My Blog

I had an interesting chat with JC tonight. However, before I get onto the subject, a brief premise. For those of you who don't know, I went to St. Thomas Aquinas (STA) and graduated in 2001. Before that, my sister went there and my father coached there. Now, I've been coaching there for the past 4 years. All in all, I have been a member of the STA family for over 14 years. In the years that I have been a coach, we have won back-to-back state championships in 2007 and 2008 and were voted the FIRST EVER UNANIMOUS National Champions in 2008.

Back to the topic at hand. JC basically asked me, "What keeps the STA football team focused?" "How do you stay on top of your game?" That question got me thinking. I came up with multiple answers. First and foremost, you have to have great leaders. Not good...GREAT! The type of leaders that you would die for...the type of leaders that you KNOW will lead the charge into battle and be the first ones in. But after that, the bread and butter of our program is determination. The mindset that no matter what, no matter what exercise is thrown at us, no matter who steps out on that field, we will emerge...VICTORIOUS!

It's interesting when you look back over the past 3 years at our teams. In 2007 and 2008, we had only a handful of kids go to D1 schools. This past season, we have at least 11 kids going to D1 schools! Based on that stat alone, one would think that we were the best last season. Unfortunately, we were eliminated in the state semis and finished 13-1 with nothing to show for it. The 2 previous years, we were state champs and national champs in 2008. On paper, we didn't have enough "talent" to be on top in '07 and '08, but our determination stated otherwise. Our kids knew that they weren't the fastest nor the biggest nor the strongest, but they also knew that they were the best, and dared anyone to step up and face the challenge. One by one, all of the opponents fell. With determination on their side, each of those players EARNED 2 rings on their fingers.

Why am I writing about all this, you may be asking yourself? DO NOT let ANYONE tell you you cannot do it. And by the way...YOU are included in that anyone! Whether it be weight loss, strength gain, increasing your vertical, obtaining your ideal "beach body", or winning a national championship, "I can't" is now stricken from your vocabulary...PERMANENTLY!!! Take a page out of STA's book, step out on that field, and don't stop until you come out...VICTORIOUS!!!

"To quit doesn't exist!" -Charles "Mask" Lewis, co-founder of TapouT

Adam Bolanos