Start Full, Finish Empty

It's the biggest game of the season and you're running late. Again. As you jump in your car the only thing you can think about is how mad your coach will be. As you nervously weave your way through traffic, all of a sudden the car starts to slow down. You press harder on the accelerator. Nothing. As your car comes to a complete stop you realize you are out of gas. It's a lot like this with sports. Every athlete who plays the game has somewhere they are trying to get to; something they want to accomplish. When you pick up that bat; when you hit the track, run the drills, and lift the weights you do it with the hope that you will win. Everyone wants to make it to their destination, but it is the champions who make sure they have what it takes to get there. Whether in sports, the classroom, or life, winning (or success) is never a surprise or something that "just happens." It is always the result of the preparation and execution invested by the individual or team. Champions know that if they underestimate what is needed to reach the goal they will find themselves on the side of the road with nothing left in the tank to make it to the finish line. The question you must answer as a student-athlete is, "what will you do to make sure you are a success?" There are two things that are crucial to your success and winning, both in sports and in life: Start Full and Finish Empty. Do these two things on a consistent basis and you will experience your share of victories, in sports, in school and in life. Now, what does it mean to start full and finish empty? Start Full - Preparation This is the part where you do everything possible to prepare for what you want to achieve. There are four important things you must remember to make your preparation work for you: 1. Know what the goal is and what you want to accomplish. 2. Identify what it will take to reach your goal. Be both realistic and accurate. 3. Assess your skills to make sure you have the potential to accomplish the task. 4. Develop your skills to the point that gives you the best chance of accomplishing what you want. Your success will be determined by what you do with the time you have before you're called on to perform. Everyday represents an opportunity for you to get better, to get closer to your goal. Finish Empty - Execution Remember seeing Michael Jordan after he won his very first NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls? He was holding - actually clinging to - the championship trophy; the expression on his face showing both the mental and physical exertion he had put into reaching his goal. He was completely drained. That's finishing empty. Have you ever had that experience? Here are three keys to effective execution and finishing empty: 1. You must believe in the preparation and plan 2. You must commit to the effort that is necessary to reach the goal 3. You must continue to execute through opposition and adversity Remember, preparation determines how you start; execution determines how you finish. Regardless of what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, you want your personal scoreboard to show that you prepared as well as you could and then executed to the best of your ability. When you can say that, you win - in sports, in school, and in life.