It's that time of year again.  Softball tryouts are taking place across the country and with them many aspiring players are experiencing serious anxieties.  It’s perfectly normal, but can be debilitating and lead to markedly underperforming.  Tryouts would not be a good time for this. 

As parents you may not know who Eric Thomas is, but a couple years ago you likely heard his voice in a video that went viral.  It was titled, How Bad Do You Want It?  I recently read his book, The Secret To Success, at the request of my daughter who was reading it at college.  She's a big fan and he is going to be on campus to give a speech to the all of the athletes shortly.  

I've read a lot of these types of books over the years and although his message was familiar, I can see how he gets through to the younger generations.  I did enjoy the book.  It was an easy quick read.  He grew up in Detroit, was homeless for awhile and overcame many obstacles in his life including the worst kinds of peer pressure and bad influences you can imagine before achieving success.  One of my favorite quotes from his book is:

Don't make a habit out of choosing what feels good over what's actually good for you.

The game between San Francisco & Seattle was a great game for football fans.  Both teams battled leaving it all on the field.  The winning play was made with San Francisco throwing the ball into the end zone on 4th down and virtually no time left. The pass was knocked down by Seattle's defensive back Richard Sherman on a truly spectacular play, which would ensure victory and a trip for the Seahawks to the Super Bowl.

That clip probably made millions of instant Denver fans who will be rooting for Sherman and the Seahawks to lose.

After time expired there were players and members of the media all over the field as the Seahawks & home team fans celebrated victory and a trip to the Super Bowl.  Fox Sports sideline reporter Erin Andrews found the game's hero Sherman for a post game interview.  If you haven't seen it, you should watch the brief clip below.

There is a glaring example these days in the NFL of how NOT to be a team player.  His name is Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys.  The Cowboys management recently attempted to explain away his behavior, "He's a fierce competitor, but his emotions got the best of him before the end of the game Sunday night against the Packers – forcing him to abandon his teammates on the sidelines and leave the game with minutes to spare."  

Prima Donna's like him are cancerous to their teams.