Life's Lessons

We talk about as a team not focusing on what just happened, but moving forward and making the next moment better. We say as a team that if the score is 30-30 and you commit a turnover, its ok, because if we defend and get it back its still 30-30. This is an attitude I hope you all take into life as well as basketball. Its not about the mistakes you make its how you react to them. Each decision or action in your life should become a learning experience. What this means is that whether it be a grade, game or action in your personal life you should reflect upon it. If you get a good or bad grade you should look back and say "how did this happen." If it was good, think about making your preperation for that subjects tests a routine. If a grade is bad, you should reflect upon what you can do differently to prevent this from happening again. The moral here is dont be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are a part of learning, however DONT REPEAT MISTAKES!

“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.”

Your homework for the weekend is to respond to this blog. I want to reflect upon something you want to change and post what it is, as well as, how you may try to change it. There is no practice this Saturday. I ask that you spend sometime with your family if you can. If you have other plans your job is to do something nice for your family. This can be something as little as doing a chore your parents usually do without being asked. So when your home get out the vaccuum, and vaccuum the living room. You can do all the dishes after dinner. If you really want to treat your family, get up early and make them breakfast! Remember an act done without being asked is always more appreciated.

Nutrition

After Saturdays practice and observing you guys in the cafeteria it has come to my attention that you need information on the proper diet for an athlete. Now when you hear the word diet what do you think that means? Most people associate the word diet with losing weight. This association isnt necessarily true. The diet for a young athlete contains higher levels of calorie intake. Since you are young your body needs nutrients for it to grow. Being athletes we are breaking down these nutrients when we compete, which means we need to be taking in even more nutrients than kids not participating in sports. You may often hear your parents talk about cutting fat out of their diet but this doesnt apply to the young athlete. YOU NEED FAT IN YOUR DIET! This may sound crazy but its true, because active muscles quickly burn through carbs and need fats for long-lasting energy. Like carbs, not all fats are created equal. Now this is not an invitation to run home and buy a bag of Doritos and chow the whole thing down!!! I repeat, This is not an invitation to run home and buy a bag of Doritos and chow the whole thing down !!! (haha) This article talks about all the nutrients your body needs and how much. It tells you what types of fats you should consume and it also talks about what we should eat on a game day. I would really like us all to read this article and take it seriously. We have an issue as a whole team of improper diet. Some of us may not eat enough some of us may be just eating the wrong things at the wrong times. We will discuss this article. Read through all the pages please.

http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/nutrition/eatnrun.html?tracking=T_RelatedArticle#

Remember teen athletes should consume 2,000-5,000 calories a day. I would encourage for this team 3,000-4,500 depending on the individual.