release (SMR) exercises.

Stress.Rest.Recover.

Coach Mallow

p.s. UMD's best players are stretching and foam rolling every single day. Are you willing to consistently do what it takes before and after practice to prepare your body to compete against UMD?

Watching a master do their work is always impressive. Whether it’s an orator working a crowd or an athlete contorting their body with ease and finesse, it’s incredible to see what people are capable of. We see things and wonder how they’re possible. We hear of the feats of brilliance, of courage, of endurance, and of wisdom pulled off by Cato or by Thrasea and wonder how they managed to do it.

The answer, in every instance, is simple. They did the work.

“First, tell yourself what you want to be, then act your part accordingly,” Epictetus said. “This, after all, is what we find to be the rule in just about every other field. Athletes decide first what they want to be, then proceed to do what is necessary."

The renowned mental conditioning expert Trevor Moawad put it even more simply: Greatness takes what it takes.

As Russell Wilson’s mental skills coach, he has seen what that process looks like from the inside. His new book (with that awesome title), It Takes What It Takes, is about the kind of work we have to do to achieve our biggest goals. We interviewed him for Daily Stoic and he explained it a bit further:

It goes back to a conversation I had with NBA star Vince Carter when I was consulting with them. He said at 38 the behaviors for him to keep playing were clearly defined. It “took what it took” and he had to decide whether to do them or not...That conversation helped me better explain the simple truths behind success to athletes. It also safely allows for people to choose an average set of behaviors, but the outcome will be pre-determined.

Remember, the Stoics—Marcus Aurelius especially—talked repeatedly about doing what his nature demanded. They also believed that character was fate. The work you put in, the traits you inculcated, that’s what kind of person you would be, the kind of results you would get.

“Behavior, which you’ve drilled into your muscle memory,” Moawad says, “will dictate what happens next.”

So how can you be like Epictetus or Marcus Aurelius or Russell Wilson or Vince Carter? Set your sights on the goal and do the work. Put in what it takes. Do what your nature and the job demands. Build the muscle memory. And the outcome will be fated.