Tuesday, September 3, 2013

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL:" The Season Opener"





In the words of one of my favorite West Coast MCs, "ONCE AGAIN IT'S ON!"

That's right! No matter how far away it seemed, no matter how badly some of you wanted to turn the calendar upside down to force the days, weeks and months to go back to the first week of June, it's here. That's right, it's the first day of school. While some of you may already be in the full swing of school others are still milking the last few seconds of their summer vacation. 

Some are excited, others couldn't care less if they tried, and many absolutely loathe the thought having to rearrange their schedules just to go back to school. From my window, as a father, educator and coach, the first day of school is the season opener. You get an opportunity to start fresh, deliberately make some changes and get closer to your dreams/goals. 

The stadium lights come on, the crowd has gathered, your teammates,parents and even your teachers are waiting for you to take your place and showcase the new and improved you. They all have expectations of you that are higher than the ones from last season. Are the lights too bright? Is the noise of the crowd too much for your eardrums? Will you help or hinder your team? Will your parents and teachers teammates be convinced or confused by your performance? As you look in the mirror are you confident that the reflection is an accurate indication of who you are? Inquiring minds wanna know.

Your offseason (for those who believe in the concept) gave way to countless opportunities for self-improvement. If there's an unprecedented and infectious excitement and enthusiasm about the season opener, then that means you took advantage of those opportunities and made new strides during your offseason. It also means that you're ready to unveil to spectators, reassure your teammates and re-convince your opponents that you are still a force to be reckoned with. If there's a somber and nonchalant approach to your season opener, there's some serious soul searching to do and some steps that need to be retraced. It's the season opener for crying out loud. If you're the champion that you think you are and claim to be, you know that you don't have a choice once the whistle blows and the lights come on. You have to compete. Either you're in for tragedy or you're in for triumph, but the only way to find out what you're made of is to line up and make today better than yesterday. By association many already assume that you deserve to be on the team while several others are skeptical. Whose expectations will you meet? What reality will you confirm? No need to answer. Let your results speak for themselves.

REBOUND.RESET.RELEASE.