How To Turn A Losing Program Around

In today's sports world, a losing program is something no one wants to see or be a part of. At Idaho State we have been in a six year slump following the 2002 season, back when future NFL hall of famer Jared Allen was playing. So what was the deciding factor of the team in 2002 that has been missing for the passed six? After talking to another player that was part of that 2002 championship team, he said that ever since he played it seems that the teams selfishness has been stronger than ever. And by saying selfish I mean that guys are all about themselves and would rather do well to make themselves look good and can care less about the team. This years team saw too many of those! As a player on the team I can think of at least ten guys that could have cared less about anyone but themselves, and sadly one of those guys was a team captain. Teams that have been noted as the best around all have the common denominator of being "team players" and being unselfish. In Ohio State's head football coach Jim Tressel's book "The Winners Manual", he reminisces about this best team. He said that the reason that team was so great was because every one of the guys was completely selfless. Just like the old saying goes,"United we stand, divided we fall", a football team is no different. In any team sport, to be great you have to work as a team.

Hard Work Beats Talent When Talent Isn't Working Hard

Following up on my previous blog "Nobody likes a loser", I want to touch on the opposite side of the spectrum. In recent news the Idaho State Bengal football team won the first game of their season ending a 15 game losing streak. The guys played the best game overall than they played all season, and it showed. The team had meetings all week between seniors and the underclassmen about what they needed to do to win the last game and end the season on a great note. Senior linebacker Ryan Phipps said, " Almost all of the guys said that the deciding factor that will turn this program around is comradery." The team did just that with four quarters of play plus one overtime. They beat a hot Sacramento State team that was on a 3 game win streak in the Big Sky Conference, which is very rare! So the final thing that decided this game was the intensity and passion that the ISU ballers played with.

Optimism is Contagious, Pass it On!

Optimism is always the way to live when your going through hard times. A famous poet once said, “Having a positive mental attitude is asking how something can be done rather than saying it can't be done,” by Bo Bennett. Right now my team has a record of 0-7. It's very hard to see the upside in a win-less season up to this point, but as an optimist, I'm looking at the upside; we have 5 more games that we get the opportunity to get wins out of. With a group effort and a change in enthusiasm everyday, the ISU Bengals can pull off a turn-around. This sort of thing has happened before in my career. From my sophomore year season to my senior year in 2006, my high school (LHHS) had a losing streak of 0-19. A nineteen game losing streak!!! We then pulled together for our last 6 games and ended up winning them all and having a share as league champions. Speaking from experience, the Bengals just need to look up and focus on their individual assignments, and look at the TEAM'S progress as all of those things come together. A current example that comes to mind are the Miami Dolphins, they had a horrible season last year and now they are atop of their conference! Here is a video of a team that was in a similar spot as us with their awesome story, the Tampa Bay Rays.

Life without School and Football...

This lifestyle can be so monotonous! I was talking to my teammates about what they would be doing if they weren't at ISU on a scholarship. The majority of them said that they would be working, some said they would be at a school in a nice state like California, and a few of us said we wouldn't change this for the world. The thing that we all agreed on was, as far as I know, a shared meaning between most athletes across the nation; the notion that thousands of young people would trade the world to be in our shoes. From the smallest schools like Lambuth to the biggest at USC, we all have to remember that things can be much worse! In my case, I am the first in my family to attend a 4 year university and if I were not here, I would probably be back at home in Orange County Ca going to my local beach (Crescent Bay, Laguna Beach) every other day on top of working a 6 hour a day job serving at the local Peppino's Italian Resteraunt. That could easily be my life if I were at home. But since I'm here at ISU, I'm working on my bachelors degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Marketing so that when I graduate I will have many more opportunities to better my life than just serving.

Does losing Affect Your Studies?

Well now that my team is on a 10-game losing streak dating back to last year, it seems as though my schoolwork has picked up. Even though I am focused and determined to help my team do whatever it can to win, I have found something else that is a for sure win, and that's schoolwork. At ISU they have given all of us students the resources needed to succeed. I can get a tutor, which research has proven to be very useful www.studygs.net, so there's no excuse to not do well in class. I would have to say that the answer is no, never look down just because your team is down, sports are only a small portion of what is to come. A great coach once said that "... it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog," Coach Bear Bryant. So when times are rough and you think everything is going south, rethink your position and how honored you are to be a scholar-baller!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3VTk0cEQB8

No One likes a Loser

There are so many teams across the nation that aren't exactly having the type of season that they planned for. I, for example, am on one of those teams. Idaho State University's football team is 0-5 as of now. All of the players that are on this team come from all over the northwest (one from Canada and another from Louisiana) and have come here with one common goal, a championship. BUT, the other side of the story comes about when your team does not reach that goal. As for us, we average around 6,000 people at our home games in a city populated by 60,000! Not to mention that school enrollment is around 14,000 people, we have not been seeing too many of them.
I spoke with my friends that go to Northern Arizona and another at Montana and they told similar stories. My friend Michael Battisti at NAU said that they get around 8,000 fans at each game and that they're consistent unless they lost the previous game. On the other hand Thomas Bauer at Montana said that they have a sold out season already and EVERYONE in Missoula goes to their games, due to their long time winning streak. They average around 22,000 people at every game. So if your winning, expect more fans, otherwise expect to be your own fans!


*This is the way we all pictured college football to be...UMT's philosophy on football

A day in the life of us collegiate athletes

DAILY SCHEDULE
5:30am-Full speed runs
9am- Mass media class
11am- Literature class
1:30-3:30pm - Meetings
4-7pm- Practice


This is the day in the life of a Idaho State football player. It is just how it looks, football and school all day, everyday. This is what most collegiate athletes around the nation have to deal with on a daily and weekly basis. For more information student athletes can look at this website for more information www.nacada.ksu.edu. So when teachers and parents ask you why your so tired, it's because we are constantly busy doing something. Oh, I forgot to mention that freshman and red shirts also have to go to study hall during the little off time they have, just adding to the full days festivities. So next time we're asked why we never remember to reply to someones MySpace message or remember to get an oil change, just reply "Im a full time athlete". = )